Spring question

[6670charger]

When replacing the springs, is it necessary to replace the front upper spring plate?

How do you tell if the rear springs have the automatic load leveling?


Sounds like I may be dumping my 92 525i touring for a 95 525i touring. My 92 needed some front end parts, all of which I either have or are ordered and on the way. Since ordering the parts, I discovered it also has some bad metal fuel line in the aft part of the car. I started trying to piece sections together, but after looking at some diagrams of the fuel routing, I'm afraid of what I'll find above the tank if I drop it to work on what I can't see right now.

A buddy of mine is about to dump his 95 because it needs a front end rebuild and new springs. The rest of the car is in really good shape, even better than my 92. It has a whole lot less rust, and it runs great. He just doesn't want to spend the money on the front end. I put it up on a hoist and found that the fuel lines are in really good shape, so no issues there like on my car. The best thing is, I can have the 95 for free since he was going to donate it to the local yard anyway. It even has some features that my 92 doesn't have. Both cars have nearly identical mileage.

I'm thinking at this point that I'd rather spend my time rebuilding a front end and suspension since I only have to buy a few more pieces beyond what I already have, instead of trying to cobble fuel lines together. The control arms and tie rods will be new. The springs I'll probably rob out of my 92 since they seem to work fine. The 92 has a decent ride height and handles great. Just need to make sure the rear springs interchange. I'll take the best from both cars and make one good one.

[Tiger]

Majority of touring has self leveling system. You will see all extra parts that you don't see in your car. bellows... shock absorber with hydraulic lines attached... etc.

No, you don't have to unless it is making clunking noises. You should however, change the spring pads... makes a world of difference.

[BennyM]

I did exactly what you're proposing (though it was two sedans, not tourings). The suspension on the 92 was shot and the chassis was rusting away, but I did take a lot of other parts from it for use on the 95. It is definitely worth the upgrade in my opinion. Everything in the 95 is slightly more refined, and I immediately felt better about driving that instead of the 92. 95 was the last chance the engineers had to tweak their earlier designs before they started on the E39. Although, I think the springs are different for 94 and 95 models.

[6670charger]

You're right about the springs being different....the rears anyway. After doing some research on the cars, my 95 is actually a 520i. The 92 is a 525i. The 525 apparently only came with the levelling feature. I know my 520 doesn't have that. After doing some comparison, I found that the upper/lower spring pads are identical between the models, and the springs themselves were dependent on certain car options, which I suspect were related mostly to the type of suspension used (ie: sport, lowered, normal), and possibly the stiffness of the 525 vs. 520 spring in general. Otherwise, the overall spring design and fit should be identical. The strut/shock appear different. Both of these cars have "standard" suspension (no mods). I should be able to simply swap the rear springs between the assemblies, put in new rubber pads and re-install the 520 rear spring assemby right back into the car. I may check into a new shock/strut.

The front springs between the two models/years are identical. The 520 in 1995 had two front spring/strut options, one of which is identical to the front spring/strut setup for the 525 in 92. Should be a direct swap other than changing the spring pads.

[jasper6bears]

Hello

I am based in the UK and have a 1993 E34 525i Touring with SLS

Can anyone tell me which Touring models did not have the SLS and what years. Most seem to.

Also if trying to keep stock heights and removing SLS which pattern springs and shocks are best compromise.

Cheers

[Diego]

Quite an Interesting Question.I think that some one here must have answer of this question...
You have asked the Q on the right place but you have to wait for the right person to get the answer...

[632 Regal]

Quite an Interesting Question.I think that some one here must have answer of this question...
You have asked the Q on the right place but you have to wait for the right person to get the answer...

hmm... first ban of the year?

[6670charger]

Well, I'll find out for sure tomorrow night. Got the front end rebuilt, now comes the rear now that I finally have the correct struts.

[6670charger]

Well, finally got her done. Man does she ride a whole lot better. Discovered during disassembly that both of the old front springs were broken. Apparently, one of the PO's put in a set of lowering springs, and both of the snapped. What a difference decent springs, new shocks, and new ball joints make!!

[Tiger]

What brand was those broken springs? I'd like to know. I am now a real firm believer of changing spring every 100,000 miles or earlier. I was recently working on my folk's 2001 E320... changing upper control arm (ball joint worn out)... one snapped while we were working on the car and the other side apparently was broken... this is OE original springs.

Put in an Eibach set... drives really really nice now.

[6670charger]

I have no idea. Didn't look for a brand. They were yellow in color if that means anything, but, I'll bet there are several aftermarket springs available in yellow.

Sorry

[Tiger]

Yellow? No... not many aftermarket springs in yellow.

Eibach is black.
H&R is red
D&G is also red
L-something is also red...

The only aftermarket springs that I know is yellow is Intrax... if you have a chance... look for the brand...

[6670charger]

They're already in the junk. Yes, they were a nice bright yellow. Only used in the front. The rears were OEM, and still in good shape. Just needed new struts.

[Tiger]

That is so messed up... peobably not even the right one for the car... they are always sold in set of 4. With OE in rear... it would ride like crap.

You installed all 4 lowering springs right?

[6670charger]

Nope. I was on a budget, and the car I have right now is a cheap hoopty. I left the rear springs and changed the struts. Got new shocks for the front, and put the good front OEM springs from my 92 525 in since I still had the car and they were free. Changed out the upper/lower control arms, stabilizers, tie rods and brakes too. I was amazed, though, that the 520 uses the same upper spring mount as the 85-90 3 series. The upper mount out of my junked 525 was completely different.

[John B.]

My 95 525i Touring (built 6/95) does not have SLS.