Quote:
Originally Posted by Efthreeoh
I'm going to chime in. Apologies. So my opinion about suspension refurbishment is this: I've been on E90 Post for over 12 years. I've had my car for over 12 years. I think based on what I've read on E90 Post and based on my experience with my car, people on this Forum replace components far too early and unnecessarily. You don't state where you live in PA, meaning in Philly, Pittsburgh, or a smaller place with smoother roads, but the E90 suspension is far more robust than people think it is. I drive my car on primarily smooth roads, but I drive it very hard on back country roads on a daily basis, so the suspension gets a lot of heavy loading due to high speeds and sharp turns under braking. My lower control arms lasted well over 300,000 miles and were still in great shape (bushings and ball joints) when I replaced them at 336K. In the front, the thrust arms are susceptible to wear at the hydraulic bushings, and if anything, the thrust arms at your mileage may need replacement if the bushings have leaked out the hydraulic fluid. Vibration is a sign of bad thrust arm bushings. I've replaced the thrust arms twice. I did have a ball-joint go bad on the left side on my first replacement set (of M3 thrust arms). Get the M3 thrust arms only because the bushings are solid vs. hydraulic in the standard arms, so they give slightly better feel and last longer.
My rear suspension has all original arms and bushings. What was the reason the dealership recommended the rear shocks be replaced? Generally, if the shocks are leaking oil they need replacement. If you bounce test the rear suspension, does it settle within 1 or 2 bounces? if it does than the shocks are still damping the springs. How does the rear suspension feel to you. Does it feel under-damped and not well controlled. Dealers have known to BS owners into unnecessary repairs (says Capt. Obvious  )
All I'm trying to say is, don't go into complete suspension rebuild mode just because the dealer said the rear shocks are bad and the knuckleheads here tell you because your car has 120,000 miles on it, it needs a complete rebuild. If you drive primarily highway, unless the reads are in bad shape, I can't see it needing much in the way of new suspension components.
My 2 cents. |
The exact quote I got from the stealership was "the technician noticed wetness around the middle of the struts to indicate they were leaking oil from the seal"
They were going to charge 1200 for the rear shock replacement.
I also inspected my rear and front struts the other day ... they seemed fine honestly. I put my fingers on the shaft and there was no fluid. My dad has a CPO F30 he just got - 35k on it, 2016 .. I was bouncing and rocking his car, and bouncing and rocking mine ... the only difference was maybe his "rocked" slightly less than mine?
I also looked at my "thrust arms" (i used to think those were control arms until your post) ... I also looked at any "bushing" i could just looking under the car, and all looked good, I didn't see any leaks.
For the record I live in northeast PA ... there are lots of potholes, etc, our roads are actually terrible, but I do my best to avoid them and am mostly on the highway.
I also lived in florida for a few years, i personally don't think i've beaten up my suspension too bad at all. Is it degraded? I'm sure of it, but is it in need of replacement right now? I don't think it is .. but from my research I've heard it's hard to tell on these cars.
When I do the bounce test it doesn't bounce - but again I've heard others say their's didn't bounce either.
"leaks" seem like they may be the only way to truly tell if it's shot.
