MAXecutive
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Warning ... Long post but may be helpful for all H&R and Eibach spring installs with noise issues ....
Hello everyone. This is my first post on the forums. I had my Supra since August and finally performed my first mod, Eibach springs. I'm familiar with the BMW platform since I also have a F36, 435 Series Gran Coupe xDrive with Dinan stage 3. I did lowering springs on that car and then eventually went with air-lift. I'm a big DIY and prefer to do as much as I can by myself.
The A90 suspension is extremely similar to the F3x chassis. I decided follow the "shortcut" method of loosening the strut nut with the top mount still on the car and the bottom still attached to the knuckle . When I did the F36 springs, I removed the whole strut assembly the "proper" way because I did not want to cause any damage to the CV joints by forcing the knuckle down.
As I lowered the A90 spring down, I got a black ring that dropped with the top rubber isolator. The strut bearing separated in two pieces but very cleanly. I was able to pull off the bigger portion from the top hat and snap the 2 pieces back together. It was able to spin freely and stay together as one piece. It gave me a hard time to properly seat the bearing evenly all around back onto the bottom of the top hat. You have to do this all while trying to jack the knuckle up with the spring and keep both top and bottom rubber mounts in alignment ... At this point, I realized it would have been much easier to just take the strut out of the hub and swap the springs the proper way with a compressor on the floor. You essentially take all load and weight off the entire assembly while disassembling.
I remember watching a video the night before about Ricky's car which had strut bearings break apart into pieces. His dealer left the strut shipping blocks on the car. BMW did that when I bought my F36 so I made sure Toyota removed them before I left the dealer. Mine came apart into 2 clean pieces and I was able to put it back with no issue. Watch from 7:57 and check out part 2:
After I finished both sides and rotated the wheel, I was getting a cracking sound from the passenger side. I looked up and noticed the strut bearing was squeezing and spreading apart while rotating. Both sides did the same thing but only the passenger side made noise. I took that whole assembly apart, reset everything and the noise went away. I marked the strut bearing with a paint marker just like the OEM and made sure everything was nice and tight.
After the first test drive, I got a slight ticking noise when going over bumps. It sounded like the start of failing/loose BMW sway bar end links. I put the car back in the air a few days later and re-checked the torque on the sway bar end links but they were fine. I added some paint markings just to trace if they move over time. After another drive, the noise is still there. I tried re-torquing the strut top bolt and those were also fine, no changes to the noise. The car doesn't make any noise when you turn the wheels from full lock left to right when on the ground, I only notice it in the air with no weight on the suspension. The noise is definitely noticeable when riding over bumps.
My theory is that the "shortcut" installation method is what causes these noises from the strut bearing. It may get worse over time and need to be replaced. I looked up the BMW Z4 G29 part (BMW 31306890656) and it's about $120 each ... If you look at most of the install videos on YouTube that follow this method, the strut bearings either stay on the car or come off fully at one piece. I seem to be the only one who had it break in two.
I am curious to know how everyone else had their springs installed that are getting noise issues. You can vote on the poll and share your experience too. Hopefully we can all figure this one out.
Hello everyone. This is my first post on the forums. I had my Supra since August and finally performed my first mod, Eibach springs. I'm familiar with the BMW platform since I also have a F36, 435 Series Gran Coupe xDrive with Dinan stage 3. I did lowering springs on that car and then eventually went with air-lift. I'm a big DIY and prefer to do as much as I can by myself.
The A90 suspension is extremely similar to the F3x chassis. I decided follow the "shortcut" method of loosening the strut nut with the top mount still on the car and the bottom still attached to the knuckle . When I did the F36 springs, I removed the whole strut assembly the "proper" way because I did not want to cause any damage to the CV joints by forcing the knuckle down.
As I lowered the A90 spring down, I got a black ring that dropped with the top rubber isolator. The strut bearing separated in two pieces but very cleanly. I was able to pull off the bigger portion from the top hat and snap the 2 pieces back together. It was able to spin freely and stay together as one piece. It gave me a hard time to properly seat the bearing evenly all around back onto the bottom of the top hat. You have to do this all while trying to jack the knuckle up with the spring and keep both top and bottom rubber mounts in alignment ... At this point, I realized it would have been much easier to just take the strut out of the hub and swap the springs the proper way with a compressor on the floor. You essentially take all load and weight off the entire assembly while disassembling.
I remember watching a video the night before about Ricky's car which had strut bearings break apart into pieces. His dealer left the strut shipping blocks on the car. BMW did that when I bought my F36 so I made sure Toyota removed them before I left the dealer. Mine came apart into 2 clean pieces and I was able to put it back with no issue. Watch from 7:57 and check out part 2:
After I finished both sides and rotated the wheel, I was getting a cracking sound from the passenger side. I looked up and noticed the strut bearing was squeezing and spreading apart while rotating. Both sides did the same thing but only the passenger side made noise. I took that whole assembly apart, reset everything and the noise went away. I marked the strut bearing with a paint marker just like the OEM and made sure everything was nice and tight.
After the first test drive, I got a slight ticking noise when going over bumps. It sounded like the start of failing/loose BMW sway bar end links. I put the car back in the air a few days later and re-checked the torque on the sway bar end links but they were fine. I added some paint markings just to trace if they move over time. After another drive, the noise is still there. I tried re-torquing the strut top bolt and those were also fine, no changes to the noise. The car doesn't make any noise when you turn the wheels from full lock left to right when on the ground, I only notice it in the air with no weight on the suspension. The noise is definitely noticeable when riding over bumps.
My theory is that the "shortcut" installation method is what causes these noises from the strut bearing. It may get worse over time and need to be replaced. I looked up the BMW Z4 G29 part (BMW 31306890656) and it's about $120 each ... If you look at most of the install videos on YouTube that follow this method, the strut bearings either stay on the car or come off fully at one piece. I seem to be the only one who had it break in two.
I am curious to know how everyone else had their springs installed that are getting noise issues. You can vote on the poll and share your experience too. Hopefully we can all figure this one out.
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