BMW 3.0CS Front Strut issue

Ohmess said:
Good news; next I would try to switch the wheels and tires from side to side and see if anything changes. Also, look at the top of the struts and see if they appear to be the same. In the US, there were spacers inserted on top of the strut bearings between the bearings and the fender. If you Aussies also had these, and if one were removed but the other were not, this could cause your problem.
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Thanks. I checked this when I installed the updated springs. All good.
 
Just read thru this and I’m pretty stumped. Any chance the strut perch under the inner fender either bent up or installed incorrectly at some point in its life?


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Bejoe16 said:
Just read thru this and I’m pretty stumped. Any chance the strut perch under the inner fender either bent up or installed incorrectly at some point in its life?
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It’s worth checking. When the underlying structure begins to fail they do move upward. It’s an extreme example but front strut towers on my parts car are above the hood line...

Take a 2x4 and run it across the fender tops. Measure the distance from the 2x4 (standing on its edge) to the strut tops. It shouldn’t matter all that much but if you buy a 2x4 try to get a straight one. Pick it up by one end and hold it up to your eye. Check for bows.

You asked about the strut bearing but nobody really addressed. You can unscrew the acorn nuts and drop your strut assemblies. That will give you access to the bearings to easily inspect and measure. I would keep the car lifted about 6” off the ground to start so you don’t strain your brake lines. Adjust the lift height as needed to drop the strut assemblies.
 
My strut bearings are both bad enough that there is an audible clunk when passing over a bump. But there is only a few mm of travel vertically. It's easy enough to confirm after lifting the car off the ground so the wheels are unloaded too. Upward pressure will show the play. I can't see bearing wear as the source of this much mismatch between the sides.
 
Hi, checked the strut bearings and they are in great condition, they still the part number on them. I haven't checked strut perch however it looks very straight. I ended up putting the 14" wheels back on still has the same issue but at least they don't hit the lip!
 
Markos said:
It’s worth checking. When the underlying structure begins to fail they do move upward. It’s an extreme example but front strut towers on my parts car are above the hood line...

Take a 2x4 and run it across the fender tops. Measure the distance from the 2x4 (standing on its edge) to the strut tops. It shouldn’t matter all that much but if you buy a 2x4 try to get a straight one. Pick it up by one end and hold it up to your eye. Check for bows.

You asked about the strut bearing but nobody really addressed. You can unscrew the acorn nuts and drop your strut assemblies. That will give you access to the bearings to easily inspect and measure. I would keep the car lifted about 6” off the ground to start so you don’t strain your brake lines. Adjust the lift height as needed to drop the strut assemblies.
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Good idea, I tried this and it looks pretty straight. Might by a couple of mill in it but that's about it. On a side note, I just noticed that the drivers side seems to be a lot stiffer then the passenger side. Should I swap the springs from side to side and see if that has any impact?
 
Gransin said:
Seems like that’s the only possibility left, try it and hope that’s the problem!
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Agreed. The spring and struts are about all that is left. The spring is supposed to set the height and the strut is supposed to control the rebound. In theory the struts shouldn’t dictate the height. In practice it seems that some struts can boost your ride height. My parts car has massive wheel gap and the springs look far from new. Some folks on here have complained about bilsteins increasing their ride height. I guess the point is that it could be the springs or your struts. In your exhaustive effort you might try to swap these independently. What a chore!
 
Ben at La Jolla said they made different strut housings for the E9 and some are not the same length as others. The difference did not apply to one year vs the other. Bottom line is if they are to be replaced, you should do both and they should come from the same donor car.
 
I have ordered a pair of K-Mac adjustable camber and castor plates. I will post an update once I have fitted them.
 
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