[Sasquartch]

Recently noticed the osr wheel arch gap much less than nsr, maybe 25mm

Suspecting a broken spring I had a look underneath (just crawled underneath, not on a lift) and couldn't see anything broken but couldn't do an exhaustive examination

Has anyone had rear springs break and if so where do they go

The handling has deteriorated recently so unsure if this is related

Other than a spring breaking is there anything else that could cause such an appreciable difference in ride height ?

Car is nearly 7 years old and 67k miles so not that new any more

[xenon]

Almost certainly a broken spring. They tend to go at the bottom coil but the rest of the spring settles in the cup. My OSR spring broke and was exactly as you describe. Easy DIY change if you have a reasonable trolley jack and pry bar.

[Hooded]

Isn't the battery over the OSR? I'm sure these cars sit slightly loser at the rear that side. Although 2.5cm lower does seem a bit too much.

[DriveS]

Originally Posted by Sasquartch

Recently noticed the osr wheel arch gap much less than nsr, maybe 25mm

Suspecting a broken spring I had a look underneath (just crawled underneath, not on a lift) and couldn't see anything broken but couldn't do an exhaustive examination

Has anyone had rear springs break and if so where do they go

The handling has deteriorated recently so unsure if this is related

Other than a spring breaking is there anything else that could cause such an appreciable difference in ride height ?

Car is nearly 7 years old and 67k miles so not that new any more

I have 1 or 2 rear spring from an xdrive 335d for sale if that helps

[Sasquartch]

Originally Posted by xenon

Almost certainly a broken spring. They tend to go at the bottom coil but the rest of the spring settles in the cup. My OSR spring broke and was exactly as you describe. Easy DIY change if you have a reasonable trolley jack and pry bar.

Xenon - you were spot on

I jacked up the car and removed the wheel and I could (just) see that the bottom coil had snapped. Very difficult to see, I tried to get a picture but couldn't get anything clear enough to post with my phone. If you just looked at it quickly it really wouldn't be obvious. But I could see 5 coils on the osr and 6 on the nsr so that was another check. The spring didn't look at all rusty, all shiny black so not sure if it was corrosion or just the shite roads that caused it to break.

The spring had a barcode on it marked 'ED' - don't know if that means anything

Anyway, looks like it's an easy change looking at Youtube vids, seems I need an E18 torx socket - is that right ?

Other than that looks very straightforward. although any top tips from anyone that's done the job will be welcome !

[GEP77]

Rear springs are very easy to change. You do need an axle stand and a jack, release the pressure on the damper and undo it and then drop the axle and the spring literally drops out.

I reckon rear springs can be replaced in under an hour total time. A little more if you haven't done it before.

[Sasquartch]

Thanks
Are you able to confirm that it's a E18 torx socket that I need ?

[teaston]

Originally Posted by Sasquartch

Thanks
Are you able to confirm that it's a E18 torx socket that I need ?

No torx needed, just normal sockets. Whatever you do, do not loosen the inner camber arm bolt!! You will need a wheel alignment if you do.

There’s a great guide here:

https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/at...3&d=1401934841

[xenon]

As GEP77 said really. I jacked the car up, removed the wheel and then gently lowered the disc onto a big wooden block, just enough to take tension out of the damper, removed lower damper bolt and then jack up again - spring just falls out. Insert new spring (I had to pry it in very slightly but didn't need spring compressor) and again lower onto the block to compress. Then you can easily insert the lower damper bolt and torque up, reattach wheel and all done. No special tools required, just a socket for the damper bolt.