pundit
06-30-2006, 10:58 PM
I've just bought a set of Koni sport dampeners and Eibach Pro Kit springs.
My E34 535i build date is 11/89 (compliance plate 2/90)
The front set of Konis I received are part no. 8641-1176Sport
According to the Koni catalog (http://www.koni.com/_cars/_products/catalogue/pdf/CATALOGUS_2004_2005.pdf) this part number is for the E34 518i, 520i (88-07.90)
The Konis to suit my E34 535i are listed as part no. 8641-1157Sport (E34 sedan 525i, 539i, 535i, 524td for M12 top nut 88-07.90)
The nut appears to be the correct size but if I've been given Konis to suit the much lighter 518i then I've got the wrong shocks.
I haven't fitted these yet and will be ringing the supplier first thing Monday to sort out this discrepancy.
A CASE IN POINT!! - Warning! Colorful Language! (Well I was pissed off!)
Many years ago I bought a set of Bilsteins for my Fiat 124 Sports.
They fitted okay though I couldn't get the upper tube cover through the upper front control arm. I rang the guy and he said oh well leave it off it won't matter. The car rode like absolute ****. It was so ****ing hard I rang the guy back and said the Bilsteins were the worst shockers I'd ever experienced. He said the shaft seals were tight when new which causes a firmer than normal ride and would settle down after a week or two of driving. They didn't and I rang the guy back half a dozen times over the next week saying there was something wrong as it felt like my front end was being progressively destroyed everytime I drove over any bump even as small as pea. He kept saying it would settle down.
Finally after inspecting my front end for the source of all the new rattles and clunks I discovered the shocker rubbers had disintegrated, my control arm bushes and ball joints (3 months old) were shot and I had a cracked subframe where the crossmember bolted up to it.
I took the car back to the shop where I bought the Bilsteins a month before and asked for the guy who sold me the shocks only to be told he no longer worked there. I asked what happened and with a roll of the eyes it was indicated that incompetance may have had something to do with his departure!... Well right on that score!!
When I demanded something be done about my destroyed front end, upon supplying my receipt I was told it was too bad because I'd purchased the wrong shocks for my car.
"I didn't purchase the wrong shocks... YOUR EMPLOYEE SOLD THEM TO ME!!"
The joker salesman had misread the catalog and sold me a set of Bilsteins to suit a Datsun twincab pickup!! The last 'D' entry in the catalog was for the Datsun pickup. The first 'F' entry in the catalog was Fiat 124 Sports. In scanning across the page he jumped up one line and BINGO!! WRONG ****ING SHOCKS!! To add the icing to the **** cake the bastard Datsun Bilsteins actually fitted the same mounting points as the Fiat!
My front end was ****ed, the Bilsteins were now ****ed (from bottoming out) So what did they do about this? They said because the wrong shocks had been fitted there was no warranty, but they offered me 10% off the price of a new (correct set) of Bilsteins and no compensation for my ruined front end.... C*NTS!!! By then I was contemplating either a lawyer or an AK-47!
I spent the next ten years telling everyone I met never to buy Bilstein shocks. It may have not been the fault of the shocks but they were the authorised agent for Bilstein in Victoria and I know I cost them sales!!
Had the internet been around then I have no doubt I would have had a rebuilt front end, new shocks and a courtesy car to boot while they repaired mine... and all at their expense!!
My E34 535i build date is 11/89 (compliance plate 2/90)
The front set of Konis I received are part no. 8641-1176Sport
According to the Koni catalog (http://www.koni.com/_cars/_products/catalogue/pdf/CATALOGUS_2004_2005.pdf) this part number is for the E34 518i, 520i (88-07.90)
The Konis to suit my E34 535i are listed as part no. 8641-1157Sport (E34 sedan 525i, 539i, 535i, 524td for M12 top nut 88-07.90)
The nut appears to be the correct size but if I've been given Konis to suit the much lighter 518i then I've got the wrong shocks.
I haven't fitted these yet and will be ringing the supplier first thing Monday to sort out this discrepancy.
A CASE IN POINT!! - Warning! Colorful Language! (Well I was pissed off!)
Many years ago I bought a set of Bilsteins for my Fiat 124 Sports.
They fitted okay though I couldn't get the upper tube cover through the upper front control arm. I rang the guy and he said oh well leave it off it won't matter. The car rode like absolute ****. It was so ****ing hard I rang the guy back and said the Bilsteins were the worst shockers I'd ever experienced. He said the shaft seals were tight when new which causes a firmer than normal ride and would settle down after a week or two of driving. They didn't and I rang the guy back half a dozen times over the next week saying there was something wrong as it felt like my front end was being progressively destroyed everytime I drove over any bump even as small as pea. He kept saying it would settle down.
Finally after inspecting my front end for the source of all the new rattles and clunks I discovered the shocker rubbers had disintegrated, my control arm bushes and ball joints (3 months old) were shot and I had a cracked subframe where the crossmember bolted up to it.
I took the car back to the shop where I bought the Bilsteins a month before and asked for the guy who sold me the shocks only to be told he no longer worked there. I asked what happened and with a roll of the eyes it was indicated that incompetance may have had something to do with his departure!... Well right on that score!!
When I demanded something be done about my destroyed front end, upon supplying my receipt I was told it was too bad because I'd purchased the wrong shocks for my car.
"I didn't purchase the wrong shocks... YOUR EMPLOYEE SOLD THEM TO ME!!"
The joker salesman had misread the catalog and sold me a set of Bilsteins to suit a Datsun twincab pickup!! The last 'D' entry in the catalog was for the Datsun pickup. The first 'F' entry in the catalog was Fiat 124 Sports. In scanning across the page he jumped up one line and BINGO!! WRONG ****ING SHOCKS!! To add the icing to the **** cake the bastard Datsun Bilsteins actually fitted the same mounting points as the Fiat!
My front end was ****ed, the Bilsteins were now ****ed (from bottoming out) So what did they do about this? They said because the wrong shocks had been fitted there was no warranty, but they offered me 10% off the price of a new (correct set) of Bilsteins and no compensation for my ruined front end.... C*NTS!!! By then I was contemplating either a lawyer or an AK-47!
I spent the next ten years telling everyone I met never to buy Bilstein shocks. It may have not been the fault of the shocks but they were the authorised agent for Bilstein in Victoria and I know I cost them sales!!
Had the internet been around then I have no doubt I would have had a rebuilt front end, new shocks and a courtesy car to boot while they repaired mine... and all at their expense!!