Brad B
New member
The '72 BMW 2002tii got some more attention today. I renewed the upper strut bearings (big rubber bushings with a center bearing that anchors the top of the McPherson strut.) which were showing signs of rubber rot. The Bilstein Sport struts were fine so I left them alone.
Working with anything old has it's challenges and this was a tough one-man job. The struts are heavy, many old parts are hard to get loose, and you generally need three hands.
On the aesthetic side of things, I was happy to get rid of a large aluminum spacer that sits on top of strut. Back in 1973 the D.O.T. had silly mandantory headlight height requirements and the BMW was deemed too low in front. (Silly little European car.) So these 1" aluminum spacers were installed between the top of the struts and the inside fenders to literally jack up the front of the car. Not only did it look stupid it probably hurt the handling of the car so most enthusiests (Me included.) took these spacers out and either threw them away or put them on top of the strut on the outside of the fender where they existed only to take up the extra thread length that was left on the strut bearing bolts. Finally, I could remove these all together and put a proper part in with shortened threads.
An exhausting job. I am battered, bruised and bleeding. Glad it is done. :high5:
Old bushing comes through the top of the inner fender area. Note cracked rubber.
Spacer off.
Strut loosened at top. Ball joint removed. Brake caliper removed. Assembly angled out to compress spring and remove and replace top bearing. Phew!
Old and new bearing.
Everything back in and no spacer needed any more. Looks soooooo much better!
Finished off by capping the bolts and waxing everything. Zaino AIO in the engine bay.
Working with anything old has it's challenges and this was a tough one-man job. The struts are heavy, many old parts are hard to get loose, and you generally need three hands.
On the aesthetic side of things, I was happy to get rid of a large aluminum spacer that sits on top of strut. Back in 1973 the D.O.T. had silly mandantory headlight height requirements and the BMW was deemed too low in front. (Silly little European car.) So these 1" aluminum spacers were installed between the top of the struts and the inside fenders to literally jack up the front of the car. Not only did it look stupid it probably hurt the handling of the car so most enthusiests (Me included.) took these spacers out and either threw them away or put them on top of the strut on the outside of the fender where they existed only to take up the extra thread length that was left on the strut bearing bolts. Finally, I could remove these all together and put a proper part in with shortened threads.
An exhausting job. I am battered, bruised and bleeding. Glad it is done. :high5:
Old bushing comes through the top of the inner fender area. Note cracked rubber.
Spacer off.
Strut loosened at top. Ball joint removed. Brake caliper removed. Assembly angled out to compress spring and remove and replace top bearing. Phew!
Old and new bearing.
Everything back in and no spacer needed any more. Looks soooooo much better!
Finished off by capping the bolts and waxing everything. Zaino AIO in the engine bay.
? Nice work.