[allinon72]

Updated pics of completed rear strut and added note about rear upper strut mount orientation.

[r33_RGSport]

Originally Posted by allinon72

Updated pics of completed rear strut and added note about rear upper strut mount orientation.

Is the noise gone after fixing that?

[dusty80]

After the expense and all the work, is the difference in ride actually worth it in your opinion?

[allinon72]

Originally Posted by r33_RGSport

Is the noise gone after fixing that?

Waiting until I replace the ABS sensor tomorrow for any more test drives. Car isn't very enjoyable to drive with 47 warnings present

Originally Posted by dusty80

After the expense and all the work, is the difference in ride actually worth it in your opinion?

I should get some seat time this week and I'll update the main MSS thread with my thoughts.

[allinon72]

Added note about parking brake - make sure it is not engaged for the rear installation!

[elisiX]

Originally Posted by r33_RGSport

Still looking for a picture at correct angle where it shows how it supposed to sit.
But, I put a note from OP's pictures. I hope this gives some idea.

Attachment 2505055

Attachment 2505056

What issues would someone experience if this isn't set correctly?

It seems like a very easy thing to get wrong during installation.

Is this the cause of the noises from the rear people have described?

Would it make the ride in the rear harsher?

[allinon72]

Originally Posted by elisiX

What issues would someone experience if this isn't set correctly?

It seems like a very easy thing to get wrong during installation.

Is this the cause of the noises from the rear people have described?

Would it make the ride in the rear harsher?

I think it could lead to noise because the top of the coil is floating instead of being seated in the mount. And it would probably lead to premature wear on the mount.

[allinon72]

Added step and picture of the d/s front ride height sensor removal.

[James Cole]

Thanks for all the info!

How important is to have the 15mm rake?

[James Cole]

Are you guys using all new hardware for the install?

If you are do you happen to have the part numbers?

[cfm56d7b]

Originally Posted by RoWoX3M

One of the best writes ups I've ever seen. Period. Nicely done sir. Thanks for sharing

I concur and concur again. The very best write up.

[allinon72]

Originally Posted by James Cole

Are you guys using all new hardware for the install?

If you are do you happen to have the part numbers?

If you give me a few days I can update the thread with hardware requirements with part #'s

[allinon72]

Updated both front and rear with hardware part #'s

[claudioagmfilho]

awesome, thank you so much for theses photos and all...
i also own an X3MC and its also blue as well, mine is 2020.

[tarmactrr]

Has anybody else had issues with the front strut removal? I have a new (500 miles) x3mc and using the spreader too I still can't for the life of me get one strut to move at all. The other strut I can wiggle but I will not move up/down for the life of me. Used WD 40 and even built out of a 10mm allen a larger spreader tool, which is now just marring up the aluminum on the spindle.

Not sure what to do at this point. Had no issues with the rear, but this has been beyond frustrating.

Also I've verified that I'm nowhere near hitting the alignment pin so it's doesn't seem to be stuck on that.

[allinon72]

Originally Posted by tarmactrr

Has anybody else had issues with the front strut removal? I have a new (500 miles) x3mc and using the spreader too I still can't for the life of me get one strut to move at all. The other strut I can wiggle but I will not move up/down for the life of me. Used WD 40 and even built out of a 10mm allen a larger spreader tool, which is now just marring up the aluminum on the spindle.

Not sure what to do at this point. Had no issues with the rear, but this has been beyond frustrating.

Also I've verified that I'm nowhere near hitting the alignment pin so it's doesn't seem to be stuck on that.

Weird, the only time I had trouble getting it to move is when I inadvertently had the spreader tool in the way of the alignment pin. May try to put some heat to it to loosen up the knuckle. You can also try to put something rigid like a 2x4 longways under the bottom strut mount and *carefully* use a jack on the other end, just to get it to break free. Do not go overboard though.

[tarmactrr]

Originally Posted by allinon72

Weird, the only time I had trouble getting it to move is when I inadvertently had the spreader tool in the way of the alignment pin. May try to put some heat to it to loosen up the knuckle. You can also try to put something rigid like a 2x4 longways under the bottom strut mount and *carefully* use a jack on the other end, just to get it to break free. Do not go overboard though.

Already done both. Used a heat gun on the knuckle, and used a bottle jack to go between the rotor and the strut under the spring mount. Still never budged.

Looks like I'm going to have to try a spreader tool like this next

https://www.amazon.com/Generic-Unive...9E740XQMXCBV5V

[tarmactrr]

Here is my spreader tool installed and it still won't budge. Been at this front for over 3 hours now and I'm at the point where I'm going to give up and see if the different style spreader tool helps. Again on this strut I can't even get it to rotate, let alone move up/down after multiple times of using WD40, heating and lightly tapping on it.



And this is the one that you could manage to move side/side if you put enough effort into it. This one I built a larger spreader tool which managed to mar up the aluminum to the point where I no longer want to work on it.

[allinon72]

There isn't a ton of spreading required to slide the strut out, at least in my experience. Tried putting the spreader tool in place and rotating/wiggling the strut with a large pair of pliers?

[tarmactrr]

Originally Posted by allinon72

There isn't a ton of spreading required to slide the strut out, at least in my experience. Tried putting the spreader tool in place and rotating/wiggling the strut with a large pair of pliers?

Haven't tried it with pliers but I've tried moving it both by hand by trying to turn it from the sway bar end link mount and from both hands on the springs. I've also put the tie rod back in to limit the movement and it won't budge. Tried reheating it for 15min until the shock was too hot to touch tried hammering both the shock from the bottom and the spindle from the top, and it's still frozen in place.

I'm now literally going to give up until that other spreader tool shows up on Wednesday. if that doesn't do it, then it'll probably go to the dealer. First time I've ever had to take a car to a shop to get a modification done. I've built multiple cars from basically the ground up in my own garage, including designing and building the mounts for a motor.

[tarmactrr]

Well after more hours on this and finally getting the struts out using a bottle jack on the inside of the strut... I"m done with this method. Both axles popped out trying to get enough clearance to remove the strut and now I'm going to have to remove the axles anyways to get them back in. At this point I might as well remove the entire hub like BMW suggests.

[kzg1969]

Wow - that sounded like a chew. I would have probs given up in tears!