[rothwem]

So I put a set of Bilstein B6's on my car 25k miles/4 years ago, and the other day I had to take the wheel off to change the HID bulb and I noticed that my fancy yellow struts had peeling paint and rust showing through!

I live in NC and don't drive this thing in the snow, though they do salt the roads some if there is snow expected.

They seem to still damp well, but I'm a little disappointed at the rust. The rest of my undercarriage is pretty much spotless.

Anyone else's B6's looking ugly?

[Jaronbwall]

I think these cars hold up well all things considered. Crawl under any American made car from the mid 2000's and it's a joke. EVERYTHING IS RUST and it's pathetic. These are the budget friendly upgrade for most BMWs. Not much you can do about it. Other brands are anodized aluminum with better hardware, adjustability, but also 2-3x the price.

[Yngvejos]

The paint was probably damaged during the install allowing moisture to creep behind the paint.

My Bilstein B8's still look like new if I wipe them with a rag after 3 years driving on salted winter roads.
I gave them a coat of Fluid film after I installed them.
You can do the same to stop/slow down the rust process on your struts.

[Jaronbwall]

That's what I was thinking. It's a tight fit sliding them onto the knuckle. It's a 15 min job sanding, masking, and painting those yellow again (if the OP cares).

[rothwem]

Originally Posted by Jaronbwall

That's what I was thinking. It's a tight fit sliding them onto the knuckle. It's a 15 min job sanding, masking, and painting those yellow again (if the OP cares).

Yeah, probably related to my ham-fisted install. I'd want to take them out to do the painting, so probably a couple hours to do, but it might be worth it.

[whyzee125]

Bilstein's aren't known to rust like Konis are so I agree, probably got chipped a bit during install especially since the rest of it looks mint. Wire wheel and paint it and then shoot some fluid film or cosmoline and it won't progress.

[lowrydr310]

Originally Posted by Jaronbwall

That's what I was thinking. It's a tight fit sliding them onto the knuckle. It's a 15 min job sanding, masking, and painting those yellow again (if the OP cares).

It's not too tight of a fit with the knuckle spreader tool. I've done three sets of E90 strut replacements and they drop right in. I also put a light coat of grease on the bottom to help them slide in too.