The build thread in which I learn what an E30 is... '91 318is

[Nate37]

Quick update: got the rear bumper trim replaced. I've also cleaned up the front bumper trim, but still have a couple more little things to do before I post pics of the front.


Rear bumper trim was cracked and faded. So is the paint, but I at least wanted to get new trim on there for now:



With the bumper off, the bumper shocks were looking pretty nasty. Do most people usually replace these? I can't tell if they are seized or just old and dirty. They sure are expensive though:


The short term solution was to hit everything with a wire wheel and a few coats of spray paint to provide at least a little protection:


Everything all cleaned up and back together with new bumper trim:




Looking much better - I just need to deal with the super-faded paint, but that's a topic for another day (and maybe another thread). I still go back and forth on how much paint work I should be doing.

Now that it's getting hot in AZ, it's somewhat ironically the time to start doing major mechanical work. My plan is to do a complete refresh of the running gear, front and rear. Here are all the parts I'm planning to order - I have a few questions below, but am I missing anything major?

Suspension:
-TC Kline E30 Sporting Suspension Kit (Koni SAs, H&R sports, Buna rear shock mounts) - already ordered
-Front suspension components (Lemforder control arms, FCABs, tie rod ends, sway bar bushings and end links) - is there any major difference between Lemforder and Genuine BMW? The BMW parts are way more expensive.
-Meyle front strut mounts - same question here vs Genuine BMW
-Lemforder rear trailing arm bushings - do I need to replace anything else in the rear?

Brakes:
-Rotors / set screws
-Pads - still deciding on compound, but I'm leaning toward something slightly more aggressive than OEM (maybe Hawk HP+)
-Stainless lines
-Caliper rebuild kits
-Should I order new caliper pin guides? How do I tell which brakes I have? Some of the parts seem to be for ATE brakes only.
-Pad sensors

Wheel hubs/bearings:
-Rear bearings - 90% sure these are shot because I keep finding grease on the inside of my rear wheels, and I can hear a slight noise
-Front - these seem fine, but should I just replace them while I'm in there?
-Should I be buying OEM or Genuine BMW for these parts? Another big price difference here...

I'm also ordering all new intake hoses and boots per my post above, since they are all cracked and nasty.

[mjweimer]

Now that it's getting hot in AZ, it's somewhat ironically the time to start doing major mechanical work. My plan is to do a complete refresh of the running gear, front and rear. Here are all the parts I'm planning to order - I have a few questions below, but am I missing anything major?

Suspension:
-TC Kline E30 Sporting Suspension Kit (Koni SAs, H&R sports, Buna rear shock mounts) - already ordered
-Front suspension components (Lemforder control arms, FCABs, tie rod ends, sway bar bushings and end links) - is there any major difference between Lemforder and Genuine BMW? The BMW parts are way more expensive.
-Meyle front strut mounts - same question here vs Genuine BMW
-Lemforder rear trailing arm bushings - do I need to replace anything else in the rear?

Brakes:
-Rotors / set screws
-Pads - still deciding on compound, but I'm leaning toward something slightly more aggressive than OEM (maybe Hawk HP+)
-Stainless lines
-Caliper rebuild kits
-Should I order new caliper pin guides? How do I tell which brakes I have? Some of the parts seem to be for ATE brakes only.
-Pad sensors

Wheel hubs/bearings:
-Rear bearings - 90% sure these are shot because I keep finding grease on the inside of my rear wheels, and I can hear a slight noise
-Front - these seem fine, but should I just replace them while I'm in there?
-Should I be buying OEM or Genuine BMW for these parts? Another big price difference here...

I'm also ordering all new intake hoses and boots per my post above, since they are all cracked and nasty.

Your car is coming along nicely. I think you will be really happy with the TC Kline suspension.


Suspension:

You can never go wrong with Lemforder parts, you will often find the BMW logo and part numbers ground off the pieces because they are the OEM supplier and sell the exact same parts for much less $$$. I prefer Sach's upper strut bearings over Meyle but each should do the job...I tend to shy away from Meyle parts due to past quality questions.

Are you planning to do the rear subframe bushings? I consider these a "must do" for a complete rear suspension refresh since they locate the rear subframe and take a lot of abuse. Unfortunately the Lemforder subframe bushings seemed to have disappeared from the market....so you have a choice to make here: BMW, Febi, Rein or Corteco....my vote would be for the Corteco because they are OEM to BMW on many of the late model engine mounts and other bushings and much cheaper than the BMW parts.


Brakes:

All E30's have ATE rear brakes and most have Girling front brakes but there are some early cars with ATE front brakes. Girling brakes will have their name in the casting of the body and use a different slider pin arrangement than an ATE. You can buy a Girling slider pin replacement kit from most large parts retailers and I would recommend you replace them (not expensive) if rebuilding the calipers. I have never needed to replace a slider pin on an ATE caliper but the rubber bushings that the slider pins ride in do wear and can easily (and cheaply) be replaced.

For stainless steel brake lines I like Goodridge, Stop Tech or Techna-fit. I purchased a set of lines from Garagistic that appear to be Techna-fit lines with a red outer covering, FCP sells them with a clear outer covering. I've used many other brands and have not been impressed by the quality of the crimps on the ends or the lack of a stress relief fitting where the hose meets the ends...don't skimp on these parts.


Wheel Bearings:

Go with a good OE/OEM supplier such as FAG or SKF. FAG seems to be the most readily available for the E30 and I have had zero issues with fit or service life from them. The fronts are easy to do later if you think they are OK for now, just remember there is a dust shield that lives behind the bearing that may get damaged if you don't get lucky and need to use a puller to remove the hub assy.


Hope some of that helps - I'm sure others will have some opinions to share - I look forward to your progress.



MJ

[G FORCE]

Sub'd! Great progress and looking forward to future updates. I am super jealous of that clean interior!

[Nate37]

Really appreciate the compliments guys! This has been a fun project and I love to share the progress.

Your car is coming along nicely. I think you will be really happy with the TC Kline suspension.


Suspension:

You can never go wrong with Lemforder parts, you will often find the BMW logo and part numbers ground off the pieces because they are the OEM supplier and sell the exact same parts for much less $$$. I prefer Sach's upper strut bearings over Meyle but each should do the job...I tend to shy away from Meyle parts due to past quality questions.

Are you planning to do the rear subframe bushings? I consider these a "must do" for a complete rear suspension refresh since they locate the rear subframe and take a lot of abuse. Unfortunately the Lemforder subframe bushings seemed to have disappeared from the market....so you have a choice to make here: BMW, Febi, Rein or Corteco....my vote would be for the Corteco because they are OEM to BMW on many of the late model engine mounts and other bushings and much cheaper than the BMW parts.


Brakes:

All E30's have ATE rear brakes and most have Girling front brakes but there are some early cars with ATE front brakes. Girling brakes will have their name in the casting of the body and use a different slider pin arrangement than an ATE. You can buy a Girling slider pin replacement kit from most large parts retailers and I would recommend you replace them (not expensive) if rebuilding the calipers. I have never needed to replace a slider pin on an ATE caliper but the rubber bushings that the slider pins ride in do wear and can easily (and cheaply) be replaced.

For stainless steel brake lines I like Goodridge, Stop Tech or Techna-fit. I purchased a set of lines from Garagistic that appear to be Techna-fit lines with a red outer covering, FCP sells them with a clear outer covering. I've used many other brands and have not been impressed by the quality of the crimps on the ends or the lack of a stress relief fitting where the hose meets the ends...don't skimp on these parts.


Wheel Bearings:

Go with a good OE/OEM supplier such as FAG or SKF. FAG seems to be the most readily available for the E30 and I have had zero issues with fit or service life from them. The fronts are easy to do later if you think they are OK for now, just remember there is a dust shield that lives behind the bearing that may get damaged if you don't get lucky and need to use a puller to remove the hub assy.


Hope some of that helps - I'm sure others will have some opinions to share - I look forward to your progress.



MJ

Wow this is awesome; thanks for all the advice! I should have mentioned that I already have a set of Corteco subframe bushings sitting around, so those will be going on. I switched out a couple things based on your recommendations and just pulled the trigger on $900 worth of parts from FCP.

Next purchase is a portable air conditioner for the garage, lol! Then this weekend I'm going to start pulling everything apart...

One more (crappy) photo from last weekend - a couple friends ('88 911 and S2000) and I did a nighttime drive up Mt. Lemmon near Tucson. For anyone not familiar, this is a fantastic, scenic road that climbs 6,000 ft in just over 27 miles, starting in lowland desert and ending in alpine forests:

[mike.bmw]

Suspension:
-TC Kline E30 Sporting Suspension Kit (Koni SAs, H&R sports, Buna rear shock mounts) - already ordered
-Front suspension components (Lemforder control arms, FCABs, tie rod ends, sway bar bushings and end links) - is there any major difference between Lemforder and Genuine BMW? The BMW parts are way more expensive.
-Meyle front strut mounts - same question here vs Genuine BMW
-Lemforder rear trailing arm bushings - do I need to replace anything else in the rear?

That'll be a great setup!

If you haven't already seen FCP's OE Academy page, check it out here: https://www.fcpeuro.com/page/oe-academy. Early on I bought all BMW parts, which was rather pricey. Since then I've made more informed purchases of other brands (Lemforder, etc) that are the same as the BMW parts, with the BMW logo removed or ground off.

You might as well replace the rear sway bar bushings and end links too. The rear endlinks are a bit difficult to press on by hand (even with lubricant), but it can be done.

The upper and lower spring pads (front and rear) are another item that might be good to replace. Note that they come in different heights if you want to play around with ride height.

[Matt@EDC]

All looking good 👍

Enjoying the progress and updates. Keep it up!

[Nate37]

Minor update tonight... there's been a whole lot of work but not much progress in a very hot garage this summer. I had a pretty good run of getting projects done on this car without major issues, but this suspension has just been one thing after another. Hoping to get some thoughts on how I should proceed.

I've got the front suspension completely removed from the car, but problem #1 was getting the strut inserts out of the housings. One eventually came out, but the second strut nut is not going anywhere. I've tried:
-The special wrench that fits in the grooves plus a big breaker bar
-PB Blaster (so much PB Blaster...)
-Chisel + BFH
-Propane torch + Chisel + BFH

Based on my Sharpie marks, I've managed to move the nut about 5 degrees from where it started, and no amount of beatings are moving it further. Pic of the carnage below. Note all the gouges around the outside of the nut were there before I started on it. This thing has clearly been beat to hell in the past:



So problem #2, on the one strut housing that did come apart, I seem to have the brand new Koni completely stuck about halfway in. Right away I noticed that it was not just dropping into the housing like it should, so I pulled it out and called TC Kline, and they advised that light taps with a mallet would be the max force to use to get it in. Using some ATF as lubricant and just pushing in by hand, I managed to work it in about halfway, but now it's completely stuck, and no amount of pulling is getting this thing to move either direction. Has anyone had this issue with Konis before? Is it possible I have a bent/kinked strut housing? The Konis are much larger diameter than the Bilsteins, which had no problem coming right out. "Progress" pic for funsies:



Since I already seem to be well on the road to buying two more strut housings, my current plan is to use the other Koni to mark a spot on the housing about an inch past the end of the stuck strut, then cut the housing in half and see if I can push the strut back out from the bottom side. Anyone else have a better idea?

Problem #3 is getting the dang tie rod ends to unscrew from the rack. I've got this weird pipe wrench that I bought for a plumbing job to fit on there (see below), but it's not budging either. Do I need to buy that special tool from Bav Auto or is there some other way to do this? This is my first time doing a tie rod job so I may be missing something...


On the good news front, I should be getting all the brake caliper bits back from sandblasting and the sway bars back from powdercoating this week. I'll post some pics when I do, but the calipers are going out for zinc plate right after that.

[mjweimer]

Old cars are fun! I'll share a few ideas from my past experience.


- Strut gland nut removal -


Do you have access to a large pipe wrench? If you do, you can place it on the outer diameter of the gland nut and see if it will budge....similar to this:

https://www.harborfreight.com/24-in-steel-pipe-wrench-61361.html?cid=paid_google|||61361&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=&utm_content=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMItYjv6_rJ6gIVhobACh3y8Q9zEAQYASABEgIfTPD_BwE

This is my go to procedure for removing the stubborn inserts....the hardest part is holding the strut in place when you put so much force on it. You will need a vice or a helper or both....


- Stuck strut insert -


Unfortunately I don't have any experience with Koni inserts and E30 strut housings. If the fit is as tight as you say...there might be air trapped in the bottom of the strut housing that cannot escape. Any lube (ATF/grease/etc) could make the seal better and make the situation worse....this could also create the same issue where air cannot enter the housing when you are trying to remove the insert....essentially locking it in place.

If I were in this situation, I think I would drill a small (~1/8") hole somewhere on the lower part of the strut tube to allow air to escape....of course use your second strut insert as a guide so you don't drill through the stuck part. I cannot promise this will work, but it can't really hurt anything and the hole could be sealed up later by welding, butyl tape, etc....anything to keep water and dirt out of the tube. I also don't think a small hole would affect the structural integrity of the strut, just keep it an inch or two above where the tube meets the spindle/knuckle assembly.

Thinking about this some more.....maybe try a strap wrench to twist the strut insert out of the housing. You can buy these or DIY....Google DIY strap wrench.....the nice thing about this tool is that it will not damage the insert...if it still doesn't budge then you can try the hole drilling method along with the strap wrench and see if it will start to move. Worst case you have spent a little time and money and still need to cut up the strut, best case you save the strut housing.


- Stuck inner tie rod -

I will assume that you bent open the locking tabs where the inner tie-rods meet the rack because that is fairly obvious but it is possible that someone was in there before and did not install new locking tabs and used Loctite...which will make removal more difficult.


It might take a bit of shock to get the threads to break free....I have often needed to hit the end of the wrench with a deadblow hammer to get things moving. Luckily I have a couple of large open-end wrenches that fit the flats (I think E30's have 32mm flats on the original parts but the Lemforder replacements are 27mm) but you should be able to use the wrench from your picture.

If you still cannot get them to break free, a pipe wrench also works around the large outer diameter of the ball-socket. It might take some hammering on the end of that too....

The factory manual says to place the tie rod as far towards the rack body as possible to minimize stress on the seals....so turn the rack in as far as you can when doing each side.



Hope this helps, let us know how it turns out.


MJ

[Northern]

I think those strut housings are 45mm, just based on the B30 part number gland nut in your pic. I think the 51mm housing gland nut starts with B36?
Not sure why those would be on a late model?

[Northern]

Just found a thread that says the B30 nuts come on bilstein non-sport/HD so maybe I'm wrong or there are a few different part numbers, but it's worth checking if if's that tight.

[Nate37]

Old cars are fun! I'll share a few ideas from my past experience.

This is my go to procedure for removing the stubborn inserts....the hardest part is holding the strut in place when you put so much force on it. You will need a vice or a helper or both....


MJ

Thanks, really appreciate all the ideas. I did buy a big pipe wrench and as you said, the biggest problem is holding the strut. I have it in a bench vise as tight as I can get it, but twisting hard with the pipe wrench is just causing the strut to rotate. That nut is REALLY on there.

On the stuck strut, I did try the strap wrench and that didn't get me anywhere. I may try drilling a small hole this weekend, but since it seems like I can get ATF to run in and out of the housing, there should be enough of a gap for the air to escape.

Didn't try anything on the tie rods yet, but thanks again for the suggestions. Yes, I did unbend the locking washers.

Just found a thread that says the B30 nuts come on bilstein non-sport/HD so maybe I'm wrong or there are a few different part numbers, but it's worth checking if if's that tight.

Thanks. Yes you are correct, the nuts shown in the pics are for the old Bilstein inserts that I'm trying to remove/replace. I bought the OEM nuts to use with the Konis. They aren't causing the issue with my Koni being stuck, since I haven't even got to that step yet. Unless you're saying there are actually different sizes of strut housings?

[Nate37]

Just found a thread that says the B30 nuts come on bilstein non-sport/HD so maybe I'm wrong or there are a few different part numbers, but it's worth checking if if's that tight.

OK I just did some more reading and understand what you are saying. I just measured the OD of my strut housings with calipers and they are both 51mm.

I measure the OD as shown in the pic here: https://clickableautomotive.com.au/n...30-strut-size/

[Northern]

What's the part number on the konis?

[Nate37]

What's the part number on the konis?

8641-1021 (F) and 8041-1186 (R)

[mjweimer]

Thanks, really appreciate all the ideas. I did buy a big pipe wrench and as you said, the biggest problem is holding the strut. I have it in a bench vise as tight as I can get it, but twisting hard with the pipe wrench is just causing the strut to rotate. That nut is REALLY on there.

On the stuck strut, I did try the strap wrench and that didn't get me anywhere. I may try drilling a small hole this weekend, but since it seems like I can get ATF to run in and out of the housing, there should be enough of a gap for the air to escape.

Didn't try anything on the tie rods yet, but thanks again for the suggestions. Yes, I did unbend the locking washers.

Yeah I figured you dealt with the locking tabs but had to mention it just to be thorough...hope you didn't take that the wrong way.


Have you tried adding any heat to the strut body around the threaded area and then trying to turn with the pipe wrench? I can't imagine there would be a lot of rust considering your dry climate but maybe someone used thread locker...though I would guess the other strut would have had some as well. In extreme cases have had to remove the wheel bearing and dust shields in order to brace the spindle against pieces of wood/the workbench to prevent the strut from rotating in the vice...might not be something you want to consider but it is an additional option.


Too bad the strap wrench didn't help, I was hopeful....and yes, if you are getting ATF running out from the housing you are probably not air-locked. The only other thing I can think of is trying to adapt a slide hammer to the threads on the top of the rod and gently trying to extract the insert. This might not be an option for fear of damaging the internals...maybe Koni would be able to answer that question, I have had great luck calling their tech support in the past (they are located in Kentucky).


Fingers crossed you can make some progress...I'm sure this is frustrating.


MJ