[skinrock]

Just thought I'd share a little experience I had with installing the H&R sport springs. I had an E90 in the past and tried to do as much work on my own (or with a friend) as I could. Anything major, like the single turbo, I took it to a shop. Personally, I like tinkering and I also like the thought of being in control - I know how I will treat my car and I will also see every step of the process.

Unfortunately, when you deal with a new car it can be trial and error. The general design may remain the same, but you run into little oddities along the way. They either make you think "huh, that's an interesting design" or "what the hell were they thinking?" While installing the front suspension, we encountered the latter.

I took my i8 to my friend and we began working on the suspension after lunch. We inspected all four corners to see what we were dealing with. The front seemed pretty standard, with easy access once you pop the hood. The rears left us a little uncertain when we first examined. Eventually we dug into it a little further and realized everything was accessible by pulling back the fender liner. However, we didn't get to it because we ran out of daylight.

Luckily, we stopped when we did, because the front turned out to be an absolute nightmare. We started with the driver's side, and actually took out more than what was necessary. We learned that by removing the nut on the top of the strut, the whole assembly could be easily removed and the new spring could be swapped in.

At the time, we were unaware of how the driver's side output shaft was configured. In hindsight, we should have researched, but overall we were very cautious. We did not realize that the shaft was two parts, the inner half being mounted to the chassis, followed by a CV joint and then the outer half.

Nothing noticeable happened during the installation, so we put everything back together and I was about to head home for the day when...a nasty metallic grinding immediately caused me to stop. My first thought..."is it the parking brake...let me check." Tried again...nope, something's wrong. It didn't take long to isolate it to the driver's side. Once we removed the wheel, we realized the shaft was moving freely, the CV joint was a mess.

We slid back the boot and sure enough...the ball bearings were missing from the cage. Initial assessment...what the...how could that happen? After looking at the axle diagram, it made sense. The outer race was connected to the inner shaft, and the inner race slipped out due to the outer half of the shaft pulling out when we removed the spring. The cage and ball bearings came lose.

Over the next 5 hours, we discovered a new level of frustration: attempting to reassemble a CV joint on the car, in the dark. First 2 bearings were simple, we started with ones that were adjacent. Then we decided to go with the opposite side for #3, so that the cage could be tilted. The fourth was tricky...it proved to be the point of failure for a dozen attempts. On our successful run, we actually got to #5 with ease. Things were looking good until we tried getting the last one in. It's close to midnight, we have a couple inches to work with...it's either going to pop in or the whole cage will fall apart.

I'm under the car holding the inner shaft (which we pulled out from the drive at this point). My job was to provide resistance, but I can't see anything. I feel a clunk...shit...it all fell apart. That's it...I'm calling it a night. "It's in." No way, we could not have possibly pulled it off. But I heard right...all 6 were in. Now we just had to somehow get the shaft back into the drive and reassemble everything without it coming lose.

If you made it this far, you'll be happy to know it's all back in order. I drove it home and a few more times today, and it's fine. The front looks good, the drop is perfect. The rears go on next weekend, and we will inspect the CV joint and tidy everything up. Wheels will arrive in a couple weeks, and it will all have paid off.

[ericsi]

Brave man!

[stevebgt1]

Personally, I would not be taking on this, on my own, with a £100k car....

Very brave...

[skinrock]

Originally Posted by stevebgt1

Personally, I would not be taking on this, on my own, with a £100k car....

Very brave...

Haha...a car is a car

Nothing particularly bespoke about this suspension setup...except for some of the JDM socket sizes :/

Like I said...I'd rather watch over than send it in. A shop could have encountered the same issue, and sloppily put it back together. At least now I know it happened, and how it was resolved, and the steps taken to rectify.

[stevebgt1]

Yes, but if a BMW dealer fooks it up, at least you have some regress. If you fook it up they will walk away.....

[skinrock]

Originally Posted by stevebgt1

Yes, but if a BMW dealer fooks it up, at least you have some regress. If you fook it up they will walk away.....

True, but this was never going to be a dealer install...

[Brentmc]

I know this post its 3+ years old but hoping OP is still around.

I just installed the H&R springs tonight on the front.

When I finished and put the car in drive I got the most horrible metal on metal sound before the car even moved.

I'm suspecting I may have pulled the axle out a bit too much as the OP did.

If the OP is still around please PM me or speak up--I have some question on how to determine if I pulled the shaft out and what to do if I did.

Thanks!

[Iain123]

Have a watch of richrebuilds on youtube. He has just replaced an axles on his i8. (although I thinks its the rear?)

[Brentmc]

I too, experienced this. You must remove the bolt that holds the axle to the hub AND DO NOT ALLOW THE AXLE TO MOVE AWAY FROM THE TRANSMISSION. You have about 2" before the whole cage and ball bearings collapse.

I took me 14 hours to get the ball bearings and cage back in on both sides. 14 hours!!! And I have a shop, every tool needed and a helper. It was a nightmare. There is a trick to it but for the most part it takes luck and realizing there are three axis of movement and all have to be perfectly aligned.

It is not designed to be replaced on the car.

Everything is back together but I am still sore and still wishing I had known to removed the axle nut and not allow the cv axle to move at all.

The YouTube video with the guy replacing his strut springs with H&R springs does not mention removing the axle nut nor being careful with the cv axle. The factory maintenance manual does. I wish I had used the manual and not youtube.

[RDDC]

I did my own. Posted a video on how to install the H&R Springs without touching the axle. I just removed the upper control arm and slid the strut out. But there was the "Uh oh" moment when I realized the strut wasn't going to come out unless I removed the axle. After scratching my head for about 30 minutes I found a work around. I posted it in my video. It make the job a million times easier and it breaks my heart to see how people are removing their hybrid drive axles. That would just scare the crap out of me like this thread did seeing all the grease everywhere!