E46 Lowering – Fitting of Eibach Pro Springs

Tools needed:

• Decent socket set (need 16mm, 18mm and 22mm sockets, suitable ratchets and extenders)

• Breaker Bar

• Spring Clamps

• Open ended spanner (17mm)

• Wire brush

• New springs! (I fitted Eibach Pro kit to my e46 325 sport) Front Struts Firstly, pop the cap off the front strut and crack loose the main strut piston nut – don’t undo it any great amount yet. ‘A’ is explained later, don’t worry about it now.

Securely jack up and secure the car with the wheel removed. Loosen the 3 top mount nuts – again, don’t undo at this point. Undo the anti-roll bar drop link top bolt

Make sure the spanner is on the metal part of the link, or you’ll end up knackering the rubber boot and will need new drop links (which depending on the mileage of you car may not be a bad thing anyway)

A

Remove the drop link from it’s hole – you might need to pry the anti-roll bar down a bit to allow you to get it out - use your breaker bar on the chassis to do this. Now you need to undo the main strut clamp bolt. This may well be very corroded (mine was), so it may pay you to douse it in WD40 or other penetrating spray and leave it whilst you make a cuppa.

Remove the bolt. I cleaned the bolt up with a wire brush to make sure it’d be easier to put back in again later. You should now be able to wiggle the strut out of the clamp. Make sure your brake hose isn’t stretched too much when doing this. Mine was ok this time on the e46, but on my previous e39 lowering expedition, we had to remove the calliper so as not to damage the hose. Worth keeping an eye on.

With the strut freed from the clamp, you can now remove the 3 top mount nuts and remove the entire strut assembly from the car. Times like this I quite like being the one behind the camera!

Set the spring clamps onto the strut. Put them on the lowest turn of the spring you can and on the top of the cap - not the top of the top mount.

Make sure the spring claps are set as near exactly opposite as possible, then start clamping the spring down. Clamp each side down a bit at a time so that tension is maintained on both clamps at all times. Keep going until there is no pressure on the top mount, at which point until the main piston nut and remove the top mount. Pay attention to the order things go on, as there’s a metal washer between the top mount and the spring top cap.

Now gradually loosen the spring clamps, again in equal amounts on alternating clamps.

You can also put some grease into the top mount bearings at this point and generally check they are not too rough running. Also check the bump stop (brown foamy looking bit) condition and overall condition of the strut. If you can easily compress the shock absorber by hand, it’s on it’s way out. Mine were solid thankfully! New spring (left) vs old spring (right):

Fitting the new spring is, obviously, the reverse of the removal procedure. Springs are fitted with the writing the right way up. Place the spring top cap on the spring, put the clamps on and compress. Locate the spring on the rubber seat. THE END OF THE SPRING DOES NOT NEED TO SIT UP AGAINST THE GROOVE IN THE RUBBER SEAT, in fact, it probably sits about 30mm away from it. Ensure the spring is located around the seat properly and isn’t resting on the inner lip of it. Check the top mount can be fitted – if not, compress the springs further. Place the metal washed on the spring top cap, then reinstall the top mount and tighten the main piston nut. Gradually release the spring clamps as before. You can now remove the locating lugs (see ‘A’ on first page picture) as this will allow more camber adjustment in future. Simply knock them off using a large screwdriver and a hammer. Reinstall the strut onto the car. Hold it up in place and put on the 3 nuts on the top mount on finger tight for now. Relocate the strut in the lower clamp. You can see where the clamp was before quite easily as it’s the clean bit! You may need to support the hub whilst you do up the main clamp bolt, to make sure the strut is fully home whilst you clamp it.

Reinsert the drop link into its hole and tighten the nut. Again, you’ll need to prise down the anti-roll bar to locate it. That’s it for the fronts. Not so bad, huh? Now for the real easy bit. Rear Springs Jack up the car as before and remove the wheel.

Undo the bolt on the lower end of the rear suspension strut. You’ll need your breaker bar to just crack it loose, then you can use the ratchet. Careful, as when its out the rear trailing arm and shock absorber will move, so what your arms/fingers are not under either of these.

Now the technical bit….. Stand on the rear hub and remove the spring, complete with rubber seat (that sits on the trailing arm)!

Remove the rubber seat from the spring. Rear springs – old (left) vs new (right)

Fit the rubber seat into the new spring (again, writing the right way up). The rear spring locates on lugs on the chassis at the top (left pic below) and on the trailing arm at the bottom (right pic below)

To bolt the rear shock back in place, you will need to place an axle stand under the brake disc hub and gently lower the car until the shock bolt lines up with the hole on the hub and you can bolt it up. That is it. The springs will take a couple of weeks / few hundred miles to settle. You will also need to have a 4 wheel alignment done to ensure everything is running straight, or else you will have weird tyre wearing and/or handling. You can either have this done straight away (as the settling of the springs won’t really throw things out much) or wait a few weeks then have it done. Hope this has been of use. Big thanks once again to Kav (aka Westside) for his help. Russ **Just because you have to say this: Please remember this is only what I did and these notes (albeit described in great detail) are for guidance only. As with anything car related, if you are unsure, please get advice or help from a professional mechanic. I / e36coupe.com / BMWowner.com cannot and will not be held responsible if you damage yourself or something on your car. Thanks**