E91 Straight Six Bearding

[MajorMantra]

beambeam1 said:

Thanks to all the replied re: discs and pads suggestions. Currently shopping around for prices the now but RealOEM only shows me 330x24 for front discs whilst BMW parts are stating it as 300x20 I am after. Got a spreadsheet going...

Unsure if it helps but the ATE front discs I fitted were part number 104111105. My car is a 2006 325i M-Sport btw.

[ferrisbueller]

beambeam1 said:

How much you likely after for them?

Not allowed to put adverts on threads but obviously looking at the price of a decent part worn set of 17" Wintrac tyres + a decent set of staggered OEM style 194 wheels.

[paulguitar]

g3org3y said:

If it came up with an EML, it should have logged an error code. Get a code reader on it.

Mmm, this is strange, the EML came on but there are no stored codes.

[beambeam1]

ferrisbueller said:

Not allowed to put adverts on threads but obviously looking at the price of a decent part worn set of 17" Wintrac tyres + a decent set of staggered OEM style 194 wheels.

My bad re: advertising. Think I'll pass. 194's are what I currently have but found a spare MV3 at my brother's workshop yesterday from my old E91 so might see if can source three more and get some 18" wheels on the car instead.

MajorMantra said:

beambeam1 said:

Thanks to all the replied re: discs and pads suggestions. Currently shopping around for prices the now but RealOEM only shows me 330x24 for front discs whilst BMW parts are stating it as 300x20 I am after. Got a spreadsheet going...

Unsure if it helps but the ATE front discs I fitted were part number 104111105. My car is a 2006 325i M-Sport btw.

Thank you, that did indeed help. Same car but a 2005.

I've now bought ATE discs and Textar pads front and back. I think I have new wear sensors already so will dig them out before ordering. Away to buy some front shocks as well and see about swapping them in the same time I do the rears and brakes. Might even replace the handbrake shoes and cables whilst I'm there but if anyone can suggest other items that may/might as well require attention do let me know.

[g3org3y]

paulguitar said:

g3org3y said:

If it came up with an EML, it should have logged an error code. Get a code reader on it.

Mmm, this is strange, the EML came on but there are no stored codes.

That's odd. To clarify, the EML has gone out of its own accord now? Any further running issues on the car?

I'd expect a code in the DME.

[paulguitar]

g3org3y said:

paulguitar said:

g3org3y said:

If it came up with an EML, it should have logged an error code. Get a code reader on it.

Mmm, this is strange, the EML came on but there are no stored codes.

That's odd. To clarify, the EML has gone out of its own accord now? Any further running issues on the car?

I'd expect a code in the DME.

Yes, EML went off when I restarted the car. Appears to be running perfectly otherwise.

[MajorMantra]

beambeam1 said:

Thank you, that did indeed help. Same car but a 2005.

I've now bought ATE discs and Textar pads front and back. I think I have new wear sensors already so will dig them out before ordering. Away to buy some front shocks as well and see about swapping them in the same time I do the rears and brakes. Might even replace the handbrake shoes and cables whilst I'm there but if anyone can suggest other items that may/might as well require attention do let me know.

Good stuff. If you're doing shocks, make sure you get a full set of bump stops (they call them "additional shock absorbers" or something weird like that) and the top mounts and lower mounts as well. When I did my rear shocks, I didn't realise about the lower mounts and they were in pieces when I took it all apart.

[beambeam1]

Ah, thanks. I can see according to RealOEM that "The following part is absolutely vital for strut replacements: Additional shock absorber, front"

Front kit I bought (Sachs) comes with x2 front shock absorbers, x2 strut mounts, x1 dust cover kit. Rears include x2 rear shocks, x2 rear top mounts and x1 dust cover kit.

I'm assuming you mean these items?



Saw them being fiddled with as part of a YouTube tutorial.

[g3org3y]

beambeam1 said:

Ah, thanks. I can see according to RealOEM that "The following part is absolutely vital for strut replacements: Additional shock absorber, front"

Front kit I bought (Sachs) comes with x2 front shock absorbers, x2 strut mounts, x1 dust cover kit. Rears include x2 rear shocks, x2 rear top mounts and x1 dust cover kit.

I'm assuming you mean these items?



Saw them being fiddled with as part of a YouTube tutorial.

If you are doing the rears, definitely do the lower mounts, mine looked like this when removed:


For replacing the rear shocks, this is what you need imo:


2x dampers
2x bump stop/dust cover kit
2x lower mounts
2x top mount repair kit (get the BMW one as it comes with the metal plate too)
4x star bolts that attach the lower mount to the wishbone (they are one time use and should be replaced anyway but if rusted and seized they are a bugger to remove)

As you can see, my star bolts gave me a bit of bother!


Old vs new


If you need any links/part numbers for the stuff I've mentioned above, just let me know.

[JakeT]

You can also get the lower mounts as a value line kit, which comes with the bolts.

Part number is 33 52 2 406 287.

[g3org3y]

JakeT said:

You can also get the lower mounts as a value line kit, which comes with the bolts.

Part number is 33 52 2 406 287.

Good call. (I didn't notice that option on RealOEM...but was probably not looking hard enough!)

(I blood hated those bolts...the medial ones were clean and fairly ok to remove, the lateral ones were rusted to fk and despite soaking with PlugGas a week previous & cleaning with wire wool etc still an utter git).

[JakeT]

g3org3y said:

Good call. (I didn't notice that option on RealOEM...but was probably not looking hard enough!)

(I blood hated those bolts...the medial ones were clean and fairly ok to remove, the lateral ones were rusted to fk and despite soaking with PlugGas a week previous & cleaning with wire wool etc still an utter git).

I can understand that. I replaced all of the suspension on mine last week, and I managed to have access to a lift for it. So much easier. Those bolts I was scared of rounding zipped out nicely with an impact gun. Best thing to use on crap old suspension bolts.

[MajorMantra]

beambeam1 said:

Ah, thanks. I can see according to RealOEM that "The following part is absolutely vital for strut replacements: Additional shock absorber, front"

Front kit I bought (Sachs) comes with x2 front shock absorbers, x2 strut mounts, x1 dust cover kit. Rears include x2 rear shocks, x2 rear top mounts and x1 dust cover kit.

I'm assuming you mean these items?



Saw them being fiddled with as part of a YouTube tutorial.

Yep, those are the ones. My rears looked much like g3org3y's, totally disintegrated.

[gpfanuk]

Can anyone answer a query regarding roof rails? I have a 59 plate lci msport 325i (N53) which has open roof rails. What year did they start to fit the closed ones?

[g3org3y]

JakeT said:

g3org3y said:

Good call. (I didn't notice that option on RealOEM...but was probably not looking hard enough!)

(I blood hated those bolts...the medial ones were clean and fairly ok to remove, the lateral ones were rusted to fk and despite soaking with PlugGas a week previous & cleaning with wire wool etc still an utter git).

I can understand that. I replaced all of the suspension on mine last week, and I managed to have access to a lift for it. So much easier. Those bolts I was scared of rounding zipped out nicely with an impact gun. Best thing to use on crap old suspension bolts.

I needed a combo of blow torch and impact gun!

The splines were so rusted, despite wire wool to clean them up as much as possible the socket really struggled to get a good grip.


Access is a notable issue on the E9X rear suspension. The E36 was much more straightforward.

[MajorMantra]

g3org3y said:

Access is a notable issue on the E9X rear suspension. The E36 was much more straightforward.

Indeed, getting the trim apart to access the rear top mounts is a huge PITA. I thought I did well to break just one (IIRC) plastic tab in the process. Very annoying.

[g3org3y]

MajorMantra said:

Indeed, getting the trim apart to access the rear top mounts is a huge PITA. I thought I did well to break just one (IIRC) plastic tab in the process. Very annoying.

I don't know how it is on the saloon or coupe but the Touring was fiddly. The worst bit was the plastic covers overlying the seat belts here:


Putting it back together was a doddle by comparison.

[MajorMantra]

g3org3y said:

I don't know how it is on the saloon or coupe but the Touring was fiddly. The worst bit was the plastic covers overlying the seat belts here:

Yup, those are the bits I broke tab(s) off. Maybe there's a trick to it but if there is, I couldn't work it out.

[JakeT]

MajorMantra said:

g3org3y said:

I don't know how it is on the saloon or coupe but the Touring was fiddly. The worst bit was the plastic covers overlying the seat belts here:

Yup, those are the bits I broke tab(s) off. Maybe there's a trick to it but if there is, I couldn't work it out.

A warm interior helps. I’ve always found that using the heater, or during summer makes the clips less prone to breakage. I tend to wear gloves too so I can get my fingers in there without fear of hurting myself

[beambeam1]

g3org3y said:

For replacing the rear shocks, this is what you need imo:


2x dampers
2x bump stop/dust cover kit
2x lower mounts
2x top mount repair kit (get the BMW one as it comes with the metal plate too)
4x star bolts that attach the lower mount to the wishbone (they are one time use and should be replaced anyway but if rusted and seized they are a bugger to remove)

If you need any links/part numbers for the stuff I've mentioned above, just let me know.

By squinting really hard I can just about make out the part no. 33522406280.

JakeT said:

You can also get the lower mounts as a value line kit, which comes with the bolts.

And thanks to JakeT for the lowers part no. 33522406287, I think I'm sorted!

Might get the wheels off for a visual inspection sometime this week before I set a day aside for the whole lot but I reckon another £100 is required for these bits on top of the approx. £400 for shocks front and rear and £260 for brake discs/pads front and rear = £750. Brakes are completely necessary, rear shocks were noted as weeping recently and the fronts I hope sort the softness I feel at the front.

Ultimately, I'm hoping new shocks all round will stop the car scraping over speed bumps/cushions around my local streets as well as improve the overall handling. On both points it is nowhere near as good as my previous 325i touring which never scraped at all and took corners at greater speeds.