Kopfjaeger Posted October 17, 2022 Share Posted October 17, 2022 Are the auxillary shock absorbers a problem on the F series cars? I've just noticed my NSR auxillary shock absorber has disappeared. I replaced the OSR last year, parts were about £100, as guide was replaced at the same time....with labour, the bill was North of £200+VAT... So if I replace this one, this it will have been a pair in 32 months, about 10K miles, ssuming the car had both when i purchased it in February 2020. I don't think I drive like Hamilton on a race track....so be interested to know about other owner experiences... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kopfjaeger Posted October 17, 2022 Author Share Posted October 17, 2022 As an update, just been quoted £220 inc vat to replace the guide and bump stop with a local independent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kopfjaeger Posted October 17, 2022 Author Share Posted October 17, 2022 I've checked with the local dealer for parts, so top mount+bumpstop+o-ring £106.91. These prices compare with WOX parts on line. Autodoc is cheaper, depending on supplier and could save about £50. I'm not about throwing money away, but as I've not done this on a car and also have to deflate the springs, a potential saving of £150 isn't worth it if it gets screwed up. This may change if I end up having to replace these things annually! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stringbag Posted October 17, 2022 Share Posted October 17, 2022 Does your car stay up on the suspension or regularly drop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stringbag Posted October 17, 2022 Share Posted October 17, 2022 Reason I ask is that if it settles regularly that might be the cause. Otherwise the shocks themselves might be bad. The OEM shocks are made by Sachs. genuine Sachs secondary dampers are less than £18 for both sides. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/402093178120?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=j2b836z-SD6&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=Ek6EcSQUQNW&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY and the dampers are less than £130 for a pair. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/354027825703?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=M56R26TpR1m&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=Ek6EcSQUQNW&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY all you need are new bolts to hold them in. No need to deflate the air bags. They come out really easily with the wheel off the ground. Super easy job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stringbag Posted October 17, 2022 Share Posted October 17, 2022 Oh, and looking at your picture, the yellow foam part is still in the top mount. That’s the secondary damper. The black plastic concertina dust cover is what is missing… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stringbag Posted October 17, 2022 Share Posted October 17, 2022 Finally you can re use the top mount (aka thrust bearing) as It has no moving parts or bearings. Just an o ring presumably to stop muck getting up past it to the frame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kopfjaeger Posted October 18, 2022 Author Share Posted October 18, 2022 SB, thanks for the feedback. There are no signs of settlement on the rear of the car, suspension seems fine and I've not noticed anything different in driving either. As a former XM owner, I'm familiar with the quirks of air suspension. Newtiz indicated the 'correct' procedure to effect the change, which required air pressure to be released from the springs. I think it also said new bolts are required, but the local independent said it didn't..... I'll have a look at youtube, to see if anyone has done this work.... I'm more interested in what causes the problem, as I don't think items 3 and 4 should be replaced often, hence my query here to fellow owners. The local independent quoted £236+VAT for a new rear shock absorber. Good to know Sachs are the OEM manufacturer for BMW. Is it the same for item 2, the top mount? If the top mount isn't cracked, how often should it be replaced?, never, or only if the main shock absorber is replaced, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stringbag Posted October 18, 2022 Share Posted October 18, 2022 Bolts are stretch fit aluminium so tis calls for all of them to be replaced. Not expensive really from BMW if you DIY. Not sure why independents don’t replace them. They do the same with calliper and wishbone bolts in my experience. Overkill from BMW maybe. I agree you shouldn’t have to replace the secondary/aux damper and it’s cover at all! No idea what the mechanism is that causes them to fail. I know newtis says to depressurise the air suspension (easy couple of mouse clicks if you have a tool for that), however I didn’t and it was fine. You need another Jack under the hub to raise it all back up to ‘normal’ level before the lower bolt is torqued up anyway which makes it easy. Top hat I’d say never having looked at mine. It Is basically a fancy shaped bracket. I can’t see how it would wear unless something is loose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kopfjaeger Posted October 18, 2022 Author Share Posted October 18, 2022 My car has the MSport suspension and realoem lists different numbers for the auxiliary shock absorber, items 3 and 4 -31336789636. For standard suspension, it is 33536781684. Similar for rear shock absorbers...Msport -33526781678. Standard shock- 33526798150. There is about £50 difference in cost between standard and Msport.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stringbag Posted October 18, 2022 Share Posted October 18, 2022 Stick your reg in here… https://aftermarket.zf.com/go/en/sachs/catalogs/#/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kopfjaeger Posted October 18, 2022 Author Share Posted October 18, 2022 I've seen a youtube video for the work on an F11 and it seems straightforward. I've only got one 2.75 tonne jack. I've got some 3 tonne axle stands, but don't have the adaptors for the axle stands to fit the lifting points. I don't have a tool for depressurising the springs by software At this stage, I'm either going to go with the local independent to see how they go, as they may become my garage for servicing my F07, or doing it myself...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kopfjaeger Posted October 23, 2022 Author Share Posted October 23, 2022 As an update on this issue I removed the OSR wheel to check the shock absorber, just in case the dust sleeve on this side also needed to be replaced. I found the paperwork from the main dealer who did the work on 18/12/20, when the car had done 18356 miles and paid £212.34 incl VAT for parts and labour ( parts £81.96, labour £94.99, excl VAT). So on a simple level, assuming the OSR was original, it lasted for 18.36k miles across two owners. Call 20k miles. The annoying part for me was discovering that the dealer had left the old parts of the original dust sleeve on the shock absorber🤣. I am pretty certain that is the case as the dust sleeve is only about 15-20cm long, not 30cm plus! As it was about to pour with rain, I didn't have time to remove the old dust sleeve and so put the wheel back. A job for another time! I also found the label for the shock absorber, 814904007056. Searching on line with Realoem, Wox Parts, Autodoc and BMWsupply came up blank.... For the time available, I couldn't see any more of the label to see if it had a BMW logo, etc. So maybe another issue to investigate.....😡 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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