[mattoak]

Taking advantage of the cyber monday deals, and in desperate need of revamping my 150k front end, I purchased:

Oil pan gasket, bolt kit, and oil level sensor gasket
motor mounts
10-piece Lemforder control arm kit (from FCP, includes both front control arms, tie rod ends, connecting links)
Sway bar bushings
Bilstein B4 struts (just trying to replace stock, no performance improvement)
upper and lower front spring coil shims

My question is should I also replace the front upper strut mount / bearing and the front strut bump stop? I'm 95% leaning towards replacing the bump stop as well, but I wasn't planning on doing the strut mount / bearing piece, unless some people here think it is also be replaced?

Thanks

[Camman]

Yes, replace the front strut mounts. At 150k miles, they will be shot.

[mattoak]

Awesome thanks. I'll do pretty much everything up there in the front end then. Yay almost $1000 just to revamp the front. I was hoping to spend $1000 between the front and rear, but I'm not skimping on any parts. This thing better drive like its brand new when I'm finished.

[Camman]

It's worth it if you plan on keeping the car for a while. And yes, it is going to transform the way the car feels/handles. You are in for quite the surprise. Might feel a tad firmer on the small bumps but it will handle the big bumps 100x better than the worn out shocks.

[e36power]

Originally Posted by mattoak

Awesome thanks. I'll do pretty much everything up there in the front end then. Yay almost $1000 just to revamp the front. I was hoping to spend $1000 between the front and rear, but I'm not skimping on any parts. This thing better drive like its brand new when I'm finished.

I am planning on doing this soon, except I am going to add some upgraded parts. M3 Control arms and a B12 kit. Let us know how it turns out.

[noah.s]

Definitely do the mounts and bump stops. At 150k my mounts were shot and bump stops disintegrated. I did most of the front end but got a set of lightly used struts and it drives a million times better.
Just get a good alignment when your done and you'll be good to go.

I did upper/lower front control arms, sway bar end links, tie rod ends, struts, strut mounts, rubber spring perches(don't know if that's the right term?), and the steering rack boots. I think that's it.

[mattoak]

Thanks everyone!

I'm actually swapping non-sport springs for my sport springs (I made sure all other parts are non-sport too) and putting in E30 (E39?) spring perches as well as the thicker 9mm rubber pads. Sport model is just too low for Colorado winters and driving on anything but pavement in the mountains. This is my daily driver, kayaking, snowboarding vehicle and I'd like more functionality for a small hit on driving performance. At least I still have all the other sport package features!

If anyone wants to buy sport springs I'll soon have some for sale.

I'll be sure to post a report after the project is done.

[Camman]

Well even if you reused the sport springs, the car will sit much higher after all the new parts are installed because over time, the shock mounts, pads, and other bits will sag. At 150k your car was probably sitting an inch lower than when it was new. Regardless, you should be happy with the renewed feel of the car and ride height.