Price Estimate

[kngpen]

Hello, I have a 1995 525i and I needed some goodies installed.
What I have/need installed:
4 brembo cross-drilled rotors (front/back)
4 rayabseatos break pads (front/back)
4 bilstein shocks (front/back)
4 H&R springs (front/back)
2 lemforder thrust arms with 750 bushings pressed in (front)
an alignment and the breaks bleed too top it off

What price should I expect to pay for this work?

Thanks,
Joseph Kirby

[BigD]

It can cost you a few million nerve cells and some skin, or a whole lot of money. The suspension job takes a long time and you will have to pay quite a bit. I would guess mid-high 3 figures (600+), maybe more depending where you go.

You should really think about doing all of that yourself. I think this is the natural progression of an E34 DIY'er:
1 Roundels
2 Clear corners (got the courage to remove stuff under the hood)
2.1 Fluid change (except for transmission oil)
3 New stereo (-//- to mess with the pretty interior)
4 Brakes (-//- to remove big rusted bolts and work on jacked up car)
4.1 Transmission oil (-//- to be almost completely underneath a jacked up car)
5 Shocks/springs/suspension arms (-//- to remove even more rusty bolts and see your car with no front axle)
6 Head gasket, subframe bushings (getting ambitious/arrogant)
7 ...engine rebuild?

Short of 6+, all of that stuff is not a big deal. Most of here have done it and almost none have any professional training or facilities for the job (like a hoist or even air tools - got mine about a year late). Just some food for thought.


Hello, I have a 1995 525i and I needed some goodies installed.
What I have/need installed:
4 brembo cross-drilled rotors (front/back)
4 rayabseatos break pads (front/back)
4 bilstein shocks (front/back)
4 H&R springs (front/back)
2 lemforder thrust arms with 750 bushings pressed in (front)
an alignment and the breaks bleed too top it off

What price should I expect to pay for this work?

Thanks,
Joseph Kirby

[kngpen]

thats a great point. I will probably pay a mechanically inclined friend to spend a day project on this with me.

[kngpen]

The thrust arms installation sounds a little bit tricky though :(

[BennyM]

It can cost you a few million nerve cells and some skin, or a whole lot of money. The suspension job takes a long time and you will have to pay quite a bit. I would guess mid-high 3 figures (600+), maybe more depending where you go.

You should really think about doing all of that yourself. I think this is the natural progression of an E34 DIY'er:
1 Roundels
2 Clear corners (got the courage to remove stuff under the hood)
2.1 Fluid change (except for transmission oil)
3 New stereo (-//- to mess with the pretty interior)
4 Brakes (-//- to remove big rusted bolts and work on jacked up car)
4.1 Transmission oil (-//- to be almost completely underneath a jacked up car)
5 Shocks/springs/suspension arms (-//- to remove even more rusty bolts and see your car with no front axle)
6 Head gasket, subframe bushings (getting ambitious/arrogant)
7 ...engine rebuild?

Short of 6+, all of that stuff is not a big deal. Most of here have done it and almost none have any professional training or facilities for the job (like a hoist or even air tools - got mine about a year late). Just some food for thought.

[BigD]

Not really. You and your friend will do it easily. By easily I mean the skill required. It's torqued down, rusty metal so it will take some work. But nothing particularely intellectual. Tightening the thrust arms requires ramps because the chassis bolt must be torqued with the suspension under normal load. Removing them is pretty easy since you're installing new ones and are not afraid of damaging the rubber boot. So just get a pickle fork, a nice sledge, and it will be off in no time.

For the shocks/springs, rent a spring compressor. You may even get lucky and land a hydraulic one (makes the job a complete breeze, my mechanic does the entire front shocks/springs in a half hour). The regular ones they rent to mortals are freaking annoying. But, they work. Just remember to bolt them on grasping as much of the spring as possible.

Rear shocks are really easy. Front shocks are fine too. The strut housing nut requires some ingenuity. Either two pipe wrenches, or one pipe wrench, and a cleverly jammed pipe to keep the assembly from rolling while someone steps/jumps on the pipe wrench to undo the nut. The nut ontop of the strut, through the mount/bearing can be a pain. It's designed to take an allen key through the strut to keep it from turning while you undo the nut. If the nut is really on there, this hole for the allen key will strip. The nut comes off easily with an air gun.

Brakes are really easy. Just remember to suspend the calipers with a good wire so you don't stress the fluid hose. If you can't get the retaining screw to come out (strip it), just drill it. The discs are thick enough that once off, you'll have enough thread exposed to grab it with pliers and back it out. My E28 ones were really bad so we had to take a torch to it to expand the metal a little.

Other than the stuff above, if you follow Bruno's procedures (some of which I may have even repeated), you will be just fine. www.bmwe34.net


The thrust arms installation sounds a little bit tricky though :(

[TheGeak]

I did things a little differently on my M5. I think it went...

1) Roundels
2) Stereo
3) Head Gasket...which turned into...
4) Engine Rebuild.

I seem to have skipped a bunch of steps....i guess i've always been the odd child