How to Remove E36 Struts


Raise the BMW
1. Loosen the lug nuts on both of the front wheels, but do not remove them.
2. Raise the front of the car. Positioning the floor jack underneath a front jack point and raising the car. Place a jack stand underneath the jack point (as near it as possible on the frame rail) to support the weight of the car. Lower the BMW onto the jack stand and remove the floor jack to repeat the procedure on the other side. The jack points are located directly behind each front wheel and are indicated by small indents in the metal subframe of your car.
3. Raise the rear corners of the car and support each corner on a jack stand, using the same procedure as you did for the front. The rear jack points are located in front of the rear wheels and are indicated by an indent in the subframe.
4. Remove the lug nuts that are on the front wheels, then remove the front wheels.
Remove the Struts
5. Remove the front sway bar links using your 16mm open wrench and 16mm socket wrench, using one to hold the nut as you loosen the bolt that is threaded into it. These are located on the bottom of each front strut.
6. Unplug the brake pad wear sensors that are connected to the disc brake assemblies on both front corners.
7. Loosen and remove the 18mm nut that is threaded onto the large upper bolt connecting the wheel hub and strut toward the bottom of the strut assembly. Leave the bolt in place on both sides for now.
8. Using your air impact wrench, loosen and remove the second, lower set of 18mm bolts connecting the wheel hub and strut assemblies on both sides. These bolts are secured with a thread-locking solution from the factory, so an air impact wrench is required to remove them.
9. Position your floor jack underneath each front brake rotor as you remove the bolt whose nuts you removed in Step 3. The strut assembly will separate from the wheel hub and drop down, so the floor jack is needed to support it and prevent it from slamming against the ground.
10. Open your hood and, using a utility knife, remove the plastic covers that sit at the top of each strut tower on both sides of the engine bay.
11. Grasp the strut assembly with one hand while you remove the three 13mm nuts at the top of each strut tower. Once the nuts are removed, you can pull the strut assembly directly down on each side to remove it.