[parapaul]

No need to even do that

If you compress the spring enough while it's still in the turret, and undo the top bolts you can get it out under the wheel arch while it's still bolted into the hub. Once it's out of the turret, it's a cinch to unbolt from the hub and pull it out.

No need to touch the steering rack.

For when you change your mind about the pro-kit...

[Frobius]

That was the aim initially, but we just couldn't get enough clearance to swing the shock out from under the wheel arch. Only way to get it to drop enough was to pop the hub off the steering rack and other such bits. Like you said though, once it was clear of the arch, simple enough to unbolt it from the hub assembly.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by Frobius

..... Weirdly, on the break between the two bits of spring, there was very little clean metal, probably 75% of the surface of the break was rusted over. Makes me think that it was cracked before and it just finally went. In fact about 5cm either side if where it broke, the spring was rusty.....

Most likely corrosion induced hydrogen embrittlement. Both my front springs failed on my E91, one a year after the first, almost to the day. As BMW wouldn't replace the second as a precautionary measure, (as it was a warranty item), they had to do it a year later. One snapped a few metres from home on a cold morning, the second just popped on the drive one night. Both breaks looked like they were started by corrosion and resulting hydrogen embrittlement.

HighlandPete

[Billyray911]

Originally Posted by xPETEZx

Is this the m sport springs or se springs that have this issue?

Mine were oem M sport.

OP-glad its all sorted now!

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by Billyray911

Mine were M sport.

OP-glad its all sorted now!

Mine were OEM SE springs.

BTW, this failure of springs is not particularly a BMW issue. We had a run of broken springs in the family, 3 on BMWs, 2 on VWs and 1 on a Vauxhall, all run locally to here.

Was speaking with our local recovery service, and the guy was saying he is experiencing many more failures of recent times, on many makes of cars. Often they just break over night as the temperature cools. Obviously already failing, but the cold is the final straw for enbrittlement failures. Many are not so lucky and failure can do a lot of damage on the run, particularly if the spring perches, like the E9x models don't have spring catchers. Easy to hole a tyre.

HighlandPete

[Cyprio]

Dumb question, but I'll admit I'm a noob when it comes to stuff like this.

Can oem springs be changed over to Eibach springs without also having to change anything else i.e shocks/dampers etc - in other words can I just do a straight spring swap as all I'm trying to acheive is a slight drop, plus piece-of-mind that I'm running with better quality springs.

My car is an msport but came with the msport suspension deletion, and other than the ride I have no idea of the mechanical changes between msport suspension and se suspension - anyone know what the differences are?

Cheers for any help.

[RichJ]

Are springs covered under BMW warranty (mondial)?

[Billyray911]

Originally Posted by RichJ

Are springs covered under BMW warranty (mondial)?

Depends on the technician who sees your car at the dealership.
The one that saw mine said that he believed that the damage was wear and tear.He reports to the service dept who report to Mondial.
As a result,Mondial would not budge and I incurred the costs.
Speaking to Mondial,they said that will accept the verdict of the technician,so using my example,it could have gone either way.
Appears to be as black and white as that!

[Frobius]

I wonder how much random snapping metal they can claim is wear and tear! Oh sorry sir, your door hinges breaking and your door falling off on the M6 is just wear and tear!

Metal is metal ffs!!

[lynas]

Just had this happen on my 335d M sport, passenger front.

Popped it into reverse, foot off brake and bang. Gone.

Eibach Pro's ordered, although I did consider the AC S springs for a good few hours...

[Billyray911]

At least it was low speed and you're aware of it happening.Suspension freshen up is no bad thing either!