Rear Bilstein Swap

[hans3]

Guys,

A number of you have replaced the rear shocks with Bilsteins, if only because there's no other substitute. On my 2800CS the replacement Bilsteins are shorter in extension than the OEM shocks. Did any of you shim the replacement Bilsteins to compensate for this? Also, our E9's have unique bushings (press fit) on the top of the rear strut towers. Do most people retain these and disregard the generic donut bushings that come with new Bilsteins? Thanks much ...

 

[Stevehose]

I believe the difference in lenght is due to the OEM's being hydraulic and the Bilsteins being gas. I did not compensate when I swapped them. I retained the original press in bushing and chucked the donut one.

 

[bavbob]

Rear height will be set by car weight and spring compression rate, ie, if you want to keep the same height, pull both and reconstruct one with the billies to match the length, you may have to reposition the perch. For my e3, bilstein only has one shock as the sport and HD were so close in shaft length, you could reproduce either depending on the perch you set it to (per conversation with Bilstein).

 

[Peter Coomaraswamy]

You really should use new press in bushings when replacing the rear shocks, the donut ones will allow the shaft to jiggle in the holder which will distort the hole. Just coat the new bushings with some lube and they slip right in from the top down.

Good luck