E-36 Suspension Wear

[Peter Rossato <rossato@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

A few weeks ago I posted a plea for advice as to what could have
affected my car's handling characteristics and I got some suggestions.
I had the car inspected and nothing was found to have unusual wear for
the mileage.  The mechanic that examined the car has my utmost respect,
plus I got to shadow him as he looked around.  I offer the results to
anyone who might have, or will have, similar issues in the near future.
Plus I do have a question for the experienced.

To review:  the car had been lowered by the original owner (at about 30k
mi I believe) and my symptoms are generally loose handling, especially
from the rear end which felt like it was ready to come around under
braking.

The inspection revealed:
1)  a blown left rear shock
2)  worn left front ball joint
3)  worn right front outside tie rod end
4) a hydraulic fluid leak at the reservoir
5) some minor valve cover leakage

The leaking rear shock explains the unstable back end, but surprised me
nonetheless.  When the car was lowered over 60,000 miles ago, Bilsteins
that were installed.  I had always assumed they would be bullet proof.
Some digest readers suggested I had rear sub frame bushing wear.  The
mechanic said that would have been unusual in the e36.  The bushings are
pretty reliable on the 3 and 5 series.  The worn ball joint is best
remedied by a complete control arm replacement.  The cost of ball joints
plus the labor pressing parts out and in come to the same as the control
arm and you get a new rear bushing for the same cost.  This is advice I
have heard elsewhere as well.

The tie rod ends go south between 90 to 120 K miles on the 3s.  The
mechanic's recommendation: although you could replace only the worn tie
rod end, he would replace all four (one inside and one outside on both
sides).  The reasoning is that an alignment is needed following
replacement of the part and individual replacement could end up costing
more if you include the repetition of  labor and alignments.

Hydraulic leak at the hose where it connects to the reservoir is
addressed by replacing the factory crimped on clamp with a screw type
hose clamp.  The crimp style clamps are known to relax at about this
level of mileage.

Valve cover leakage is minimal and does not require action at this time
(translation: "Buddy, you have bigger problems on your hands with the
suspension, save the bucks").

That is what I found out and I hope it helps anyone with a 90+ Kmi E36.
But I do have a question about the blown Bilstein.  I had been under the
impression that Bilstein has a life time warranty.  Is that true? has
anyone ever had a successful claim for them after extensive use?  The
mechanic also suspects worn front shocks.  What has the experience of
others been with long term wear on a set of Bilstein shocks?

Peter Rossato
'94 325is "VDERZEN"

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End of bmw-digest V9 #1774
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