[Marty in NY]

I searched for a video on replacing the rear shocks/springs on an F25 but could only find one on the earlier model E83 so thought I would post this ‘how to’ tutorial. I wanted to do a video but with only two hands, it was clumsy.

I had a broken spring on the rear passenger side that I needed to replace and since the car had 83K miles, I decided to replace the shocks as well. The first thing I needed to determine was what shocks and springs were on my car. Lucky for me, they had never been replaced so were OEM’s and were labeled by BMW. One of the members of this forum also helped look up the proper numbers via my VIN which in the end matched what was on my car.

I found exact replacements that were preassembled, meaning I didn’t have to mess with removing and installing the spring over the shocks. Having done that before on an E31, it was not fun. So I scooped these up from FCP Euro. I don’t have EDC and found part number 33526796317K was exactly what I was looking for.

Tools needed
- T-20 Torx driver (I used a manual driver as well as a T-20 bit in my drill driver)
- 13mm socket
- 18mm socket
- 21mm socket
- Various length socket wrench extenders
- 3/8” drive socket wrench
- ½” drive socket wrench
- ½” drive pneumatic impact wrench
- Various plastic fastener pullers and “persuasion” (prying) tools for the interior
- Torque wrench
- Grease

You will need to order new bolts/nuts for each one you remove. Just go to https://www.realoem.com/bmw/select.do to find the part numbers for your car. There are the three for each shock tower, one long bolt/nut for the swing arm and another for the bottom shock mount.

Here is the link to the BMW TIS, I suggest you read through this before starting the job as it talks about what should be removed, what the torque values are and gives caution to certain things you will want to be aware of - https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/f...rbers/EOBBJHRN

Hopefully the pix here will suffice for showing most of the process.

First, the culprit!



The solution





Getting the tools





Use one of the prying tools to remove the back seat locking ring cover. Remove the top part of the cover first, then the bottom and reassemble by inserting the bottom tab first.





Remove the black plastic cubby bin by pulling the two plastic fasteners located at the left and right sides of the bottom of it and the one T-20 screw at the top. (in this pic, it has already been removed)







Finished taking apart the passenger side cargo wall



The driver’s side is basically the same as the passenger side but with fewer fasteners to remove



...and this is why we have to remove the side panels



Here is the top of the shock tower showing the three 13mm bolts that must be removed and replaced with new ones.





One you have removed all six bolts from the shock towers, the rest of the work is now done under the car. You can decide which bolts/nuts you want to remove and in what order but this is how I did it. BMW TIS recommends removing both swing arm bolts and removing the swing arm, I just didn't see any sense in doing that, you can simply loosen the bolt near the wheel to allow it to swing down. All the torque numbers can be found in the TIS, they will be in Newton Meters, use an internet search to convert to foot pounds.













Once you have finished, put everything back the way it was, torque the new hardware, put the cargo area walls back on and you’re done. Take it out for a spin, listen for any strange noises. I took mine out for a spin before I reassembled the cargo area walls.
NOTE: when tightening and torquing all the suspension nuts, you must first have the suspension in the normal driving position so when you torque the nuts, they tighten the bushings in their normal driving/resting position otherwise you will put incorrect torsion on them and wear them out rather quickly. You can either lower the car to the ground after the tires are back on and then craw under it to torque them (difficult as there isn't much room to swing a torque wrench or put a hydraulic jack under the knuckle and raise it to the driving position. You will want to take a measurement before removing the wheels from the center of the wheel hub to the wheel arch so you will know how much to raise the jack.



If you only replaced the rears, you’ll probably find that the rear of your car sits higher than the front now.

[383vett]

Nice write up!

[deyrag]

Nice write up but I would suggest removing the outer bolt on the lower control arm so you do not disturb the eccentric bolt necessitating an alignment afterwards.

[AS4EX]

Originally Posted by deyrag

Nice write up but I would suggest removing the outer bolt on the lower control arm so you do not disturb the eccentric bolt necessitating an alignment afterwards.

this

[shoman24v]

I don't think it really matters which bolt you pull, TIS says to remove both and you should align it anyway. Work like this is generally done in pairs too.

But, the one thing not mentioned is that the suspension needs to be in 'normal' position, meaning either you torque the suspension bolts while it is on the ground, or what I do, jack up the suspension under the knuckle to just where it starts to lift the car. Then torque everything.

This step is actually very critical. You'll damage the bushings in the arm if you don't.

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by shoman24v

I don't think it really matters which bolt you pull, TIS says to remove both and you should align it anyway. Work like this is generally done in pairs too.

But, the one thing not mentioned is that the suspension needs to be in 'normal' position, meaning either you torque the suspension bolts while it is on the ground, or what I do, jack up the suspension under the knuckle to just where it starts to lift the car. Then torque everything.

This step is actually very critical. You'll damage the bushings in the arm if you don't.

Right you are shoman24v , I neglected to mention that and will edit my post to include it. I did it as you normally do, its easier than trying to swing wrenches when the car is lower.

[shoman24v]

Originally Posted by Marty in NY

Right you are shoman24v , I neglected to mention that and will edit my post to include it. I did it as you normally do, its easier than trying to swing wrenches when the car is lower.

Excellent!! Yeah for sure, unless you got a ramp you can drive up on, that's really the only easy way to do it.

[HPR]

Great write-up! Stored for future use. Thanks.

[joshaguirre]

I appreciate the detailed write up!

[Greenman7612]

Great write up on shock tower replacement for 2011 X3.
Couple of questions. When I look at my normal suppliers of BMW parts, they just show the components, not the assembled tower. Did I miss where you ordered yours?
BMW in its infinite wisdom has now restricted us from newtis.info making it a paid site. Did you download the instructions as I normally do when viewing the TIS? And if so, could you share them?
I was wondering about the proper setting of the suspension after changing the shock towers. I recall reading about changing suspension parts on my older E39 and it is not as easy as it seems. So I am thinking that an alignment may be in order.
I noticed that your dust boot on the older shocks was broken. BMW calls this auxiliary shocks. Mine is broken on the driver side of 2017 X3.
I am getting a loud thud occasionally on rough road. It like something is bottoming out. Thus my concern that the shock on that side has failed. I don't have cracked spring like you do. Any advice??

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by Greenman7612

Great write up on shock tower replacement for 2011 X3.
Couple of questions. When I look at my normal suppliers of BMW parts, they just show the components, not the assembled tower. Did I miss where you ordered yours?
BMW in its infinite wisdom has now restricted us from newtis.info making it a paid site. Did you download the instructions as I normally do when viewing the TIS? And if so, could you share them?
I was wondering about the proper setting of the suspension after changing the shock towers. I recall reading about changing suspension parts on my older E39 and it is not as easy as it seems. So I am thinking that an alignment may be in order.
I noticed that your dust boot on the older shocks was broken. BMW calls this auxiliary shocks. Mine is broken on the driver side of 2017 X3.
I am getting a loud thud occasionally on rough road. It like something is bottoming out. Thus my concern that the shock on that side has failed. I don't have cracked spring like you do. Any advice??

Great write up on shock tower replacement for 2011 X3. Thanks

When I look at my normal suppliers of BMW parts, they just show the components, not the assembled tower. Did I miss where you ordered yours? I looked at various sites but when I found the preassembled kit and verified that the parts were indeed the same as my OEM parts, I jumped on it. I bought them from FCP Euro, here is the kit part number (not sure if they still have them) 33526796317K $320 for both sides.

BMW in its infinite wisdom has now restricted us from newtis.info making it a paid site. Did you download the instructions as I normally do when viewing the TIS? And if so, could you share them? I used the tis site but did not copy it. Yes, I know they just made the owners take the site down and now charge something like $30/day to use it. However, it a really simple job to do. Just be sure to also buy new bolts for the top of the shock towers and the undercarriage as they are one time use hardware.

I was wondering about the proper setting of the suspension after changing the shock towers. I recall reading about changing suspension parts on my older E39 and it is not as easy as it seems. So I am thinking that an alignment may be in order. Well, after nine years, the shocks and springs get tired and you do lose a bit of height which is noticeable as soon as you install the new parts. In my case, the new parts raised the rear of my car by one inch. I did have an alignment done after completing the job, it was out quite a bit. Have you ever noticed a car or truck going down the road ahead of you and it looks like its crooked? If your rear wheels are not aligned properly, it will cause that and one indication is when you complete the job and test drive it on a straight road, your steering wheel may have to be turned a few degrees one way or the other away from center in order to keep the car going straight. You will need an alignment.

I noticed that your dust boot on the older shocks was broken. BMW calls this auxiliary shocks. Mine is broken on the driver side of 2017 X3. I don't think mine was broken, I had pulled it down, maybe that's what you see in the pix. Right, the "aux shock" made out of dense foam came with the new shock kits. In the event you hit something real hard or a deep pot hole, your shock will hit the aux shock which protects it from hitting the underside of the shock tower mount. If yours is broken, that might be the cause of the noise you hear.

I am getting a loud thud occasionally on rough road. It like something is bottoming out. Thus my concern that the shock on that side has failed. I don't have cracked spring like you do. Any advice?? It could be that your shock (one or both) are at end of life or have leaked and are not providing the dampening thereby allowing the spring to compress to the point where the shock it hitting the underside of the shock tower and since your aux shock is broken, you hear the noise, just guessing. Shocks are normally worn out around 80K+ miles, depending on what sort of roads the car has been driving on.

[383vett]

Good to hear from you Marty.

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by 383vett

Good to hear from you Marty.

Thanks 383vett! Gotta keep my fan club happy

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by Greenman7612

Great write up on shock tower replacement for 2011 X3.

BMW in its infinite wisdom has now restricted us from newtis.info making it a paid site. Did you download the instructions as I normally do when viewing the TIS? And if so, could you share them?

.....and, here is a link to someone in Europe selling pdf versions of BMW's tis. This link takes you to the X5 but if you read further down the page, they say to contact them for other BMW models.....maybe they have the one your interested in. At least two X5 owners bought the pdf and are happy with it and the price is certainly right!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-X-Serie...sAAOSwsCdeLwTS

[383vett]

Originally Posted by Marty in NY

Thanks 383vett! Gotta keep my fan club happy

What's your new ride?

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by 383vett

What's your new ride?

Good question....I don't have a replacement yet. I'm looking at the G05 X5 but buying it now during the pandemic, it would sit in my garage wasting away the warranty. I'm hoping by the time I do buy, BMW will have come to grips with all the tech related bugs that owners are complaining about

[383vett]

...and you might have a bigger grill by then.

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by 383vett

...and you might have a bigger grill by then.

Ugh, I don't care for the larger grills, but maybe this one would at least add a little protection.. .. and it looks mean

.

[AlexF25]

Very nice write up. Great detail on getting the rear panels off and getting to the mounting bolts. Did the front struts few weeks back and getting ready to do the rears, this gave me all the info I was looking for to go into it with confidence. Thank you for taking time and effort to post this.

Were you able to complete this by yourself of did you need someone helping to remove or install the shocks? I'm hoping I can do this solo as I dont have friends/family near me that can easily stop by.

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by AlexF25

Very nice write up. Great detail on getting the rear panels off and getting to the mounting bolts. Did the front struts few weeks back and getting ready to do the rears, this gave me all the info I was looking for to go into it with confidence. Thank you for taking time and effort to post this.

Were you able to complete this by yourself of did you need someone helping to remove or install the shocks? I'm hoping I can do this solo as I dont have friends/family near me that can easily stop by.

Thanks. Its a one man job. Just place a jack under the bottom of the shock and compress the spring about a half inch, just enough so that when you remove the three screws on the top of the shock towers, the shock doesn't fall out uncontrollably because there is no one under the car to grab it as you are still in the cargo area. I don't think it would fall out even if you didn't have a jack under it but I don't like to take chances that may end up damaging stuff.

[AlexF25]

Good to hear that its a one man job, i'll be doing it soon then. And thanks for quick reply.

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by AlexF25

Good to hear that its a one man job, i'll be doing it soon then. And thanks for quick reply.

I really wanted to make a video but that would certainly require two people. The best part was that I was able to find OEM replacements that were already assembled, no such luck for the front though. Anyway, doesn't matter now since the car sold before I had a chance to tackle the fronts. I miss that car

Good luck but I think you'll find it an easy job.