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Auaq's ///M5 | Operation: Suspension Overhaul | Fortune Auto 500 | Thayer Motorsport

21K views 81 replies 20 participants last post by  mrkevinhoang 
#1 ·
Decided to start a dedicated thread on my suspension overhaul for the M5. This thread will be mainly focusing on refreshing almost entire list of suspension items on the E39 chassis, which ones are going to be replaced and which ones are going to be discarded and in turn replaced by high quality aftermarket products, and which ones are going to be left stock for the time being unless if I get a good deal on it and eventually getting replaced. I also plan to reinforce the rear subframe as well. As you aware that a few owners have experienced not only the front cracked differential mounting bracket but other areas too due to the factory welds and the fact that a lot of torque is transferred to the rear end on a high powered car such as the M5. Consider the amount of stress and loads that are focused and distributed across every mounting points. Although the bushings are there for this very reason to absorb and dampen all the NVH, but when they fail the torque transfer and the shock wave in between gear shifts and the drive train during a WOT event can incur some serious damage. Every fasteners will be torqued down with the vehicle loaded and within the specs. It will then be taken to an alignment shop obviously and will strictly follow the guidelines laid down by BMW. Key things that will be focused on is the neutral setup of the car, it will be lowered but slightly, setting up the front and rear camber and toe adjustments where I intend to stick with the stock alignment specs unless if there is a feel and in need of slightly adjusting to accommodate or to balance out with the ride quality and the handling. The E39 was designed to have a very good positive caster in the front which kind of gives us a really good stability at really high speeds. Objective here is to achieve a neutral balance of the car. Reduce body roll, squat and dive, to reduce understeer and oversteer; hence, seeking for that overall neutral balance. Just want to have a fun car that gives out an outstanding feel, stable yet sublime, and an instant response overall. There will be plenty number of trials and test drives to find the best and the sweet spot by adjusting the ride quality from soft to hard by simple few click(s) on those adjusters. I will be updating this thread progressively when there's something to tell.

To give an idea for someone who is about to embark on a similar journey as this thread is, here's a brief, an in depth review of all the maintenance items that you ought to know about and how much they are going to cost. Keep in mind that I bought a lot of parts from ECS tuning while there are other sites where the you may find the price a little cheaper or reasonable. Also, I have no intention to buy any cheap brand parts but only quality that are equally good as OEM's.

Fronts

<table class="cms_table_outer_border" width="500" align="center"><tbody><tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">Parts Description
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">p/n
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">Quantity
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">Price ($)
</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">Curved Control Arm - Left</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">31121092609</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">1</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">143.83</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">Curved Control Arm - Right</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">31121092610</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">1</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">149.35</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">Straight Control Arm - Left</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">31121141961</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">1</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">117.87</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">Straight Control Arm - Right</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center"> 31121141962</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">1</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">127.76</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">Sway Bar End Links</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">31351095664</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">2</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">60.12 (30.06/ea)</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">Sway Bar Bushings</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">31352229544</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">2</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">48.42 (24.21/ea)</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">
</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">Total
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td" align="center">647.35
</td> </tr> </tbody></table>

Steering

<table class="cms_table_outer_border" width="500" align="center"><tbody><tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Parts Description
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">p/n
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Quantity
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Price ($)
</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Center Tie Rod</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">32211096059</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">1</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">228.30</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Idler Arm Assembly</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">32211141592</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">1</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">89.52</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Pitman Arm</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">32211141552</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">1</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">70.50</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Outer Tie Rod - Left</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td"> 32211091723</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">1</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">63.69</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Outer Tie Rod - Right</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">32211091724</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">1</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">63.69</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">
</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Total
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">515.70
</td> </tr> </tbody></table>

Rears

<table class="cms_table_outer_border" width="500" align="center"><tbody><tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Parts Description
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">p/n
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Quantity
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Price ($)
</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Rear Subframe Bushing</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td"> 33311091422</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">4</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">123.24 (30.81/ea)</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Front Differential Bushing</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">33171090389</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">1</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">26.88</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Rear Differential Bushing</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td"> 33171093008</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">1</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">19.15 (comes as pair)</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Integral Link</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td"> 33326770749</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">2</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">45.90 (22.95/ea)</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Ball Joint</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">33326767748</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">2</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">77.90 (38.95/ea)</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Rear Sway Bar Bushings</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">33552229604</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">2</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">19.52 (9.76/ea)</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Rear Sway Bar End Links</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">33551095532</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">2</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">84.74 (42.37/ea)</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">
</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Total
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">397.33
</td> </tr> </tbody></table>

Aftermarket Products

<table class="cms_table_outer_border" width="500" align="center"><tbody><tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Parts Description
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">p/n
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Quantity
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Price ($)
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Link
</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Thayer Motorsport Rear Control Arms</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">1</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">599.99</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">http://thayermotorsports.com/collect...djustable-arms</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Fortune Auto 500 Coilovers</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">1</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">1349.00</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">http://thayermotorsports.com/collect...ant=3739556737</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Beast Power Rear Sway Bar Brackets</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">1</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">119.00</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">BeastPower BMW E39 5 Series Rear Sway Bar Brackets - Red: BeastPower Motorsports, Inc.</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">
</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Total
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">2067.99
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">
</td> </tr> </tbody></table>

Special Tools

<table class="cms_table_outer_border" width="500" align="center"><tbody><tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Parts Description
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">p/n
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Price ($)
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Link
</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Ball Joint Removal Tool</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">33326767748</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">72.24</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">http://www.ebay.com/itm/271934525860...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Rear Subframe Bushing Tool</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">9112</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">189.56</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">http://www.ebay.com/itm/221626863191...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">*Differential Bushing Tool</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">TBD</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">TBD</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">TBD</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">
</td> </tr> <tr class="cms_table_outer_border_tr" valign="top"><td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">Total
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">261.80
</td> <td class="cms_table_outer_border_td">
</td> </tr> </tbody></table>


Total investment so far worth of around $3890.17
I did not add any shipping charges here but if I did I'm pretty sure it might exceed well over $4k.

Currently, I'm sticking to the stock front and rear sway bars unless if I come across a set of either Dinan or Eibach for a good price then I'll swap those out. Also, the rear lower control arm will be reused. Those arms are expensive near about $400 or more. BMW does not sell any separate bushings for the arm but you can get Power Flex bushings for it. I haven't decided yet on this but will let you know. I still have to order the front control arms and the center link along with the front sway bar bushings and then I'll be set to commence suspension overhaul. Once I do have everything I'll try to find the best possible weekend and will start taking pictures and posting it here. In the meantime, I'm going to repost some of the pictures from the other thread and post it here again. Everything is going to be documented here.

Rear End parts along with Thayer Motorsport Control Arms















Beast Power brackets





Fortune Auto 500 Coilovers















Enjoy!
 
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16
#8 ·
Sincere apologies guys. I had completely forgotten about this thread in this forum since I'm mostly active over at bf.c. Unfortunately, I haven't started up on this suspension rebuild yet (yes, lame excuse!), I will hopefully be starting this coming October. Have been collecting the last few parts I needed to commence on this entire, complete overhaul.

Rontget - I did not specify any rates from Fortune Auto's as they have already been rated for our E39's. The fronts are 8k and the rears 5k. Although I'm pretty sure you can request your own specifications.

If you are still interested to know how these coilovers perform you can get a brief review from forum members like Clay (M5Hunter over at Bf.c and over here he's known by the name 357i I think) and Brandon (RVAE34 on both his touring and his E38). There are other few members that I know of who are running these coilovers and their thoughts are that these are fantastic. They ride superb, not harsh at all, or too soft (although you can adjust it the way you want), ride height doesn't affect the operation of these coilovers as they are designed differently or so I should say they are designed as two pieces that do not interfere in between operation. The ride height is separate adjustment while the shock adjustment is also separate. So, you can alter either ride quality without affecting the ride height, or lower the car without changing the shock adjustment.

So, once again, sincere apologies for not updating this thread.
 
#9 ·
Day 1


Finally started working on this suspension refresh. With the help of my friend we jacked up the car last evening pretty high enough to give me plenty of room underneath it. Started working around 9:30am today and finished it by 4pm. I decided to tackle the front end first before I do the rear. With the limited space and with not much light back there it would have been difficult to work around in this environment. I would say that everything went pretty smoothly except for the fact some of those tapered sleeves came out together with the control arms (see pics below). All passenger sides are still stuck to the ball joints while surprisingly the driver side didn't and stayed in the steering knuckle. Plan for tomorrow is to separate those sleeves somehow without breaking or cracking them. I bought a four piece three jaw puller kit from Northern Tools and I hope that I can use that to get it off. I also pulled out the entire steering linkages. I will have to buy a sand paper to clean up the splines and some surface rust/debris on the steering box and in the steering knuckle. I already have a wire brush. It is best advise to disconnect the sway bar and the links to make the job much easier especially when removing the center link and the idler/pitman arms.

Note that I have not dropped the struts yet, but will do so tomorrow. Also, I plan to sell them once they're out. The front ones are still in great shape. The front ride height is stock M5 ride height while the rear springs have a little sag, so they sit a little low compared to the front. If anybody is interested in purchasing a set of M5 struts with springs, front + rear, then let me know. I'll be selling them pretty soon.

After I had all the parts out of the car and laid to the ground, I inspected all the ball joints on the control arms and on the outer tie rods. They felt loose alright, still had some resistance in 'em while some didn't, but no free play which I kind of expected it. Otherwise, I would have known by listening to sounds like 'thud' or slight 'knocking' at slow speeds. I checked the bushings too and apparently they were still looking great but there were initial signs of cracks at few spots around. It didn't seem to have penetrated throughout the bushings yet. I think they would have lasted for probably another 30k -50k mi. Perhaps the previous owner might have replaced them at some point before me. I haven't checked the sway bar bushings yet, but a quick glance at it looked like they were still good. Either ways, in the end, they're all going to be replaced.

Enjoy the pics!





Took a quick snap of this shot to remind myself which brake caliper bracket bolt goes to where ... but it seems obvious due to length which one goes to where.




Everything is out from the passenger side.


And same thing over the driver side. Note that I used a couple of zip ties to hold the brake caliper to the spring. You never let the heavy caliper hang by itself. Otherwise, the brake line will be under severe stress due to the weight; causing it to get kinked and tear at the crimped end and start to leak in the future. Also, all the brake wear sensor, ABS sensor, the ride height sensor (only on the passenger side) were disconnected prior to any parts removal.


Everything then laid down on the ground.


The driver side.


Passenger side.


The metal sleeves still attached to the passenger side (left in the pic) ball joint.


The steering linkages.


A bit of pounding and the control arms pop off from the knuckle. Some of you might be thinking that this isn't a great idea to pound on the aluminum knuckle like how I did, but because of limited space, working on my back, tight reach and the design of this knuckle, it is hard to pop them off not without a little bit of shock load from the hammer to un-freeze it from sitting/loaded/torqued all these years and with 176k mi on it. This is the driver side and sleeves are still intact as you can see.


Passenger side.


And done for today!








That gap though!
 
#14 ·
Note that I have not dropped the struts yet, but will do so tomorrow. Also, I plan to sell them once they're out. The front ones are still in great shape. The front ride height is stock M5 ride height... If anybody is interested in purchasing a set of M5 struts with springs, front + rear, then let me know. I'll be selling them pretty soon.
Nice update.
I might be interested in the front pair if you split them. Let me know.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Okay, I've got three good news and one bad news. So which one would you like to hea- .... meh, forget it.

So, I took those arms and the tie rods today at my buddy's work to get those sleeves / collar spacers off. We used the 20ton press tool and a bearing splitter of small size, and it worked beautifully. It made a loud sound - 'BANG' - and out those sleeves came out without any scratch or visible or physical damage. I only had to get four of these off. Got the first three but unfortunately the last one from the passenger side tie rod, we managed to crack the lip nearly half way around. The main part of the sleeve isn't damaged but the lip sheared off. Me and my buddy got a little careless, distracting ourselves with our little conversation, while we were pumping down on the press and not watching. Great!


Now at this point it honestly doesn't look that bad (will post pic later) and that it is probably usable. Keep in mind that the main sleeve really matters here and not much of that lip. Inside the bore of the steering knuckle, there's a base in there that holds the sleeve in place. It won't come out the other way nor will it drop/slip out down when the new tie rod is bolted back in the knuckle. It's going to stay in there and the torque specs isn't really going to change or have any effect on it. Think of this sleeve as some kind of a washer, really. So, I don't think this will hurt or stop me from doing any work from now. I could put it back in and start installing the new hardware. However, if you guys think that there's more to it than what it is, then I'm all open to your opinions and what should I do.





 
#13 ·
A couple of updates here. I took the sleeve to Hamilton Machine Works to repair for $30 and they did a wonderful job and it now kind of looks like brand new.

Anyways, here's the latest progress from today's work.

Day 3

So I had begun installing the steering bits first since that was the first thing I wanted to tackle. The sway bar being still disconnected made it easier to install the idler and the pitman arm and slide in the centre link. I also cleaned up the pitman shaft on the steering box with a wire brush and the sprayed a little bit of brake cleaner, and then finally with a little bit of WD-40 to prevent any rust formation. Then proceeded with installing one of the control arms. The radius arms were a bit tricky to install because of the long bolt that goes in from the engine side towards the back. Also, the fact that the centre link and the sway bar were in the way it was challenging to slide/insert the bolt. You have to turn the steering wheel to a certain point to give you enough room, then hold it, move the sway bar out of the way, and then it goes in. But then I had to stop and hold the bolt while I tried to push in the control arm into position. Anyways, I managed to bolt that one up. I had to do the same thing on the other side; turn the steering wheel to a certain degree, hold it, get underneath the car, hold and push the sway bar to the side, and then slide in the bolt along with installing the control arm. A bit time consuming but with a little bit of patience and everything went in smoothly. Next I installed the tie rods. I counted the number of threads off of the old ones and applied the same number of turns on both sides. The driver side counted between 8-9 threads while the passenger side about 5-6 threads. Done. The entire steering system was thus installed. Every bolt/nuts were tightened up. Haven't torqued them to their specs but they're tight for now. Lastly, the thrust arms went in which was pretty easy. Next thing on the list was to pull out the Fortune Auto 500 coilovers and lay it on the ground on a clean bubble wrap, so as to not scratch it!











Someone said that swapping in this little thing onto the new arm wasn't an easy job. I didn't think it was that hard to be honest. A little of patience and a bit of persuasion, it snapped right in.


At this point, I decided to take a break and called Hamilton Machine Works to find out about my repaired sleeve. The guy said to come on over and pick it up. Got there and the sleeve looked like brand new (see pics below). He did a wonderful job with it and he asked me to pay only $30 instead of the said $40. After the weld, he had put it on the lathe and turned it to the stock size and cleaned it up as well. I said many thanks and goodbye. I asked him if he can help me out with my rear subframe reinforcement and he said to bring it over when I get the chance and he'll have a quick look at it and see what he can do. Sweet!





In an hour, I drove back to my cutelittestoragewrenchfestunit to resume work. I pulled out the instruction manuals and read the entire thing twice. Checked all the tools it had come with. Two different size adjustment spanners and two different size allen keys/wrench, and a Fortune Auto sticker as well. Hmm ... where should I put the sticker? The instructions and the information about the ride height and the spring pre-load were pretty straight forward but I decided to read on what gmak had to do and any difficulty he may have faced. After spending about 30min going back and forth between what the manual said and what gmak had to do, I had a fair understanding of how to proceed with tension or pre-loading the spring and how the ride height mechanism works. Before doing anything, I wanted to make sure every 'rings' were freely turning and that they had no binding at all, played around with the lower barrel too to see if they were going up and down as per its design. Just wanted to do a preliminary check before attempting to do any actual adjustment. Everything seemed to be functioning properly.



The Pre-load. The manual instructed to first measure the uncompressed length of the spring which should be about 7 inches or so, and then compress it about 1/4" only for the front springs while the rears to be 1/8" only. I backed out the first 'ring' enough to move or free the spring from any contact, so that it is in relaxed state and I can measure its length. Turned out to be just slightly more than 7 inches. I then begin to turn the first ring upwards to begin the pre-load. With this you should a total length of 6 3/4" but it appears that gmak decided to compress it furthermore to a total length of 6 3/8" after he heard some noises (presuming spring binding) on a quick test drive. I decided to go for a 1/2" compression for now a total length of 6 1/2". The spring felt pretty tight and wasn't turning/moving anymore. Using the provided adjustment spanners I turned the second ring upwards to mate up with the first ring. You then have to wedge them together tight as much as possible by hands first before using a flat head screw driver and a hammer to hit on the second ring to truly lock in (more like fuse in) with the first ring. This process secures and locks them together and prevents the spring to loose or gain tension anymore. That's it, the first part is over.

The Ride height. If you notice in the pics below there are actually three rings on these coilovers. I've already talked about the first two. The third or the lower one merely serves no real function. Except to lock the desired ride height after the adjustments have been made. Turning it upwards or downwards doesn't really change anything nor does it tamper with the spring adjustment nor the shock's adjustment (referring to ride quality by turning the knob right or left on top for few clicks). Once the height adjustments have been made, you turn the ring downwards and by using the provided spanner you wedge it against the lower barrel tightly as much as you can with your hand, and then using the same process with a flat head screw driver and the hammer, you tap it hard enough to lock it in place. This way it won't change anything from this point forward. The entire shock absorber now becomes one whole solid piece. So, then how do you change the right height? Simple. Once installed and seated fully in the steering kuckle and the pinch bolt torqued down and the lower ring loosened, you can go back to the first ring and using the spanner again you can now go ahead and alter the height to your desired preferences. Remember that the first two rings are interlocked with one another, so technically you're now moving the lower threaded barrel up or down while the spring is not affected at all. Note! Do not touch or mess around with the second ring at all; otherwise, you will break it loose from the first ring and this will tamper your spring tension. Turn the first ring upwards, you reduce the length of the barrel or you are actually lowering it; turn it downwards and you are now increasing the length of it or raising the ride height. This is how you do it. So, as long as you have thoroughly read and understood the guidelines and the procedures, you shouldn't encounter any issues with this.





I hope that I have installed this in the correct orientation as the manual didn't mention any direction in how are these installed, but I think it doesn't really matter because of the varying degree of camber adjustment.


It's nice to know that I can still retain the dust cap back on there.


What it looks like.




In the manual, it mentioned something about keeping a minimum of 50mm thread spread between the second ring and the lower ring, for the ride height on the lower barrel for MacPherson strut design while for SLA design (Short Long Arm suspension) they had a different reference number. Since we have the multi link MacPherson design I went with the 50mm gap between the two perches. Once the brake caliper was reinstalled I went ahead and tightened up every nuts and bolts, and put on the wheel to see where or how they line up with the fender well. I used my measuring tape to find 23 1/4" from the lowest point of the rim to the highest point of the fender. Currently, the wheel sits straight up and kind of flushes in with the fender well so good that I think if I lower the front end to the ground I may end up having it slammed in pretty bad. I think I will readjust it tomorrow and increase the ride height to a further 4-5 inches and see how it looks. Of course, I will be fiddling with it a lot till I find the sweet spot. Till then it's just trial and errors.









Tomorrow I will finish up the driver side, recheck all the fasteners and torque them, then carefully lower the front end to the ground and take it out for a quick test drive around the block. Will report back any interesting thing I may find.

That's it for today. Enjoy!
 
#16 ·
Day 4

Alright, so today I had to rework or readjusted the passenger side ride height and also finished up installing the driver side steering knuckle and attaching all the suspension bits and the tie rod as well. Everything has been torqued down except for the bushings only. They were left just loose. I'm truly limited with the space constraint over at the driver side and it was quite a pain to work around in that environment; trying to install or slide up the knuckle onto the coilover. I had to sit down and use both my legs to hold the knuckle in place while I started tightening the pinch bolt. Inspite of it being made out of aluminum, that thing is still heavy primarily because of the disc brake still fastened to the hub. I applied the same anti-seize on the insides of the sleeves and also cleaned up the strut bore, and sprayed WD-40 on the barrel to slide it in with ease. I lightly sprayed the jam nuts too with WD-40 to torque them down.

Readjustment. I decided to the use the gap between the second and the third ring as my reference point for the ride height. After fiddling around for an hour or two, turning up and down the ring, raising it up and then lowering it, the wheel going back on and then coming off a couple of times, taking the measurement from the bottom of the rim to the fender lip up top, I finally stopped at a point that I think should now work properly without smashing into the wheel well once dropped to the ground. The gap between the two rings were approximately 95mm instead of 50mm that I had previously. In free air, I measured it standing 24 3/4" between the rim and the fender lip. It's a possibility that this may not be enough yet but it is also possible that the shocks aren't going to go under too much compression like the stock one does (as it hits the ground) and that it may actually hold it there and have enough space around it. I'm hoping that it may only compress by another inch or two. Probably less than that. We will see.

Driver side and finishing up the front end. I did the same thing with pre-loading the spring and attained 6 1/2" of total length for driver side. Locked the first two rings and mounted it to the strut tower, and torqued the three nuts altogether. I left the third ring loose but turned the lower barrel down and stopped at that approximate 95mm. Slid in the knuckle and the pinch bolt tightened; securely holding it. Quickly installed the arms and the tie rods as well. Brake caliper mounted back as well. Lastly, the sway bar link was installed too. I just remembered while typing this I have forgotten to torque the tie rod adjustment bolt (not the ball joint nut) and also have to reconnect the ABS sensor and the brake wear sensor too. Will do that tomorrow morning and will go over every fasteners once more to ensure everything has been checked out a-okay. Installed the wheel and started taking measurements again. Because I didn't had to spend more time on fiddling around with the rings/adjustments, it took me around 30 minutes or so and mostly three tries before I had the same rim-fender measurement of about 24 and slightly (minutely) more than 3/4". I was done at this point and pretty much done for today. Locked the third ring with the lower barrel and finally installed the wheel back on. Last thing that had to be installed were the new sway bar bushings which gave me some difficulties in installing them. Lightly sprayed WD-40 on the inside but it won't sit properly in the groove for some reason or another. Also, the brackets have a tiny hole in the middle to keep the bushings aligned in the center, but it still won't sit in properly all the way. It was getting dark at this point and decided to call it a day. I was tired and was feeling hungry.

I'm hoping to have my friend come on over and lend me some help. Tomorrow, hopefully I'll take it out for a test drive and keep playing around with adjustments and also not to forget to torque down the control arm bushings. I'm feeling pretty excited.

And now the pics ...

Gap is now ~ 95mm b/w the 2nd and 3rd ring on both sides.


Used this as one of my alternative reference points.


Looking much better with the bigger gap.


After final adjustments were made. (Passenger side)


Driver side.


Enjoy!
 
#17 ·
Day 5

Today was the end of Chapter I: Front End Overhaul.

Continued where I left off last time around. If you remember, I was having some difficulty in installing the new sway bar bushings. It wouldn't fit in the groove nor was I able to align it with the hole on the brackets. However, today in broad daylight, I took them out to inspect what on earth was going on. It appears that it was the rust surface that prevented me from pushing it into the groove and fully seating it in. Grabbed my soft steel wire brush and started scrubbing it in there to clean all that surface rust that had build up over the years. Had to cover my face and avoided breathing all that rust particles in the air. After a while, it felt smooth and better than before. I also scrubbed around the stud where the brackets and the nuts go into. Sprayed brake cleaner in there and then waited to let it dry before I sprayed WD-40. In the meantime, I grabbed the bracket and did the same thing with it. A lot of scrubbing, cleaning, wiping, sprayed brake cleaner, and then wiped it off before I finally sprayed WD-40 for the final time. I also applied a light coat of WD-40 all around the bushing and inside to make it easier to slide it in and sit in the groove and be properly aligned. Installed them back together and went in like a charm.



Next I had to go back to readjust the ride height and fiddle around with it a couple of more times to attain a height of about 15" or so gap/spread from rim-to-fender on both sides while still in the air. Once I was satisfied with it, I went back underneath the car for the final time to do a last preliminary check of every fasteners that I could look out for or think about, before finally lowering the car to the ground for the first time. Also, I turned the steering wheel back and forth from lock to lock to make sure the springs were settled in and not binding; making sure that nothing felt loose or actually binding, nor any noises were heard.





Because the car was jacked up pretty high I was afraid to let one side touch the ground all the way while the other side still hanging up in the air. I felt that I may put too much load on it and may possibly damage something or was expecting something to happen. So, basically, I simply jacked up the car even higher to the point that I could finally drop the safety jacks to its lowest level, and then slowly bring the car back down onto the safety jacks once more. Once that was done, I then jacked one side only and removed the safety jack out of the way, and finally lowered the car. Touchdown! Didn't hear any unusual noises, as it started to compress the damper. Proceeded to the other side and repeated the same step and everything went pretty smoothly. It was then time to start it up and slowly drive the rear wheels off the ramps in the back and out of the storage unit. As I start to move forward I heard a little bit of the spring settling and moving about. Still driving at low speed, I was turning the wheel slowly from left-to-right-to-left. Was doing this for a couple of time around the block to make sure everything felt solid, no noises heard, springs settling in, brakes working, suspension settling in as well. Everything seemed to be working great. Stopped back at the unit to check my now current ride height and it measured 13 3/8". It appeared that my driver side was sitting slightly lower than the passenger side. I would probably say about 1/4" or so. I didn't feel like going back inside and readjust it once more since it looked like it was a negligible difference that it wouldn't affect the ride quality ... * but I was wrong about which I'll explain it later on. The only thing that was left to do was to torque those control arm bushings. However, my friend came over and we decided to get some lunch, and I drove my car all the way with fairly tightened bolts/nuts. My plan was to drive it around so as to relax/settle the arms in.






The Initial Impression. During the trip, the damper settings were left alone. About 5 clicks away from full soft. Fortune Auto have actually stated this in their manual and is delivered like that to the customer. I found that 5 clicks behaved exactly like the stock dampers. It felt comfortable but it had also introduced a new kind of experience. What initially felt like something was groaning or grinding, or something was loose, was nothing more than the fact I was feeling the very fine detail of the tarmac. The tiniest bit of the bumps or elevation changes or going over some rough surfaces of the road, all that vibrations/feelings were sent directly to the driver. I felt it in the floor and a little bit in the steering wheel too. Driving over any of the potholes felt exactly how the stock dampers would behave. Honestly, to me it felt no different than driving stock ones. It was just this additional 'feature' (if you like) I thought was interesting. So, did I liked it? Actually, no, not really. Although it drove pretty smooth but this new experience was kind of annoying in a way. My senses still thought that something was loose, which it wasn't, and this would just bother me all the time if I leave it like as it is. Another thing is that when I intentionally try to drive over some bumpy sections of the road and some pretty bad potholes we have on certain stretch of I-40, it felt terrible. It felt like it was bottoming out and sending out a really bad shock wave to the cabin. I didn't like that. Changes were in due once we would return from our break.

* Going back to the slightly different ride height between the front axles, I found out that the car would tend to steer to the right when going in a straight line. My toe isn't perfect right now nor is any of my alignment specs, so keep that in mind. I just got it fairly close to where the previous settings were with all the old suspension. I didn't even touch the camber plates either. Currently they appear to be dialed out at exact zero degrees from Fortune Auto (refer to the strut mount pics and you'll understand).

Upon returning, I went ahead to jack the front end up outside the unit and get equal ride height on both sides. Also, decided to raise it a little bit to about perfect 16" in air. I didn't like the drop it had initially. The control arms were finally torqued down as well. Dropped the car to the ground and I now have an exact 14 1/4" from rim-to-fender on both sides. Took it out for a quick test drive and no more leaning to the right so far.












Damper settings. Decided to change the damper settings. Turned the knob to about 9 clicks from full soft setting and went out on the same route I took before to take note on the new driving experience. This setting felt much much better than it did at only 5 clicks. The ride felt very firm, yet comfortable, but more stable, soaking up the bumps even better than before. I intentionally drove on small and big potholes that I could find anywhere across the lanes. Even the manholes covers! The steering felt a lot sharper and more responsive too. Drove it in the 45mph zone and upto 80-90mph on the highway. I was enjoying this. There was less body roll at right/left hand turns too and I was able to take those turns at greater speeds too. This 9 click setting really gives a superb ride and I think this would be my reference point of how soft or hard ride do I want to go. There were few moments where I felt it didn't handle some of the worst sections and felt slightly unstable. It doesn't do it all the time but only at the worst ones. Overall, a great and a superb ride.

Came back to check everything. Turned the steering wheel from lock to lock as well. No issues so far. Decided to now try 13 clicks and went out for another drive. Immediately, I felt this ride to be much, much more firmer than how it was back at 9 clicks only. However, I felt it to be way too firm - overly firm - is how I would describe it. This was the beginning of hard/harsh ride as soon as I got onto the highway following the same path I've been taking everytime. Was it still comfortable? Don't think so, as I had lost some of it. There were instances where I felt the car hitting the bad roads pretty hard and the entire dashboard kind of making noises too. The entire cabin was getting a jolt from it. This setting may perhaps be good for some track events but no way for daily driving. Pretty sure my family is going to dislike this one, no doubt about it. Will have to revert back to softer setting.

Final thoughts. So after playing around with these settings, I came to the conclusion that the most ideal number I should be looking for is somewhere in between 9 and 13. I didn't like 13 so I won't even like the 12, but I really loved 9, so perhaps number 11 is what I should be aiming for. I believe that this will be the best compromise between absolute firm, stable ride while still retaining the best of comfort as well. Not only for me but also for the passengers too. I didn't go out for a final test drive with this setting, as my mind tells me this should be it and I don't need to go out again.

Some more shots.










Next Chapter. Now that the front end is done (hopefully), it is time to move onto the rear assembly. This one is going to take even longer because there are more parts that are going to be replaced. The subframe is going to be dropped, Thayer Motorsport arms will be going in. The rear parcel shelf will have to removed for access, to drop the struts. Thankfully, I have the folded rear seats in this M5, so it shouldn't take that long to pull everything out from up top. Oh, yes! The exhaust will have to be dropped too. Will have to get some new bolts/nuts/washers for the exhaust since they're all rusty and are going to break at catalytic converter side when I break 'em loose. Will be taking the subframe to Hamilton Machine Works again and see what they can do about reinforcing it.

I'm definitely looking forward to that.

Enjoy!
 
#18 ·
A little update or a review on 11 clicks. Drove the car to college today with 11 clicks on the settings and I'm thinking of going back one click to 10. It just didn't feel comfortable enough. The problem is that this is still too early to judge anything right now on ride quality and trying to set on just one settings and be done with it. The car still wanders a bit to the right. I feel like the tyres don't have an even contact patch on the road, feels like it's riding on outer toe only, the tyres ride harder now, and they also ride louder. I honestly don't know what the current camber settings are and I don't want to mess around with it not till come alignment day. They've been set at exactly middle on the plates or 'zero' degrees I believe from FA. I didn't work on the car today, or even jack the rear end up, and prepare disassembling everything. So, I'm going to leave the front end alone for the time being before I want to do anything else to it. I'm just going to focus on the rear end, stick to suggested spring pre-load; and then in the following order set the ride height to my preferences and equally between the front and the rear, then do the alignment, and then play around with damper settings. I think that if I were to skip this order or do things randomly it will definitely affect my toe and camber specs. Talking about alignment specs I would like to retain stock specs or basically have near 'zero' or close to zero specs on toe and camber adjustments. Can anyone find out what the alignment specs are for a stock M5? This might give me an idea on what I should aim for.
 
#20 ·
Day 6

Chapter II: The ///Mighty Rear End.

The day started out with an overcast and rain all day long. Temps I believe were in the early to mid 70's, so it was a slightly cool day for us here in NC. Nevertheless, it was time to align the car inside the unit, equidistant from the walls making it easy working around the vehicle, and have enough gap upfront and in the rear without interfering with the garage door when pulling it down. I had to pull a lot of stuff out of the garage first and even drag my toolbox outside to judge the given space I have in this 10'x20' storage unit. Two-three tries, driving it back and forth, a little bit to the left and then to the right, and it was spot on. Right in the middle and right where I wanted it to be. Put the ramps behind the rear wheels and slowly backed up on it. Pulled the handbrake, stepped outside to make sure the garage door would easily close, and it did. Put the gear into reverse for safety measure. Brought over the hydraulic jack underneath the rear axle and had to lift one axle at a time. I did not use the diff itself to jack up the rear end. No, never attempt this! Because the ramps were in the way, I couldn't use the lifting pads in front of the rear wheels, so I used the lower swing control arm as my lifting point. Seeing that this is a beefy part of the suspension design I shouldn't have any problems in lifting it up. Started pumping on the hydraulic jack and slowly up went the left axle; the wheels then beginning to leave the ramps. Dragged the ramp out of the way and slid in the safety jack and pulled up the arm high enough to touch the lifting pad. Kept on pumping till I had about 6 teeth visible past the safety lock. Slowly dropped it down and the chassis was now resting on the safety jack. Moved over to the other side and repeated the same procedure. The rear end was now high up in the air and stable too.

In order to the drop the entire rear end, one would have to drop the entire exhaust. This meant that I had to go back up front and jack the front end up in the air, so that I can crawl underneath the car, and access to the exhaust nuts and bolts. Also, this would give me plenty of room to work underneath the car. Same number of teeth on the front jacks and the car was at the same level as the rear. Time to bring everything back inside and reorganize my tools. Believe it or not, but this took me like an hour or two, and it was kind of tiring enough that I had to take a short break.
















(Note that I didn't do any actual suspension work today but preparations were first needed to tackle it later on)

The Rear Parcel Shelf. I was thinking whether to pull the wheels off, or drop the exhausts, or remove the parcel shelf first. Seeing that it was still raining outside and my clothes getting a little wet and dirty here there, I didn't feel like bringing more crap inside the car if I were to first start wrenching underneath it. Hence, parcel shelf it was. I'm kind of lucky to have the folded down rear seats as this made the job relatively easier and quicker too. Removed the lower seats and pulled it out of the car. Placed it on top of the hood, as there was no space to put it somewhere else and didn't wanted to get it dirty either. On the side bolsters, I simply grabbed the very top of it with the fingers and with some brute force I pulled it towards myself. There was a 10mm bolt at the very bottom of it which was also removed.

Hmm .... what is that?


Interesting ... Anybody knows them? Are they your friends?






Somebody was here ...


This sticky pen left a perfectly shaped indentation on the underside of this seat.


Had to clean up a lot of crap stuff that was buried under the seat for who knows how long. It felt sticky and kind of gooey.


Next thing was to remove the side lamps. I used a small flat head screwdriver and pulled out the lamp assembly and disconnected the plug. Hidden behind it were two short 8mm bolts. Removed those and then using the screwdriver again I had to gently pry one of the clips that holds the trim to the pillar that snaps in place. There were two clips only on each trim on both sides. Tried not to break them and thankfully I did not.





Next I moved onto a long plastic trim that extends from one side of the seat all the way to the other end. Mind you this plastic trim is pretty flimsy and can easily break if one doesn't handle it with care. However, there are a total of 6 black clips that holds it and secures the main shelf to the upper part of the chassis. These are the same clips that you can find on the fan shroud and in other places as well. These clips are typically tight to pull them out. I simply used my dice cutter to gently grab the centre pin and gently pried it out. Then using a small angled pick tool I poked inside the centre of these clips, and slowly twisted them and pulled them at the same time. The clips popped out with ease. All six of 'em. I also had to remove the two seat hooks that holds the back seats against it; otherwise, I was unable to drop the entire trim out of there. An allen socket of size 8, a quick wrenching, and out came the hooks and finally the entire trim piece.





Found me a penny. Lucky!!






Next thing were to remove the three 13mm bolts on top of the shelf hidden under the small plastic covers. After that, the entire shelf was free to come out. A little bit of pulling one side at a time and the shelf was out; thus, revealing some interesting details. The molds, added material for sound deadening or to reduce cabin noises, the speakers and the large Nokia subwoofers, the airbags deep at the corner ends.





Showing the hooks here and how the shelf sits back there ...


... in those hooks.


To access the strut mount nuts for the rear shocks one must pull the rear speakers since it's buried underneath it. Disconnected the plug on both sides, removed two screws from both speakers and put them in the trunk. Any parts that were removed were eventually put in the trunk although some of the bolts/nuts were stored in the pockets of door panels. The mold was then pulled up and the shock mounts were right there.









There's a protective rubber boot on top of the shocks.


Pull it out and there it is.


Bunch of stuff laying around.




Anybody knows what is this thing? Presumably a speaker for the PDC?


All in all this probably took me about 45 minutes to pull everything apart. Honestly, not really a hard job. It simply requires some patience and with some careful handling and everything works out smoothly.

I was pretty much done for the day. Took the trash out, cleaned up the garage and before leaving, I grabbed my PB Blaster and sprayed a heck of it onto the exhaust nuts + bolts at the cats, at the O2 sensors, even on the EGT (Exhaust Gas Temperature) sensor, and the support bracket or the track rod in the rear. Hopefully, they'll free up by the time I come back tomorrow they'll break loose easily. Keeping my fingers crossed. May have to purchase a bottle of propane torch.

In the meantime, here are some random pictures after cleaning up and organizing all the tools and stuff laying around.





The mess.


After clean up.


Enjoy!
 
#23 ·
Thanks.

Not to rain on this parade but I have to say your current impression/comments on the coilovers are probably skewed (i know right, what a thing to say! :eek).

I remember when I first got my Bilstein PSS9 & even my current Koni + Dinan setup. The initial feel of new suspension is VERY nice, and one would confuse it for OE, but that's because the suspension has still not settled in and you likely went cruising on the highway (...because who would take their brand new sport suspension on a 5 mph cruise on cobble stones?!).

Once the suspension finally settles you will undoubtedly feel the difference between the Fortune and the OE. All that feedback you described will continue to become more and more pronounced. If you live somewhere with excellent road surfaces then you'll probably live with it, but I feel the need to point this out because when I first started looking for suspensions, I saw nothing but the same "...feels just like OE!!!..." reviews and those are probably no longer accurate. So every time I see a new suspension thread I'm inclined to get in there and give the other side of running coilovers.


I forgot if it was member Lscman or someone else, but their comment was the most accurate and best advice I've seen yet. I'm paraphrasing a bit but:





As for your tram-lining, I doubt it's the wear on the tires. It's probably a combination of Coilovers, Toe, and Trust angle (since you didn't change the rear suspension).
I know what you mean. This was my first time experience with coilovers and my first time observations as well. Keep in mind that the car is in an 'unsettled' state and by that I mean that the toe is out, I have no clue on the camber nor on caster as well. Nothing has been dialed in or that I'm done with the front end. I have to finish the rear suspension overhaul, then in the order readjust the spring pre-load, then play with the ride height both in the front and in the rear, then fiddle around with the damper settings before I finally take it to for proper alignment which I will be doing it myself hopefully. Once the alignment is done then I'll fiddle around the damper settings once more before I find the sweet spot. So, it will be a while before everything settles down; the shocks, alignment, settings. This is just the beginning only. :smile
 
#22 ·
Not to rain on this parade but I have to say your current impression/comments on the coilovers are probably skewed (i know right, what a thing to say! :eek).

I remember when I first got my Bilstein PSS9 & even my current Koni + Dinan setup. The initial feel of new suspension is VERY nice, and one would confuse it for OE, but that's because the suspension has still not settled in and you likely went cruising on the highway (...because who would take their brand new sport suspension on a 5 mph cruise on cobble stones?!).

Once the suspension finally settles you will undoubtedly feel the difference between the Fortune and the OE. All that feedback you described will continue to become more and more pronounced. If you live somewhere with excellent road surfaces then you'll probably live with it, but I feel the need to point this out because when I first started looking for suspensions, I saw nothing but the same "...feels just like OE!!!..." reviews and those are probably no longer accurate. So every time I see a new suspension thread I'm inclined to get in there and give the other side of running coilovers.


I forgot if it was member Lscman or someone else, but their comment was the most accurate and best advice I've seen yet. I'm paraphrasing a bit but:

...most owners have never felt a brand new OE setup and have only ever compared brand-new coilovers to their worn out OE dampers. Anyone who's considering new suspension should feel a brand new OE setup which is more than capable...


As for your tram-lining, I doubt it's the wear on the tires. It's probably a combination of Coilovers, Toe, and Trust angle (since you didn't change the rear suspension).
 
#24 ·
Day 7

Not really a productive day I was hoping for. I wanted to drop the exhaust, the subframe, and disassemble all the parts, but I only managed to drop the exhaust which took me one hell of a time. I had all the exhaust mounting brackets from front to back undone and all the fasteners stored safely at the toolbox. I had the hydraulic jack and my small stool in position to support the mufflers while dropping it down and pulling it towards the back of the car. Unfortunately, the driver side flange got cocked up onto the exhaust studs from the headers at an angle. The passenger side seemed to be moving freely and honestly nothing was holding up the entire thing except for those two surprisingly strong yet rusty looking studs. I used the pry bar to twist the flange, to make it jump across the threads, but that thing just wouldn't budge no matter how hard I tried. And then I tried all sorts of angles to pry upon, even changed my position from North to South and back to North, used brute force, then tried with some gentle force, tapped the flange with the hammer, then shook or wiggled the heck out of it back at the tailpipes again. Also, tried using the jack at different places around the exhaust to lift it up at an angle, one side at a time. Went back to the muffler and lifted the tailpipes up from there too. I tried really hard. Alas, it just wouldn't listen to me. In all the midst, I was wearing out, sweating, hands beginning to sore and was frequently taking short breaks. Drank a lot of water too. At this point I thought that I really need a second pair of helping hands to get this sucker out in one way or another. After a while, I went back underneath the car again, just to have a look around. Staring at the flange for a while, I decided to lower the mufflers to the ground and get my jack and the stool out of the way, and then just wiggle the entire thing back and forth for as long as I can before I heard a loud noise, "CLUNK". There it was ..... released. Finally! Quickly dragged it out and I was done with this thing after about two hours worth of fighting.







Notice the small EGT (Exhaust Gas Temperature) sensor after the pre-cat O2 sensor (driver side) since it came installed from the factory. My M5 was built in 09/2000 which was the last month before BMW discarded this sensor.








Note the interesting orientation of the flanges between both sides.


Alright, time to work on the back end. First thing that I wanted to tackle was disconnecting the driveshaft from the diff. A total six 16mm botls and it was free. Looks like I'm going to have get another gasket since it appears to be leaking grease and the shields up top being covered by it. For now it's resting against the Diff's flange but once it is lowered the bearings are going to fall out. I may get a refresh kit and freshly re-grease it at a later time. Also, removed the track rods out of the way. A total six 13mm bolts (four short ones and two long) and were screwed back in place. I should mention that before separating the driveshaft I marked the diff the shaft with scratches to make sure it goes exactly how it came out. Apparently my centre support bearing and the guibo disc appeared to be brand new. Looks like the previous owner had replaced them before me. Nice.





Moved on to the rear brakes, the ABS sensors, one brake wear sensor (passenger side), and the auto level height sensor (passenger side). All were removed and the wires and the brake caliper hung securely to the shock's springs with zip ties.

And now the next hurdle ....

The subframe was ready to be dropped but I had one last thing to do. The parking cable was in the way which had to be disconnected from the wheel carrier. I was searching around on the internet to find the easiest way to disconnect the cable either from the handbrake side or from behind the disc brakes. I thought that unplugging it directly from the handbrake would be a more suitable method rather than disassembling the parking brakes which meant that I will have to remove the disc brakes and then the shoes as well. I dropped the heat shields somewhere in the middle but it appeared that the cables go hidden inside the car's chassis right below the passenger seat area. I was hoping to find the end point right where the hand brake location would be, but I was wrong. So, back to disassembling the rear brakes. Thankfully, the hold down screws for the discs didn't round out after a few tapping with the hammer and using the allen socket #5 (if I'm not mistaken) and it broke free. A couple of hard wacks against the rotor's hat and they came off. Surprisingly, the shoe brakes were found to have plenty of brake lining left in it. Looks like the PO took good care of this car. So, I decided to work one side only and removed the shoe brakes, the two return springs, the hold down springs, and the adjuster wheel. The parking cable was unhooked too. Now came the next headache. How to remove the cable from the wheel carrier? A quick search showed that the sheath simply slides into the carrier and it appears to have a fairly tight fitting inside. Because there's a presence of rust in this car, I was unable to slide this thing out. Grabbed my pliers and tried to twist it back and forth, but it didn't even move. I used a flat head screwdriver and a hammer, and started hitting on it to make an indentation on the outer metal casing, in the opposite direction, and hoping to break it free. Nothing's happening. It's pretty much frozen in there. Unless if you guys know a trick or two how to push it out, it looks like I will have to buy a torch with one where the flame is focused on a small area and not one that spreads around burning any plastic or rubber material that may be to close around.



Need help here.


That's it for today.

Enjoy!
 
#29 · (Edited)
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