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1969, 2002. I know this thread has been beaten to death already, but in doing a substantial search I couldn’t come up with a clear solution to my current problem. Any input is much appreciated. In doing a suspension clean up and overhaul I opted to go with the 50401 H&R Springs suggested on this forum, along with Bilstein 34-000236 front struts. It seems like a very common, fool proof upgrade. The issue I’m having is this. There is an amount of slack in the spring, allowing it to move and twist on the plate when there is no weight on it. I’ve read in some posts that this is a common problem with IE front suspension components, but I couldn’t find anything to suggest this happens with H&R. In fact, quite the opposite has been said here about H&R. In my opinion this shouldn’t be happening at all, components should be firm and secure. What I was able to read indicated shorter front strut cartridges are available, but with the set up I’ve obtained so often recommended on this site, I’m wondering if that’s even necessary? Admittedly I did clean up and use a second hand set of strut towers, with the same part number stamped as the ones I took out. I don’t believe they are bent or manipulated in any way, the cartridge appears firm and secure in the tower, and the gland nut was tightened about halfway down the treads with minimal effort. I guess in all this, I’m asking and wondering what my options from here are, or if anyone with more substantial experience than me can point out anything I might be missing? This is my first attempt at this, and for something that should have been so straight forward, it’s been anything but...

I would like to introduce myself to my fellow 2002 owners. I very recently helped my son purchase his first car that wasn’t a family hand-me-down: it’s a 1975 ’02 with a 3-speed automatic. The car is in overall “good” condition: it starts, runs and drives, it has no obviously intrusive rust, and it’s been repainted at least once. The driver side rear fender has a couple of very small shallow dents. The seats are good, but the dash has a lot of cracks. The odometer works, but the clock doesn’t/ It came with a thick folder of original manuals, service records and receipts covering the first twenty years of the car’s life. It was fastidiously maintained during this time by its first two owners. The first owner added an aftermarket air conditioning system that included a single radiator for both engine coolant and refrigerant. I’m happy the subsequent owners kept and transferred all the original documentation, but unfortunately none adding their own documentation to it. The fellow I bought it from said he installed the Weber 38/38 DGEV. He also said he replace the strut cartridges, but he obviously did not replace any other suspension components. The car steers VERY hard, and the inside of the driver’s side front tire is badly worn. All of the steering joints have some play in them. So, the first order of business is replacing the steering and suspension components. This leads to my first question for the FAQ members: What is your experience with BMW or OEM (Lemforder?) vs. aftermarket parts (Moog, OCAP, Meyle, etc.)? Specifically, are there any aftermarket brands to avoid? Thanks, and I look forward to sharing my knowledge gained with the forum members as my son and I gradually restore this terrific car!

With my 73tii, sitting on the hoist in my brother's garage, we are waiting for the availability of Bilstein HD's to pair with the H&R springs, and ST sways. What I had been hearing from Blunttech and seeing on other websites, Mid to late May, which I could like with. The shocks and struts on the car are as dead as a Norwegian Blue. Bilsteins are not available. For whatever reason, and I have heard two explanations, there is no product in the supply chain. I did a quick follow up with Blunttech and also with Bilstein USA. Bilstein ruined my day by advising that they will not have these to ship to retailers until late July or August. I let Blunntech know what I heard as well. As the fates would have it, a new unused set came up on the Classifieds yesterday, but it was in the middle of the day and I am still young enough to be working, so I missed it. Ebay has a set at $600 but it comes from an outfit called German Salvage. That alone sets off the warning lights. So, I am pondering the following: 1. Find used shocks and wait to put the rest of the items on when the Bilsteins actually become available. 2. Use Konis, but this may be settling for a lesser suspension set up, 3. Let the car sit, put on the dead shocks and start prepping for paint. The plan was to drive the car for a bit do the June 3rd St. Louis European Car Show as a 'diamond in the rough', and see what other mechanical issues could be lurking. The issues appear to be done, but we need to drive it a bit to see. So it boils down to Konis versus Bilsteins? Any opinions?

Hi, I’m trying to remove the sway bar so I can put in new alternator. The sway bar bushings in front are held down by what appear to be hex bolts looking up. My question are both bolts hex bolts? The inboard bolt doesn’t appear to be a hex bolt. Is it rusted. Is it supposed to be that way? Okay three questions for now. Thanks Alex

Changing the strut bearings means getting the struts out. I can deal with engines and drivelines, but I know diddly squat about suspension, so I got hopelessly confused by both the terminology, and by what attaches to what, functions how, and can move in which way. Hence, here's a pictorial guide to changing strut bearings. You know you will want to change yours if there are large cracks in the rubber support, even though I now realise that the consequences of the rubber support failing are not as dire as I originally had thought - it supports the damping rod, the force of the spring is on the metal plate on the bottom of the strut support. So, what is a strut bearing ? This is a strut bearing: It lives right under the top of your fender, and you come across it as you open the hood. It looks innocuous, this tiny little black rubber contraption, fixed with three little nuts around the perimeter, and if you open up the half-domed cap on top, which just snaps on, you can see a self-locking 19mm nut. Let's first look at a diagram. I hope Kenneth Ball won't mind I stole his: You recognize the strut bearing at the top. If the strut has to come out to change it, you have to somehow disconnect it at the bottom as well, or else make the wheel hub drop far enough down so that it can move outwards from the top of the fender. I thought I might be able to disconnect the three nuts at 24. They are safety wired, but more importantly, one of them cannot be reached at all with the brake backing plate in place, and to remove that, the wheel hub has to come off. That is a big no-no in my book. Disconnecting the strut bearing at the top will not allow it to come down far enough to move past the fender. The limiting factor here is the sway bar - nr 28 on the picture, which connects to the wishbone through the long bolt nr 33. So this is the first thing you do, before even jacking up the car - soak that bolt and the double nut on the other end in penetrating oil, and brush off all the dirt and rust with a brass brush. While the penetrating oil soaks in, crack the wheel nuts loose. They are 19mm. Bolts and nuts are 13mm, so get a long spanner or a ratchet, and remove the nuts. This is easier said than done. 48 years of rust will have you breaking a sweat, as the bolt is far longer than it needs to be. If the rubber bushings turn out to be shot, order new ones. Mine were fine. The bushings are in two parts, make a note of the order and orientation of the washers. The diagram has the bolt head pointing upwards, on my car the bolt head was on the bottom. I have no idea what is smarter, but it would have been easier to undo if the nuts would have been on the bottom I think. Obviously, you turn the nut, not the bolt, in order not to unduly stress the bushing. The rest of the pictures are of the right side of the car, but here is a comparison picture of how far the wheel can move down with the swaybar undone on the left side, as compared to the fully extended suspension with the sway bar fixed - on the right side. Once the sway bar is undone, you can crack the 19mm nut in the middle of the strut bearing loose. You may need to hold the 8mm hex head at the end of the damper rod with a spanner in order to do this - sometimes you will just spin the damper rod instead of the 19mm nut. In fact, if you are able to follow the instructions below to the letter, it makes little difference if you undo the nut completely. The shiny steel end of the damper rod may disappear out of sight into the depths, but that is fine, we'll get it back later. If you have a spring compressor handy, it might be wiser to not undo the nut completely, so you can keep track of the damper rod. If you have a spring compressor, now would be a good time to put it on the suspension spring as it is compressed by the weight of the car. I had no spring compressor. If your springs are tired and 48 years old like mine, you can get away with this. I'm not saying it is a very good idea, but you can get away with it. If you installed new, stiffer springs, there will be a moment in this story where you will get stuck. You will not endanger yourself, but you will get seriously stuck, until you get a spring compressor, and then you'll have to compress the spring with the compressor instead of using the weight of the car. Best to beg, borrow or buy a spring compressor before you start. Now, finally, you are ready to jack up the car. Place the car on sturdy stands. The middle of the subframe makes a good jacking point, the framerails or the end of the subframe right inside of the hinge point for the wishbones are good for placing stands. Once the car is jacked up, remove the wheel. The two bolts at the back of the brake backing plate which hold the brake caliper on are also 19mm, and can be undone with the same tool as the wheelnut. Once you have the brake calipers off, remember NOT TO TOUCH THE BRAKE PEDAL until they are installed again. You have to tie them to something so the rubber brake line is not stressed in any way. The swaybar, which is disconnected from the rest of the assembly anyway, is great for this. Now we are ready to undo the three nuts and their washers at the top of the strut bearing. Once you do this, the whole shebang will drop out of sight. Make sure it does not dent the fender from the inside. I suspect that if the spring has a compressor on it, that you can now simply move the whole strut outwards, and if you press down on the wishbone with your foot, it will clear the fender. However, I had no spring compressor. Which is why I undid the 19mm nut at the end of the damper rod competely and made a note of the order of the washers and spacers. Then, pushing down on the wishbone, I wiggled the strut bearing off the end of the strut while it was still inside the fender. The damper rod will slowly slide inwards under its own weight, but that is fine, we will get it back later. Now you need to concentrate on getting the strut out from under the fender. This requires a combination of leaning on the top of the spring to compress it and pushing down on the wishbone with your foot. I used a nearly finished roll of kitchen paper to make sure I didn't damage the fender. Once it is out, it will look like this: As the spring is uncompressed, it is very easy to reach through the coils, grab the damper rod, and push it back up until it fits through the hole at the top of the strut. Now is a good time to unpack the new strut bearing: Then mount it on top of the strut, and thread the 19mm nut back on for a few turns, using only a single washer, not the stack of washers and spacers that came out. We'll get to that later. However, do make sure that you thread the top of the nut past the hex bolt head at the end of the strut - you will need to be able to reach that later! Since your strut is now higher by the height of the rubber strut bearing, getting it back under the fender, using the same roll of kitchen paper, will be more difficult. This is where a spring compressor comes in really handy, as it would avoid all of these shenanigans - you could just place the strut bearing back on top, complete with its stack of washers and spacers, tilt the strut back under the fender and be done with it. Still, I managed to do it without, just pushing down on the wishbone and compressing the strut by hand. At this point, reassembly is really just the reverse of disassembly. The strut bearing has a fixed orientation, the bolt pattern will only fit one way. As soon as you have the studs through the holes in the fender (you will have to lift the wishbone with your foot e.g. under the brake disk), put the small 13mm nuts and their washers back on. The difficult part of the job is now done. Reassemble the brake caliper and put the wheel back on. Jack up the car, remove the stands, and drop the car back onto its suspension. While doing this, double check that the bolt for the sway bar is going back though the hole at the end of the sway bar. The weight of the car will now compress the spring, and also the damper rod. Get a pair of flat pliers, grab the hex head at the end of the damper rod, and pull it up as far as will go, which should be very easy. There is a definite positive stop to it. Then undo the 19mm nut, put the whole stack of washers and spacers back where they were, and thread the 19mm nut back on until it bottoms out. Hold onto the hex with an 8mm spanner if the damper rod turns along with the 19mm nut. The last thing to do back up is the sway bar, with the wheel on the ground (n order not to unduly stress the bushings, and also because the bolt head or nuts will be much further away from the struts, making it much easier to fit a spanner), and finally torquing the wheel nuts with the wheel on the ground. You are now ready to start over on the other side. Total time for me doing both sides, finding my way as I went along, was about 4 hours. Cris View full article

Honestly this will add up to be more than my refund, but it's a good excuse to motivate me to place the order. I would like to refresh the stock suspension on my '75 while lowering it a bit. I've included a link below to my IE wish list for the order and would appreciate any comments. Want to be sure I'm not missing anything to get the job done. Not planning on replacing the shocks since the car came to me with very new looking Bilsteins both front and rear, https://www.iemotorsport.com/bmw/WISH.html?Action=RMWL&WishList_ID=293&Wish_ID=2619&Offset= Appreciate any thoughts, mostly just want to be sure I've not left anything off. I've never really done this type of work before so it's going to be interesting.

Hi. I bought a Nardi wheel and hub from Crowder's about 4 years ago. I've always questioned the fitment of the hub and have had issues with the horn button working intermittently. The original horn button was a double contact so I had to make a secondary ground wire which never liked to stay put. I recently changed to a single contact but haven't gotten it all sorted yet. Is anyone on the board have a Nardi hub in their car? Does this look correct? I always though it should seat closer to the steering column vs having a 1/4 inch or more of a gap (I haven't measured the exact distance). The hub itself won't go any lower. Horn button is not popped in in the photo below. I took it out to try and seat the hub lower this morning with no luck. I would love to get this all sorted out so I can pass NY State inspection. A working horn is pretty much a safety item for a small car in NYC traffic. Mike

I bought this steering wheel several years ago with the intention of installing it in an early tii I owned. Never got around to it, but every picture I see of a similar wheel, shows the spokes were perforated. Does anyone know if this steering wheel was an option? What's the story behind it? Would it be correct for a 1971 build?

Any advantage to seam welding the Lower Control arms? (not an M20 AceAndrew build but while I am here....) The Steering box does not look bad, The car steered like a bus wheel dodge dart, but could be the tie rods etc. Should I dismantle it to look for galling? The seals look intact. Fill it and look for leaks instead? Can you see anything through just the top cover? Finally doing a front suspension rehab, IE bushings, sway bars, springs struts. Car is new to me but very clean components. Ball joints look and feel great, OEM riveted. Can still read labels on strut tubes, Car had to have been apart, no safety wire on the strut bolts. Replace ball joints just because I have new ones? (IE supplied OCAP I think) The idler bushings feel tight, I have new ones more to do I guess. The only part of the car yet to come apart is the trans to change the clutch, (exposing trans seal and engine rear main) I have to reassemble the car someday

Can anyone think of any reason for a $500 difference on what appears to be the identical nardi 390mm wheel? I've pinged a few questions on Amazon but no answer. The part number is one number different but the pics are identical. Very confused. This one is $345. https://www.amazon.com/Nardi-Steering-Wheel-Polished-5061-39-3000/dp/B004UA8PHG/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1517458001&sr=8-5&keywords=nardi+steering+wheel&refinements=p_89%3ANARDI This one is $850 https://www.amazon.com/Nardi-Steering-Wheel-Mahogany-5061-38-3000/dp/B00HTED9MQ/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1517458339&sr=8-8&keywords=nardi+steering+wheel+390mm

Hi All, I was trying to read through some articles and get some clarity on how to adjust my steering box and some extra "play" while driving straight in the steering wheel. I do have some questions: 1- when trying to make adjustments to the steering box, you loosen the 19mm nut first and then you can use a flat head screw driver to adjust the screw in the center of the nut. The more you turn the adjustment screw in, the tighter the steering will get? Will this remove that "play" when driving straight (steering centered)? 2- If question 1 is a no to removing the "play," Would you then try to adjust the steering column from the nut behind the steering wheel? I read a little about it, but I don't understand what the purpose of this process is. 3- If Q1 = no and Q2 = no , then what other options do I have to remove that "play" in the steering. I know the steering won't be as tight as new cars, but to me, there seems to be a little too much play... Thanks and any other tips/ ideas are valued as well!

I finally decided to tackle the sloppiness in the steering. It has just gotten worse to the point of the car tracking on freeway ruts anywhere it wants to and me having to overcorrect so much that I looked like I was driving in an old movie. I was under the car and saw the first indication of trouble with the tie rod ends on the bar that connects to the pitman. The rubber bushings were completely gone. The pictures below show the sloppiness on the steering wheel, how bad the ball joints actually were and how much play was on the wheel/tire. I will do the other ball joints and tie rods but they are still in decent shape. This gave the car a completely new feeling, nice and tight. I was pleasantly surprised to not find slop on the steering box. One tip, the cotter pins on the pitman and idler arms are a complete PITA to take out from under the car. It’s not very easy from the top but at least you can see what you are doing and not break them and spend hours fixing that mistake. Also, a ball joint remover is a great tool to have. Make sure your face is away from the joint because they pop really hard. Hope this thread helps in the future. I will continue posting when I do the rest of the steering components as they are needed to have all documented in one place.

I have a steering problem that crops up fairly regularly. Driving on surface streets at 25-30 mph it often wants to veer one way or the other, while other times it will run straight as an arrow. The movement is very gentle and easily corrected with just the lightest finger tip effort, but is definitely not my imagination. Other than that little head scratcher the steering is excellent, no tight spots and very little play in the wheel. I had a thought it could be due to my short springs. I'm using some shorter, stiffer sport type springs, and IE anti sway bars. With the car sitting on the suspension I can reach up and twist/move the springs from their perches just a little, doesn't seem like they rotate all the way off the stops but they do move. Does this sound like the culprit? I have been trying to explain why the direction of "drift" changes seemingly randomly and think it might be dependent on what direction I last turned the wheel sharply. If it's pulling to the right I can stop the car and turn the wheel to the left a bit, then start up and slowly more the wheel straight ahead as I pull away and the car will usually drive straight. I may need to either add a thin spacer to the springs or tire wire the springs down on the perches. Lastly, when parking and turning the wheel significantly I occasionally hear a little knock or click coming from the general area of the springs.

The Steering box on my car is difficult to turn at the middle of its' swing. I can turn the coupling bracket by hand through the rough parts, but it does not do the full sweep when pushing the arm. It is disconnected from the center link. The steering wheel needed larger back and forth adjustments at interstate speeds so I suspect I need to address this. I read the worm gear is likely worn- who can I send this to? Is this a repair by replacement thing? Should I just drive it? Thanks,

I held out for a few years, but after seeing all the lower-sitting '02s at the BMW Saratoga Vintage this summer, I decided to go for it. You can imagine my horror when I removed the old spacers; one was totally corroded (see pics). A buddy of mine had removed a set from his '73 years ago and had given them to me. So now they sit on top. I took "Schatzi" to the Gathering of the Marques this past weekend at Lime Rock, meeting up with Doug (dlmrun2002) in Putnam County for a "spirited drive" to the Park. What a blast; Doug had a great route planned and Schatzi handled much, much better. I was one happy puppy! Once again, thanks for the great advice FAQers! Best -Bob

The rear rubber trans mount on my 72 auto is missing and I am trying to find out how to attach the trans to the cross member on the tunnel. The cross member hole does Not line up with any hole on the trans although there is a forked fitting on the trans just a few inches away Does that mean my alignment is off?

As the title says I wondering what do the pros charge ? How much labor time is average ?

I just noticed that the Moog ball joint has a lock nut instead of the OEM castellated nut & split pin. What should this be torqued to when attaching to the steering arms? Also, wise to use red loctite? Thanks in advance.

Just placed an order with our Pal Steve at Blunttech. Bilstein HD's Front/Rear H/R Sport Springs Front/Rear ST Sway Bars Anyone using this setup? Thoughts?

I am a day or two away from getting the rest of the rear of the car out. I plan to reload with new parts and have a question about the sub frame mounts. I have read where the earlier cars used the same ones for each side. I looked at the thread here about rebuilding the suspension and the op refers to two different numbers for the part ( and that was what I needed for my e21). I have a 1975 car. Are they the same? I know I will get a good look at them once the frame is out but the different site I have been looking at for the parts list very confusing info , either the parts are not available or they reference a right one. Anyone that can clarify would be appreciated. Jay

I've entrusted the guys at T3 to build my suspension, I've had a long history with the guys up there... everything from my old AE86 corolla to my TE72. Hes been a huge help to the Japanese Nostalgic Car community. I reached out to Gabe a month or so ago asking if hes had any experience building 2002 suspension, low and behold; Ground controls + AGX they even gusseted the knuckle. the RCA has a great finish on it as well! I'm excited to drive on them, and if its anything like I had in the past, it will be problem free and great on the track. send inquiries (if you have any) over to www.technotoytuning.com

HI, Im doing the coilover conversion and I need to find a rear strut brace that can support the shock towers. I looked into the TEP brace but people have said that they dont brace? I have the one from rogers tii but the wheel well side isnt reachable without cutting out the metal that the spring was originally on. Any recommendations?

Hi All: I am pretty new to working on cars and need some help. I have a 1976 2002 and need to rebuild the front end. I am trying to get away with a minimum of money on it because I am using this car to learn on and want to rebuild a roundie to keep. In other words it is a practice car. I figured out the new parts I need except for the end link bushings. I can't find a diagram of exactly what I need. From what I can tell I need 4 washers, a bolt, a nut, a spacer and two bushings. Do I need a teflon cover for the end link itself? Where do I source the bolt, nut, and washers, from the autoparts store? Are they grade 8.8? I am trying to gather the parts before disassembly. Thanks in advance for your help. Charlie