Which year upper strut tower bearings for Sach's kit

[rreimund]

Hey guys,

I was on the phone with Patrick from BMA today ordering up some front end bits and the Sachs Sport Kit. I was going to order new upper strut tower bearings for my car which has a production date of 7/89. For that part there is a change for pre 6/90 and post 7/90 onwards production dates.

I was going to order the pre 6/90 ones for my car, but Patrick suggested I pose the question here about whether or not it would be better to use the later model bearings with the sachs kit. He said he sometimes comes across folks who say the bearing they have doesn't fit the sach's kit, and he can't recall if it's the early ones or the late ones that have a problem. The price is about twice as much for the early ones too.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I tried searching, but there's not a whole lot of discussion of the strut bearings, let alone as they relate to the Sach's kit.

- Rick

[Kalevera]

Early cars use the 19mm strut nut bearing, late cars use the 22mm part.

A few years ago, the sachs kit included a set of sleeves for the front struts -- the kit seems to have been designed to work with the 19mm mounts, and the sleeve allows you to install the struts into the later mounts.

Rear shocks also had two ride height adjustment settings, and shortened front bump stops were included.

All of that has apparently changed. The kit that I ordered a month or so ago for my touring, which has 22mm front mounts, didn't come with sleeves. The fronts were a direct fit. The rears are now also fixed ride height, and no bump stops are included (lucky for me, I had a set on the shelf). The springs seem to be the same, as do the strut inserts themselves. Mind you, I could be making bad conclusions, as my box was labeled for E34 M50 525 and 525i Touring. So perhaps other models have variations.

Since you're replacing the front mounts, I would go with the later style.

[rreimund]

All of that has apparently changed. The kit that I ordered a month or so ago for my touring, which has 22mm front mounts, didn't come with sleeves. The fronts were a direct fit. The rears are now also fixed ride height, and no bump stops are included (lucky for me, I had a set on the shelf). The springs seem to be the same, as do the strut inserts themselves. Mind you, I could be making bad conclusions, as my box was labeled for E34 M50 525 and 525i Touring. So perhaps other models have variations.

Since you're replacing the front mounts, I would go with the later style.

Thanks much... I'll pass this information to Patrick.. BTW.. Should I have Patrick send me some shortened bump stops? Or can I have my indy just cut my stock bump stops down to size?

Very helpful - Just what I was looking for.

[Kalevera]

The bump stops are made of a horrible synthetic spongy material that flakes when the formed outer shell is removed, so cutting existing stops is not a very good long term solution.

The kit for my 535 came with the shortened bump stops (http://www.bmw4life.com/suspensionLowellFA.htm has a picture of the kit at the time), and for all I know, what Patrick sends you might still include those stops. They might not even be necessary -- I can't say that I've ever bottomed out my 535's suspension. I just put them on the touring because I know that the weight of the V12 is going to add a lot to the front end, and they will probably be necessary.

I don't have the exact part number, Patrick probably does. Here's what I saw in ETK:

31 33 2 226 674 (to 9/91), 31 33 1 138 814 (post 9/91). Not sure of the difference, perhaps the actual strut rod diameter changed.