Ian.H Posted January 7, 2013 Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 (edited) Hi all.. Although the car's now gone.. I took some pics a few weeks ago whilst I was fitting the JOM coilover kit to my 330 vert as the info I managed to find previously on the 'net seemed to relate to coupes etc, which after removing some of the boot trim and finding nothing, decided it was a different story for the verts.. so here's a quick set of pics that others hopefully, might find useful. Rear suspension Locate rear jacking points and jack up car and remove wheel Undo and remove bottom shock bolt Lean on the hub / disc and pull the spring out form its locators Semi-lower the roof, using the back edge of the roof to support the roof cover Remove the plastic grommets (2 each side) Remove the 2 nuts whilst steading the shock and remove completely Remove the top mount nut if you're not fitting new top mounts as they need to be transferred to the new shocks Fit the adjuster and rubber ends to the new spring Note: adjuster sits at the top of the spring Wriggle the new spring back into position and bolt up the new shock starting at the top. A 2nd jack is handy to be able to lift the hub to align the bottom bolt. Front suspension Locate jacking point, jack up car and remove wheel. Would also suggest soaking the bolts and joint where the shock goes through the hub clamp with WD40 and leave for 5 mins to act Undo and remove hub clamp bolt Undo top drop link nut Undo bottom drop link nut and remove drop link Give the hub some downwards pressure and it should separate from the shock Remove the 3 top mount nuts. Steady the shock whilst removing the last one so it doesn't juts drop out Remove the shock and attach the spring compressors, assuming you're not replacing the top mount as this needs to be transferred to the new suspension Be careful at this stage.. as removing a spring can be dangerous.. just take your time and all should be good Once the spring is compressed enough, undo to the top mount nut Attach the top mount to the new suspension leg and tighten the top mount nut ready to re-fit Bolt the top 3 nuts up under the bonnet first, but don't tighten them right up.. and mount the bottom of the shocik back into the hub clamp Attach the new, shortened drop links (I used 2004 Fiat Coupe rear drop links) Make sure everything's tightened up, replace wheel. Allow to settle for a couple of days / weeks. I had mine on the lowest setting and within 2 days, my fronts were rubbing the arches slightly when cornering under load. I adjusted these ~1" of adjustment on the threads at the front and this cured the problem running standard 225/40 18 tyres and 15mm spacers.Final result Cheers.. Ian Edited January 7, 2013 by Ian.H B0B, RonakT and S7UUK 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autosri Posted January 7, 2013 Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 Nice little guide mate top work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F07GT Steve Posted January 7, 2013 Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 Good to share, could have done with this my self Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickyZ Posted January 7, 2013 Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 Nice write up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevkid91 Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 Lovely write up! Clearly explained everything to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AA1986 Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Nice one mate - will need this soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdistefano Posted April 8, 2015 Report Share Posted April 8, 2015 fitted mine and know getting a banging/knocking noise from the rear right. Can't work out what's causing it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEVIL 666 Posted April 8, 2015 Report Share Posted April 8, 2015 what top mount have you used? many people had problem with meyle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdistefano Posted April 9, 2015 Report Share Posted April 9, 2015 So after looking I can now vouch for why you shouldn't use the old top mounts. My rear top mount has split and the shock is now bouncing around. Need to try find a same day parts company as now off the road! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiffy91 Posted April 20, 2015 Report Share Posted April 20, 2015 Are they meant to be this compressed at the rear? I've put the adjuster at the bottom but had to remove the rubber padding Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beemermarc Posted March 31, 2019 Report Share Posted March 31, 2019 So adjusters go at the bottom he claims they go at top which cant be as you cant get to them to adjust them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian.H Posted April 1, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2019 11 hours ago, Beemermarc said: So adjusters go at the bottom he claims they go at top which cant be as you cant get to them to adjust them I definitely fitted mine at the top back when I had the motor (I _think_ I tried at the bottom and failed, hence I added the note to fit them at the top). You should be able to access the adjusters once the car's jacked up. I had to raise mine to the highest setting when I part-ex'd it and don't remember having any issues. Cheers.. Ian PS: I've fixed the image loading now so you should be able to see them again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beemermarc Posted April 1, 2019 Report Share Posted April 1, 2019 Wicked thanks ian did you fit the rubber bump thing back on or leave off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian.H Posted April 1, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2019 2 hours ago, Beemermarc said: Wicked thanks ian did you fit the rubber bump thing back on or leave off I put them back in Marc.. the plan was to have it back to how it should be (I fitted the coilovers after I found a broken rear spring and decided I'd drop it a couple of inches at the same time). I only had it for a couple of weeks after I did this as I part-ex'd it, but it drove great (once I raised the front a bit to prevent arch rubbing!). Despite loving my current motor, I do miss my E46 and still think they're the best looking verts of the 3-series range.. definitely aged gracefully! Cheers.. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beemermarc Posted April 1, 2019 Report Share Posted April 1, 2019 Thanks mate i redone the rears this afternoon exactly as you done yours did you have spacers on rear i had to remove my 12mm spacers as when kids was in back the tyres were rubbing well bad and im thinking of doing fronts myself the only thing i worried about is undoing the top mount nut as the centre spins i believe mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian.H Posted April 1, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2019 (edited) Glad you got it sorted mate I had 15mm spacers on the front and I think lesser ones on the rear (maybe 5mm or 6mm IIRC.. been a long time since I had it so can't remember exactly). Kids was sadly the reason I got rid of mine as my littlen was due and I couldn't fit a car seat in the back.. but IIRC, I chose smaller spacers for the rear to prevent any rubbing or arch mods being required. The fronts are easy enough.. you should find an allen key hole at the top of the shaft. I used a deep-reach 19mm (think it was 19mm anyway) ring spanner and an allen key to undo mine. If you struggle with that, you can always use a pair of molegrips or a monkey-wrench to hold the shaft as it won't matter if it gets damaged (assuming you ain't going to try and sell the old shocks ). IIRC, the coilovers either had an allen key hole or a rounded rectangular stub that you can use something like an 8mm or 10mm open-ended spanner on to keep the shaft from spinning. Safety note: If you do do the fronts, just take your time and compress /uncompress the springs gently as you certainly don't want one flying off or having the compressors spinning around to one side of the spring.. I've seen a spring take off before in a workshop and it makes a right mess of brickwork! Likewise, always work with the top cap facing away from you (I normally sit cross-legged on the floor and put the bottom of the shock in my lap and have the top cap at ~45 degrees away from me so that _if_ something goes Pete Tong, there's a bigger chance it won't take your teeth with it ). Cheers.. Ian Edited April 1, 2019 by Ian.H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beemermarc Posted April 1, 2019 Report Share Posted April 1, 2019 Yeah i think im gonna get 5mm for rear just wondering if ill get away with standard wheel nuts or whether i will need longer ones for 5mm spacers Ian thank you so much for taking the time to reply ill keep you posted with how i get on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian.H Posted April 1, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2019 There was always quite a staggered difference between the spacing front and rear. I think with the 15/5 combo, it kind of just evened the look out (the fronts were miles too far in IMO). No probs at all mate... glad the guide was useful.. just wish I'd noticed the images were screwed up before now (I moved my server recently and blocked off access to some parts due to abuse and didn't realise I'd blocked access to these pics too). Good luck with it mate Cheers.. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beemermarc Posted April 2, 2019 Report Share Posted April 2, 2019 Can you remember if you used longer wheel nut bolts on back for your spacers ian as iv tried 5mm with standard nuts the do up ok but some rekon you should use longer ones mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz 330 Cs Posted April 4, 2019 Report Share Posted April 4, 2019 On 02/04/2019 at 07:27, Beemermarc said: Can you remember if you used longer wheel nut bolts on back for your spacers ian as iv tried 5mm with standard nuts the do up ok but some rekon you should use longer ones mark Don’t even dare to try and use standard bolts, even with a 5mm spacer. It’s very bad practice. Just get longer bolts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beemermarc Posted April 9, 2019 Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 Hi again can you remember when putting the topmount on the jom front shock did the nut and washer go on to bolt topmount up or did washer go underneath and just the nut bolts up the mount weird question i no lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
