[BangTheGong]

Hey everyone,

So I just changed out my rear brake rotors and brake pads on my 2013 BMW 328i base model. While it seems like that job went successfully, I noticed a super rough ride with no absorption of even the smallest road bumps near the rear passenger side. I got out of the car and pushed all four corners down to test the bounce and as suspected the rear passenger side does not bounce at all. I also tried lifting that corner of the car with my hands in the wheel well pulling up and nada. I googled this problem and found that some car’s shock absorbers will seize up after being extended when lifted off the wheels. While some car’s shock absorbers will seize up in the decompressed state and look lifted up in the corner when lowered depending on which shock absorber seized up, mine seized up in the compressed state. When lowered, I can’t tell that the rear passenger is lower just by looking at it, but when I measure it with two fingers, it’s definitely slightly lower. I’m guessing that shock absorber is worn out, so I’ll go ahead and replace both of the rears.

Any recommendations? Currently looking at Bilstein Touring - https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...-33526874377kt

Open to upgrading to other options as well.

Has this happened to anyone else? I’ve watched a few DIY videos and it seems like an easy job. Any advice is appreciated. Also curious if I should switch anything else out while I’m down there. I get anxiety raising my car up so high with the floor jack to place them on jack stands. Is minimum height of 13in normal for jack stands?

Some more information:
I purchased a DeWalt 3 ton floor jack for $159 at Lowe’s after my 2 ton jack failed to lift the car higher after a certain height. The jack stands that came with the 2 ton floor jack bent when the car was lowered onto them so there was no way I was going to use those. I got the Daytona 3 ton jack stands with circular pads for $60 and they held the cars rear end up for a good 20 hours (comparable to the ESCO jack stands). The reason why I had the car’s rear up for so long was because I didn’t have the correct torque wrench for the caliper slider pins and bolts and I had plans to attend to that evening.

Another note, the 6mm hex bolt that screws in to hold the brake rotor on the driver rear side just spins loose/tight without any movement. I had to get a friend to pull on the rotor while loosening it to get it out. Looks like the threading where the bolt screws in was messed up. I’m sure there’s no issue with it as long as the lug nuts for the wheels are torqued to spec.

Thanks for reading!

Daniel

[cfm56d7b]

BangTheGong Welcome!

How many miles does your car have? Depending on the mileage and the roads traveled, it will be helpful to inspect all suspension components which have rubber bushings such as control arms.

Candidates to be replaced together with the shocks if the inspection highlights them are well described in https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1940845. See comments by johnung.

[gunnerxq]

EDC dampers?

[BangTheGong]

Originally Posted by cfm56d7b

BangTheGong Welcome!

How many miles does your car have? Depending on the mileage and the roads traveled, it will be helpful to inspect all suspension components which have rubber bushings such as control arms.

Candidates to be replaced together with the shocks if the inspection highlights them are well described in https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...php?t=1940845. See comments by johnung.

Thank you for your response!

The car has 120k miles on it driven on Dallas, Texas city roads. I’ll take a look while I’m down there. Probably will replace the shock absorbers first then take the wheels off again when the other parts come in (if necessary). I just wanna get it back on the road for now.

Originally Posted by gunnerxq

EDC dampers?

I don’t believe so. This is what I found when entering my VIN on the real OEM website:

[johnung]

Originally Posted by BangTheGong

I don’t believe so. This is what I found when entering my VIN on the real OEM website:

If you look closer realoem probably shows both Adaptive and non-Adaptive, so there’s no way to tell which one a particular VIN has. Best way to know for sure is a visual inspection. See attached photos. Just get down low at the back of the car with a flashlight and examine the rear shocks.

[BangTheGong]

Originally Posted by johnung

If you look closer realoem probably shows both Adaptive and non-Adaptive, so there’s no way to tell which one a particular VIN has. Best way to know for sure is a visual inspection. See attached photos. Just get down low at the back of the car with a flashlight and examine the rear shocks.

Thanks for the advice! I see if I scroll down on the realoem site, that the parts for adaptive is listed. I haven't had a chance to check it out yet, but I did check on the MDecoder site. S2VFA and S704A are not listed. Not sure if this is a sure way of being able to tell if I have Adaptive or M Sport suspension or not.

Currently looking at these for now before I can confirm above:

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...-sachs-315-872

[johnung]

Originally Posted by BangTheGong

Thanks for the advice! I see if I scroll down on the realoem site, that the parts for adaptive is listed. I haven't had a chance to check it out yet, but I did check on the MDecoder site. S2VFA and S704A are not listed. Not sure if this is a sure way of being able to tell if I have Adaptive or M Sport suspension or not.

Currently looking at these for now before I can confirm above:

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-shock-absorber-sachs-315-872

I assume you are RWD. If mdecoder doesn’t list those factory codes for your VIN then you don’t have them. You can use Sachs as a typical replacement strut/shock. TireRack sells them too. If you are looking to upgrade then I’d recommend Koni Special Active. If you have a desire for coilovers then either ST X or ST XA would work well.

[BangTheGong]

Originally Posted by johnung

I assume you are RWD. If mdecoder doesn’t list those factory codes for your VIN then you don’t have them. You can use Sachs as a typical replacement strut/shock. TireRack sells them too. If you are looking to upgrade then I’d recommend Koni Special Active. If you have a desire for coilovers then either ST X or ST XA would work well.

You are correct. I am RWD.

Thanks for the recommendations. Looks like TireRack has the best price for Sachs. Can you help me with the difference between the two Koni Special Actives I have attached? M-Technik looks to be the difference.

Also, will it be okay to upgrade the rears only for now, leaving the fronts stock?

[johnung]

Originally Posted by BangTheGong

You are correct. I am RWD.

Thanks for the recommendations. Looks like TireRack has the best price for Sachs. Can you help me with the difference between the two Koni Special Actives I have attached? M-Technik looks to be the difference.

Also, will it be okay to upgrade the rears only for now, leaving the fronts stock?

It’s fine to replace either front or rear pair separately.

It’s a good idea to replace original rubber spring perches and top hats with new OEM parts to restore original ride comfort.

According to the attached link from the Koni website, the front strut part number for a standard suspension is 8745-1318. The rear shock part number is 8245-1319.

https://finder.koni.com/

[gunnerxq]

What's your vin? Plug it into https://bimmer.work/ should be looking for M adaptive option