F10: Rear Shock Absorber / Strut / Spring Replacement [GUIDE]

*Front strut-assembly replacement guide here - https://www.beemerlab.org/2017/09/f10-530d-front-shock-strut-spring-top.html*

Time to do the rear struts and springs on the 530d F10 this week as one damper has been leaking and while doing my tyres last week I noticed the spring has now broken at the bottom so this is now an urgent job. I picked up a pair of used complete struts (spring, damper and top-mount) from eBay for just £100. They are from another 530d and claim to be from a low mileage car. Well, they look a lot lower mileage than the ones I'm taking off lets put it that way and appear to be in pretty good condition. I get a lot of stick for constantly using second-hand genuine parts, but I still prefer this to buying new spurious parts where I can and have never had an issue!

GUIDE:

* This is not a difficult or time-consuming job, but will require a bit of brute force. *

1. First the rear seats need to come out. Lift the seat squab up at the front and detach it from the push-studs, press the seat-belt receivers through the recesses and lift the squab out. Next lift the seat-back upwards until it is free of the hooks at the top and lift that out, being careful of the door-sill paintwork and sliding it through the seat-belts. [You could always unbolt the seat-belts at the base using a T45-Torx socket to make this easier, but it's not essential].

2. The parcel-shelf now needs to come down in order to access the strut-top mount bolts in the shock-turrets. Remove the C-pillar trims by prizing out the plastic caps labelled 'Airbag' from the trim and removing the screw using a T25-Torx socket. Now carefully pull away the C-pillar trims and put to one side. Remove the five push-pin clips from the front edge of the parcel-shelf by levering the button in the centre upwards and pulling the plastic pin out. The studs can now be levered out. The parcel-shelf is now free to pull forwards and can be rested where the seat-back would be. [Remove the wiring-connectors to the speakers, but these should pop out by themselves anyway].

3. Lift the car and remove the corresponding wheel. [There is no need to be getting under the car for this job, so a jack and axle-stand is fine].

4a. The track-strut (pictured) needs to be moved out of the way to access the bottom strut bolt so first remove the plastic clips holding the E-brake wire-harness to the track-strut by levering them open at the bottom with a flathead-screwdriver and separating them from the strut. The wire-harness can be moved out of the way.

4b. Remove the bolt holding the inner end of the track-strut using an 18mm wrench. Pull the track-strut down and rotate it so it is pointing out of the wheel-arch. You now have plenty of room to get at the bottom strut bolt and lift the shock out.

5. Remove the bolt holding the bottom of the strut to the hub using a 21mm wrench.

6. Lift the triangle flap in the foam underneath where the parcel-shelf was to expose the studs to the strut-top mount and remove the three nuts using a 13mm wrench.

7. Wiggle the bottom of the strut free from the hub and the entire strut assembly is now free to be removed. It should be able to be lowered through the remaining suspension parts and to the rear of the car until it is free to be removed.

** IF YOU ARE CHANGING THE SPRING / TOP-MOUNT OR SWAPPING THESE ONTO A NEW STRUT THEN DO THIS NOW** [See this post for guide].

8. Make sure the new strut has the top-mount in line with the old one you removed by lying them next to each other and checking the bottom bolt-eyelet and triangle marking on the top-mount match up. [The triangle marking on the top-mount should face towards the back of the car with the bolt-eyelet facing the centre, or with the triangle marking facing you the bolt-eyelet should be pointing to the right for O/S (right-side) and left for N/S (left-side)].

9. Lift the new strut back up through the suspension and line it up into the strut-turret. [Triangle marking on top-mount facing rear of car] and screw the three 13mm nuts back on a few threads.

10. Lever the hub downwards until it meets the bolt-eyelet at the bottom of the strut meets its recess on the hub and screw the 21mm bolt back in about half-way.

11. Fully tighten the three 13mm nuts on the strut-top mount.

12. Fully tighten the 21mm bolt through the bottom of the strut.

13. Replace the track-strut / wheel as a reversal of steps 3 and 4.

14. If you are doing both sides then repeat steps 3 - 13 for the opposite side.

15. Replace the parcel-shelf, trim and rear seat as a reversal of steps 1 and 2.

F10/F11: DPF Replacement / Removal - EASY GUIDE!

If you are removing your DPF and re-mapping, or if your filter is clogged past the point of a re-gen, then you will need take it off. Getting the DPF / catalytic-converter off an F10 is easier than it looks and is totally doable at home without a set of workshop ramps. I managed with a jack / axle-stand and without removing the exhaust or any of the engine.

1. Safely raise the car.

2. Under the car, remove the centre under-tray that covers the exhaust joint to the DPF by undoing a series of 8mm screws.

3. Loosen the collar-bolt at the joint between the front section of the exhaust and the flexi coming from the DPF using a 14mm socket.

4. Slide the exhaust back about an inch until it pops out of the sleeve in the DPF. [It may help here to pop the exhaust out of the centre rubber-hanger to give more rearward movement.]

5. Under the bonnet, unplug the two O2-sensors and the Lambda sensor, then pull the hose off the metal-tube that runs to the pressure-sensor. Free up the wiring.

6. Remove the upward-facing O2-sensor using a 14mm open-ended wrench.

** Access to the bolts and sensors may be easier with the plastic air-inlet loosened and moved out of the way. **

7. Loosen the collar-bolt joining the front of the DPF to the back of the turbo using a 13mm socket on a long extension and move the collar forward away from the DPF.

8. Remove the upper nut and lower bolt holding the bracket to the rear of the DPF using a 13mm wrench.

9. Remove the two bolts holding the bracket to the back of the engine-block using an E10 double-hex socket, or an 8mm ring-spanner and fully remove the bracket.

10. The DPF will likely be solid in place, so the best bet is to wiggle it from underneath car until it breaks free and can be safely lowered down.

11. With the DPF free, getting it out of the engine-bay is still not a walk in the park. The lower O2 sensor and/or Lambda sensor may need to be removed to get the angle required to slide the body of the DPF down past the steering-knuckle and foil heat shield, which may need to pressed in towards the body a bit to give enough clearance. Eventually, the DPF can be manipulated down through the gap and drop down under the car, so watch out if you have it raised a fair bit off the ground.

12. Re-fitting is a reverse of the above steps. Note, all but the lower O2-sensor should be fitted after the DPF is secured in position. The easiest way to reposition the DPF is get someone to hold it from below high enough for you to get hold of it from inside the engine-bay and lift it up into position, rather than one person trying to reposition it from underneath.

F10 / F11: Front Bumper Removal Guide

** If you are removing / replacing only one side headlight, then it is possible to loosen the bumper on the corresponding side and peel it back to access the headlight screws, rather than removing the entire bumper. **

1. Under the bonnet/hood remove the front end of the rubber seal located just inside the front wings either side.

2. Remove the two plastic push-pin type fasteners on each top corner of the bumper skin. (Or just the ones on the side you are removing the headlight on.)

3. Remove the 4 screws holding the top edge of the bumper using a T30 Torx socket.

4. Under the car, remove the 8 screws under the bottom lip of the bumper using an 8mm socket.


5. There are 3 screws located at the forward side of each front wheel-arch that need removing using an 8mm socket, locations pictured. (If you are working on one side/headlight then these screws only need removing on the corresponding side, as with steps 6 and 7.)


6. Peel the plastic wheel-arch liner back from the corner of the bumper and wedge it against the tyre.

7. Remove the 2 screws located on the inside of the bumper on each side that can now be accessed with the arch-liner out of the way, as pictured. The near one needs a 10mm socket, the one further in is another 8mm. A 1/4" drive wrench is good here with not much room.

8. Gently pull the bumper outwards from its bracket until it separates from the front wing and pull that side of the bumper forward. It should peel away from the car quite easily. Repeat for the other side and the bumper is off, unless you are only working on one side as the headlight and other parts inside / behind the bumper are accessible with one side pulled away from the car.

9. If you are completely removing the front bumper, remember to unplug the front fog-lamps, parking-sensors etc. before moving the bumper away from the car. There is plenty of room to do this with the O/S (right-side) bumper peeled off.


Many thanks to Isturbointeg on F10post.com for some of his superb pictures I made use of. His original guide on F10post forum is here - https://f10.5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1187122

F10: Clutch Bleeding Guide... the whole nightmare! [Manual transmission / gearbox 520d, 530d, F10, F11, G07, E90, E92 3er etc.]

You will need:

• Short / stubby ... wrench.
• One-way valve type bleeding-kit.
• DOT4 regular brake/clutch fluid.

Clutch-bleeding on the F10, F11, G07, E90, E92, G20 and a lot of other contemporary BMWs can be a right pain, but if you are replacing the master-cylinder / slave-cylinder, the pipework or removing your CDV, then it is necessary. If you clamp the clutch-hose by the slave-cylinder and don't allow a lot of air back into the system, then bleeding should be pretty straight forward, but if a fair bit of air does get back into the system or you are removing the master-cylinder then it can't be helped and a full bleed is needed. The trouble with a full bleed is that these systems are notorious for air locks, primarily in the master-cylinder, which can be tricky to dislodge and get fluid into.
The main drawback with a regular bleeding process, where the bleed-nipple is opened as the clutch is pumped, is that the bleed-screw is located half way up the transmission tunnel and very difficult to access with a wrench. This makes it difficult to quickly shut the bleed-valve, which is kind of essential for this process and air can get back in. If you are able to access the bleed-screw without difficulty or have some special tool designed for the job then regular clutch bleeding should work a charm with air locks and, though it may take a while, you will be on your way.
A pressure-bleeder may give the time needed to tighten the fiddly bleed-screw, but does not work to get rid of air locks and seems to bypass the master-cylinder completely, so I would avoid using one of these kits at all if there is a lot of air in the system. Some trapped air at the top of the system seems to want to exit through the reservoir anyway, so it's better not to cap it with a pressure-bleeder as it just does not seem to want to go with the flow. If you clamped the hose and only the slave-cylinder needs bleeding then a pressure-bleeder should do that in no time.
I found that a one-way valve bleed kit was the way forward. It prevents the return of air/fluid while the bleed-screw is left open and gives time to shut it when the process is complete. It leaves the reservoir open to be manually topped up, which shows precisely how much fluid is entering the system. This was the key, for me, to finally shifting the stuck air from the master-cylinder.

I have detailed the various techniques and problems below:

Location of Brake + Clutch Reservoir:

The brake/clutch reservoir is not very apparent in the engine-bay. It is located under the black panel in front of the windscreen on the driver's side of the car. Looking from the front, left-side for RHD cars and right-side for LHD. The opposite panel covers the climate-control entry-ducts.
The panel is held in place by 4 plastic clips, which can be removed by prising up the centre of the clip and then prising the base of the clip out with a panel-popper / trim-tool or a couple of flat-screwdrivers.
The fill-neck for the reservoir is right under the bonnet-hinge and pouring DOT4 in without spilling it can be tricky, so a funnel is a good idea when topping-up. I would recommend putting a towel around the reservoir also, as brake-fluid is not a nice thing to get everywhere and it is easy to over-fill. Special care should be taken when replacing the cap - the large plug that hangs under the cap will surely displace some fluid over the top of the reservoir as the cap is dropped in.

Bleed Nipple + Regular Bleeding:

Unlike BMWs of old, the bleed-nipple on the slave-cylinder is way up in the trans-tunnel and difficult to access with a regular spanner. Getting the spanner onto the bleed-screw is not a problem, but if the spanner has any length to it then no more than a few degrees of turning is possible and the valve cannot open enough. A short spanner, the one I used was about 4.5 inches long, has just about enough room to get the bleed-valve open a half-turn or more, but it is still a fiddly process, particularly with the car on low ramps and quickly shutting the valve can be tricky. This can allow air to get sucked back in before the valve is closed fully, as below.

Air Getting Sucked Back / One-Way Valve:

With only a few seconds to shut the bleed-nipple before air gets back in, I found the best solution to be a one-way valve bleed system. These are basic, widely available kits and just have a valve with a ball-bearing in the end, which sucks back and blocks the tube so no to air or fluid re-enters the bleed-nipple after each clutch stroke. At the least it makes the return of air and fluid very slow and that gives the vital time needed to shut the bleed-screw.
I used the Vizilbleed branded kit, left in the pic, and it worked brilliantly, with a soft rubber hose to fit over the nipple and a plastic collar that slides over it to make a tight seal. It also has a built-in bottle to catch fluid and, though the tube could do with being a bit longer, the kit is a bargain at £7 from Halfords. The kit on the right in the picture is even more basic, just a tube with a one-way valve at the end, but I am sure it works just as well. This Halfords branded kit was dearer at £10, but kits like these can be bought from eBay and Amazon for less.
The clutch takes a lot of pumping to get out air stuck in the master-cylinder next to the pedal and the fluid level in the reservoir needs topping-up constantly to ensure it properly fills. The section of reservoir dedicated to the clutch fills from quite high up in the bottle, so when topping up make sure you fill into the neck of the reservoir.
The one-way valve will prevent air getting back in, so the bleed-nipple can be left open and I found the best technique was to pump the clutch-pedal about 20 times, then top-up the reservoir. The level in the reservoir after the first 20 pumps should drop significantly and continue to draw more fluid after it is first filled, so make sure it is topped right up before pumping again. This should not take more than 2 or 3 goes and I found the amount of fluid that bled out of the slave-cylinder was less than I had poured in, meaning after a couple of failed bleed attempts I had finally got that stuck air out of the system.

Pressure Bleed Kit + Air Locks:

If you have clamped the clutch-hose and don't have a lot of air in the system or any air locks, then a pressure-bleed kit should work as normal. These kits, such as the Gunson Eezi-Bleed, work by pumping fluid in using air-pressure from one of the tyres. Problem is, if you do have air locks, particularly air in the master-cylinder by the pedal, then a pressure-bleed will not work to get rid of them. I found that the kit would just pump neat fluid directly through the system, giving the impression of an air-free system, but still leaving the master-cylinder full of air and no clutch-pedal. Even pumping the clutch while pressure-bleeding did not seem to clear the trapped air, I think because it wants to exit the system from the open reservoir and has been pushing against the incoming fluid pressure.
A 'reverse' pressure-bleed kit that builds up a vacuum and sucks the fluid through bleed-nipple as it is topped-up from the reservoir might be effective in getting rid of air locks, as the reservoir remains open and the fluid/air will be pulled down from the master-cylinder, rather than pumped straight past it, but I did not have chance to test one.

Back Filling + Clutch Delay-Valve (CDV):

I have seen many articles discussing back-filling of the BMW clutches to be the easiest way to clear all air from the system. This works by injecting/pumping fluid in through the bleed-nipple using a syringe or suitable pump and ejecting the air out the top of the reservoir. While this may work great for older models, modern BMWs have a slow-return valve fitted before the slave-cylinder [pictured]. This is known as the 'CDV' or Clutch Delay Valve and works by slowing the return of fluid to the master-cylinder when the clutch is engaged. This makes it impossible to dump the clutch too hard, as it ensures a nice soft engage every time. Flow from the master-cylinder to the slave-cylinder is unaffected, so the clutch releases as quickly as you like, it is just when fluid returns that it is slowed down. This is all wonderful technology, but throws its hand in when trying to back-fill the clutch to bleed it as you are pushing against the CDV.

F10 530d: Clutch Replacement [Manual 520d, 530d, 535d, F10, F11]

The clutch on my F10 has felt like it's on the way out for about a year now and over the last month or two I've noticed it starting to slip a few times, mainly when moving off in first gear with the car pointing uphill. Time to throw a new clutch in, one of my least favourite jobs and just as with everything on the 5 Series, way more involved a process than swapping a clutch into a Ford Focus. Even I was tempted to just leave the F10 with someone to do the clutch for me, but with quotes in the £1000 - £1500 range I figured it was better to bite the bullet and do it on the drive. Just as well too, as you can see from the pics to the right just how far gone the clutch was, with hardly any face left on the friction-plate and some lovely hot spots on the pressure-plate! Nice.

I'd love to say this job is the same as the E39/E60, which are pretty straight forward, but it is trickier due to updates in the car's design. The main difference is in the prop-shaft removal, the F10 requiring the rear gearbox-mount to be removed to access the bolts to the coupling. This makes it almost impossible to move the car to rotate the prop and access the top bolts, so a bit more ingenuity is needed. I also notice that the gearbox must be lowered in order to remove the slave-clyinder, which is wedged up in the trans-tunnel, something that was not necessary on the E39 and E60. The hose to the slave-cylinder also needs to be unplugged and fluid drained so the gearbox can be lowered. This is an added annoyance that BMW have engineered in here.

** Before you undertake this job yourself, it should be understood that 5-ers are complicated cars and a lot needs to be removed before the gearbox / clutch can be accessed. This is a short list...

• Main under-tray and both side trays.
• Exhaust.
• Two heat-shields.
• Brackets.
• Rear gearbox mount and bracket on back of gearbox.
• Propshaft coupling and centre-bearing.
• Starter-motor.
• Hose to slave-cylinder. [inc. refilling and bleeding of clutch].
• Only now can you remove the gearbox and swap the clutch...

But hey, if you have made it to this guide then chances are you aren't fazed by this kind of thing! So read on... the whole job can be done at home over a weekend by yourself, taking your time and enjoying yourself... or could be done in one day by two of you...

PROCESS:

** Disconnect the battery negative-terminal and put it safely out of the way. **

1. Remove the front belly-pan under-tray located below the engine and gearbox. It is held in place by 8mm screws all around the edges and a couple in the middle.

2. Remove the left and right middle under-trays. These are located under the sill on each side and held on by a lot of 8mm screws and some plastic clips.

3. Remove the centre cross-brace by undoing the eight 13mm bolts, four on each side. This is a steel plate that runs across from left-to-right near the back of the prop-shaft.

4. Remove the exhaust up to the down-pipe. First loosen the 16mm nut on the flange connecting it to the down-pipe at the front. There are then two rubber-hangers, one next to the rear-axle and one to the front of the back-box. A third rubber-hanger is located to the front of the exhaust, not far back from the down-pipe and this can be separated on its bracket by removing the two screws using an E10 double-hex (female-torx) socket. Finally there is a 13mm nut holding a bracket at the very back, up inside the rear-bumper. The exhaust can now be carefully lowered [watching the rubber-bush that has no purpose on the right of the back-box does not get caught in the bumper], worked free of the flange on the down-pipe and fully removed. If the car is high-up on a lift then you will likely need a second person for the last bit.

5. Remove the main heat-shield located above the exhaust. It is held on by several large, flat metal nuts that can be loosened with a 10mm wrench and then spun off by hand.

6. Remove the aluminium bracket that sits around the centre-bearing of the prop-shaft by undoing the two 8mm bolts holding it to the bearing and wiggling it free.

7a. Place a jack or suitable stand under the gearbox to support it so the rear mount can be removed. 

7b. Remove the rear gearbox mount by undoing the three 13mm bolts on each side holding it to the car and a single 13mm nut in the centre that holds it to the rubber-mount on the gearbox.

8a. Remove the braided electrical-earth strap at the back of the gearbox by undoing the 13mm nut attaching it to the body.

8b. Remove the bracket at the back of the gearbox that attaches it to the rear mount, by undoing the four bolts using a T55 Torx socket. Make sure the socket has good purchase here, as it can slip out easily and round the edges of the bolt-head.

9. Remove the 3 bolts holding the prop-shaft coupling (donut) to the back of the gearbox using an 18mm wrench on either side of the nut/bolt. The bolts on the upper side of the prop-coupling are difficult to get to up in the trans-tunnel. If the rear wheels are not lifted and the prop cannot be turned to get to the bolts, it is possible to get them with CV-joint type sockets as I did.

10. Undo the bracket holding the centre-bearing of the prop-shaft by removing the 13mm nut either side.

11. Uncouple the prop-shaft from the gearbox by pulling the centre-bearing down enough for the locating pin on the gearbox to be clear of the prop-coupling. The front of the prop can now be lowered and moved to the side. If you have the whole car raised on a lift, then you will need to support the front of the prop, or remove the rear coupling to the diff. and get someone else to help you lift it down.

12. Remove the live terminal from the starter-motor using a 13mm wrench and the earth-terminal using a 10mm wrench.

13. Remove the 3 screws holding the starter-motor to the engine using an E10 double-hex socket and work the starter-motor out from the gearbox.

14. Disconnect the reverse-light switch by depressing the metal wire-clip to remove the plug and unclip the wire along the gearbox.

15. Clamp the rubber-hose to the clutch slave-cylinder and disconnect the clutch-line where the slim metal tube enters the slave-cylinder. This is done by prising the metal-clip out of the connector with a small flat-screwdriver and pulling the rubber-seal out of the slave-cylinder. Don't worry too much if you cannot clamp the clutch-hose, but it will involve more bleeding later on, which is a nightmare.

16. Remove the four bolts from the lower half of the gearbox bell-housing attaching it to the sump using an E10 double-hex socket.

17. Remove the remaining 6 large bolts from the gearbox bell-housing holding it to the engine-block using an E12 double-hex socket. [As in diagram.] The 2 down each side of the bell-housing are easy enough to access, but the 2 at the top are quite tricky. There is no easy way to get them, so it might be worth feeling around the top of the gearbox with the socket only until it is on the bolt and then get the ratchet / extension bar or CV-jointed socket to them.



** CAUTION: The gearbox will now be loose and held to the engine only with the locating-pegs, so ensure it is safely supported! **

18. Gently prise the gearbox away from the engine until it is clear of the locating-pegs and held up only by the centre-spline. Rocking it side-to-side should also help here. Draw the gearbox back slowly until the centre-spline is clear of the clutch/flywheel and the gearbox can be safely lowered partially. ONLY LOWER IT ABOUT HALF WAY!

19. Disconnect the wiring-connector from the cars neutral-sensor, located at the top of the gearbox by reaching around the top while it is partially lowered and pressing in the plastic clip on the connector. Fully lowering the gearbox before disconnecting will stretch the wire and potentially snap it!

20. Fully lower the gearbox safely onto the ground.

21. The clutch is now accessible, bolted to the back of the flywheel at the back of the engine. The clutch is removed by undoing the 6 bolts around its circumference using a 6mm allen-key socket [shown in photo]. The clutch can now be prised away from the engine! Be careful the clutch does not drop at this point, so it is best to support it with one hand while loosening the final bolt.

22. Remove the release-module / bearing from the spline inside the gearbox bell-housing. The metal lever should be held in place on the opposite side to the slave-cyinder by a piece of metal-wire and after removing that it should easily pull off. [If your clutch-kit includes a new release-module that is - if you are not replacing this then leave the old one in place.]

RELAX! You are now half way through the job!

23. Clip the new bearing into the new release-module as per the clutch-kit instructions and refit it to the spline in the gearbox bell-housing, replacing the wire-clip.

24. Fit the new clutch friction-plate into the new pressure-plate and mount it to the back of the engine leaving the 6mm allen-bolts loose by a few turns so the friction-plate can be moved around inside, but will hold in position.

25. Use the correct clutch alignment-tool to centralise the clutch, or if you do not have one look directly into the centre bore of the clutch and centralise the friction-plate by hand. It does not have to be perfectly in the centre, so you can get it accurate within about 0.5mm by eye.

26. Fully tighten the 6mm all-bolts.

27. Partially raise the gearbox to leave a few inches clearance above it and reconnect the wire to the neutral-sensor.

28. Fully raise the gearbox so it is in line with the back of the engine and move it forward, guiding the centre-spline into the clutch. Rocking the gearbox left-to-right should locate the spline into the clutch plate without too much fuss and it should then be able to rotate into position to meet the locating studs. The main problem here is the height and pitch of the gearbox on the jack / gearbox-stand, so watch out for differences in the gap at the top and bottom of the bell-housing when marrying it up.

29. Reverse steps 17 to 7. For tightening-torques refer to this post - http://www.beemerlab.org/2018/11/bmw-tightening-torques.html

30. Bleed the clutch - if you clamped the hose you shouldn't have too much trouble bleeding it, but the nipple is difficult to access and it can be easy to let air back in, so I have devoted a post to my bleeding issues here - F10: Clutch Bleeding Guide... the whole nightmare! [Manual transmission / gearbox 520d, 530d, F10, F11, G07, E90, E92 3er etc.]

31. Reverse steps 6 to 1.

F10 530d: Front Shock Strut / Spring / Top-mount Replacement [GUIDE]

*Rear Strut-assembly Replacement Guide here - https://www.beemerlab.org/2020/12/f10-rear-shock-absorber-strut-spring.html*

My front shocks were certainly past their prime up front and over the last few months have really started to bottom out on certain speed bumps. I was also told one of the front top-mounts was starting to go on the last MOT and would probably be an issue next time round, so it was time to give the F10 a mini front-suspension overhaul.

I got hold of a pair of complete front struts taken from a 45k-mile car (I am told, but they are very clean) for just £240. All the parts new and spurious (including my through-work discount) would have been nigh on £400 and lots more from BMW. The used items are of course genuine, so quite a lot of money saved and the struts have turned out to be pretty good so it was a chance worth taking.


The guide I used is by hamanncheese on 5post.com and is pretty spot on, so props to him - I will reference his photos and try to elaborate a little on his instructions. [Original guide here: http://f10.5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=628336].


REMOVE / REPLACE STRUT:

1. Lift the car and remove the corresponding wheel.

2. Remove the nut holding the top of the anti-roll bar link to the shock-strut using an 18mm wrench. [The nut should come off without twisting the ball-joint, but you may need to insert a T40-Torx socket into the end of the stop it turning with the nut.] [If the stud is difficult to remove from the shock-strut, then using a second jack to lift the hub and prying the anti-roll bar downwards will certainly help.]

Pic courtesy: hamanncheese

3. Remove the lower strut bolt using an 18mm (bolt-head) and 21mm (nut) wrench.

Pic courtesy: hamanncheese

4. Remove the 3 bolts holding the top-mount to the shock-turret using a 13mm wrench.

Pic courtesy: hamanncheese

5. Push the hub down and lift the shock-strut until it clears the bottom-arm and can be removed. [Lift it over the bottom-arm towards the rear of the car. There is plenty of room to manoeuvre it out of the wheel well.] [As hamanncheese says, this step is easier with a helping hand, but can be done solo without much difficulty.]

6. Insert the new strut using the same technique as Step 5.

7. Refit the lower strut bolt first and screw the nut on a few turns. [A screwdriver or other long tool may be necessary to align the strut to the lower-arm.]

8. Refit the 3 top-mount bolts and tighten.

9. Fully tighten the lower strut-bolt.

10. Refit the anti-roll bar link to the strut.


ALIGN TOP MOUNTS:

If the top-mount holes do not line up with the shock-turret, [i.e. if they have been removed / replaced and not fitted in the correct alignment], then they will need rotating to the correct position. Spring-compressors are required.

1. Place the strut on its side with the ring-bracket resting on the floor [as in pic]. This is so it can be lined up against the one it is replacing.

2. Compress the spring on both sides, being careful to mount the spring-compressors so they do not foul the strut resting on the ring-bracket [as in below pic].

3. Loosen off the top mount nut using a deep 18mm socket, leaving it on a few threads.

4. Rotate the lower spring-pan by tapping it round using the notches [in pic]. A hammer and blunt chisel or large flat-head screwdriver will do nicely.

5. Re-tighten the top mount nut and de-compress the spring.


REPLACE SPRING / TOP-MOUNT:

1. Compress the spring on both sides using spring-compressors.

2. Remove the top-mount nut using a deep 18mm socket. [Stand to the side when the nut is fully removed as, even with the springs compressed, the top-mount may still come off with some force.]

*If you are only replacing the top-mount then skip Step 3.*

3. If you are replacing the spring, remove the old one from the strut and remove the spring compressors. Compress the new spring, place it over the strut and seat it in the lower spring-pan.

4. Fit the new top-mount, ensuring the spring is located in the upper spring-pan, replace the 18mm top-nut and fully tighten.

5. Remove the spring-compressors.