How to Replace Rear Coil Spring 1997-2006 BMW 325Xi

What's up guys? I'm Andy from 1A Auto. In this video I'm going to show you how to replace the rear coil spring on this 2001 BMW 325xi. If you need parts for your vehicle, click the link in the description, head over to 1AAuto.com.

I'm going to loosen up these lug bolts. I'm going use a 17 millimeter socket and a breaker bar. Now I'm going to raise and support the vehicle. We're using a two post lift. If you're doing this at your house, you can use a jack and jack stands.

Now, I'm going to take the 17 millimeter socket and an extension just to take the lug bolts out. Now when I go to take the last one out, I am going to hold the wheel so that the wheel doesn't fall. Take that one out, set it aside and grab the wheel and shake it off.

After I get the wheel off, I'm just going to support the lower controller arm because I want to remove the shock and just, I'm going to support right here. If you're doing this on the ground and you can use a floor jack just to raise this up a little bit. Once you get it to move a little bit, you should be able to take the shock bolt out. Now with the lower control arm supported, I'm just going to take an 18 millimeter socket and an air gun. I'm going to take this bolt out. If you don't have any air tools, you can always use a ratchet or breaker bar.

Get that out. Slide the bolt out. Now I can lower the control arm. It's going to take the tension off the coil spring. Just going to move this brake pad wear sensor wire, just pull it out of that clip right there. Just move it out of the way. That's fine like that. All right, that's good. Now I'm going to remove this bolt right here.

There's a nut on the inside here, so I'm just going to use an 18 millimeter wrench, hold that nut, 18 millimeter socket, and then an air gun. You can use a ratchet if you don't have an air gun. Loosen that up. Get the nut off. Carefully remove this bolt. Oops. Now that can separate.

All right, I want to take these three 18 millimeter bolts out right here. That's of the lower trailing arm. But first I want to take off some of these wires. I don't want to, I want to give him a little more slack because I don't want to break them when I'm taking those out. Just slide those out, out of the clips. And those are the ABS wires and the brake sensor wires, brake pad sensor wire. Now I'm going to use an 18 millimeter socket and my air gun. You can use a breaker bar if you don't have an air gun.

I'm just going to loosen these up a little bit first. I'm not going to take it out completely. Once they're all loose, then I'll take them out. Pull that out. That's why I left one of them in, so if this falls, it's not going to hit anything or hit myself. And I can support this, take this last one out. There we go.

Now I'm just going to get a pry bar, get underneath the spring. Try to slide this out. Just be careful you don't want it to hit you. Just like that.

Take the spring, make sure you have this cone bushing on the bottom and then the open one up top. And now for taking the spring out and putting it in, we had this bolt out right here and then the bolts out for this lower control arm here. It just made this a lot easier to get the spring in and out. I have seen other people take and put a floor jack in between here and push down on this upper control arm, but I feel like that puts a lot of strain on the rear axle and I feel like it might do some damage. Be careful doing that. Not to say it's impossible to do it that way, but so we'll get this lined up.

Push this in. Take a pry bar, try to slide this into position. I'm just going to take a longer pry bar. Pry right above the sway bar link and the frame. Just pry it down. Just try to get over that piece right there and push the spring in. There we go. Be careful with your fingers. And that's good, that's good down below. It's good up top.

We want to get this lined up with the upper control arm. Take a bolt. I put a little copper anti-seize on the bolt, so sometimes you could take a pick or a screwdriver, pick works a little bit easier. Get that to line up and then you take your bolt, get your bolt started. There we go. Then I can just take a 18 millimeter socket, electric ratchet, tighten this down. That's all the way through. Then we can put the nut on the other side. Get that nut on. Take an 18 millimeter wrench, just tighten this up.

That's good. Then I'll take a torque wrench, 18 millimeter socket, 18 millimeter wrench and torque this to 81 foot pounds. All right, now I'm going to raise this trailing arm into position right there and then put the bolts in. Just get the bolts started. Get those other front two bolts in and now I'll raise this up. Get this back one in. You can snug them all down with a 18 millimeter socket and an air gun.

I'm just loosening the pole jack. Get that out of the way. I'll take a 18 millimeter socket and a torque wrench. Tighten these to 57 foot pounds. There we go. Now I'll take these ABS wire and brake sensor wire, reposition these back in the clips. And same with the clips on top. You can get these from above if you can't get them from down below. With a screw jack, I'm just going to get underneath the trailing arm right here. You could probably put a floor jack underneath right there. I'm just going to raise this up a little bit more so that I can get the shock bolt in. Get that lined up. Get it started. Then you're going to tighten this bolt down with a torque wrench and an 18 millimeter socket. Tighten this down to 74 foot pounds.

Anytime you do any kind of suspension work like what we did today, it's a good idea to go down to your local shop and have the vehicle aligned. That way the tires go down the road straight and you don't have premature tire wear.

Now I'm going to take the wheel, slide it in position. Make sure the holes lined up and hold the wheel. I'm going to take my 17 millimeter socket and the lug stud and get one started and I can grab the other ones. Now I'm going to use a 17 millimeter socket and a torque wrench, and I'm going to torque these lug bolts in a star pattern to 95 foot pounds. Go right around again, just make sure everything's tight. And you're good to go.

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