HOW TO BMW E34: Rear Suspension Replacement/Lowering

Hey everyone!
In this video I show you how to fully replace the rear suspension on a BMW E34 540i (1994). Specifically, this video shows you how to:
- Remove the rear seats and speakers
- Remove the rear suspension
- Replace the springs and shocks on the rear suspension
- Replace the rear top mounts
- Re-install the suspension.
The suspension I'm installing is the Eibach and Bilstein B12 kit. This is a lowering spring kit, and I highly recommend it if you're looking for a firm upgrade without sacrificing the ride quality!
All of this can be done at home with hand tools, and I managed to complete and film all of this in an afternoon. I hope you find this helpful!

[@StuartOliver83]

Massive help mate,cheers for the help,diy no trouble but you saved me a lot of time with how seat and shelf comes out,nice job nice car too

[@SamuelVella1995]

+Stuart oliver Hey mate! Glad to hear I could help and cheers

[@waynelangshaw7889]

Great tutorial Sam..... I had recently had to take one of my EDC lll rear struts off...I forgot to mark on the strut the position of the spring...so your tip to line up the top mount bolt with the non protruding end of the shock was invaluable. Thanks.

[@twinturborotary_diecast]

I just bought a 1995 e34 540i. i will tackle this job. will install coil overs. thanks for the video. it will certainly help me.

[@SamuelVella1995]

+Mazda Rx7 FD 1993 Have fun!

[@irmasalla]

Great information man. Just 2 observations that are crucial. You must tighten the big nut with the car in the ground, otherwise the bushings will last nothing. Also, that springs have a positioning in the strut with the stretched coil at the bottom end. This is because they are progressive, so that section is softer than the rest. Cheers!

[@theojanssonbruce3060]

Which big nut?

[@unlucky3029]

Thanks to this video 😄 I was able to do step by step. and now my e34 rides better over small bumps👍🏼

[@brandx4715]

Great looking car and couple of great videos..I appreciate people that take the time to do it right and give tool sizes!! lol Vids were a great help thanks again.

[@SamuelVella1995]

No problem mate! I love being able to help others out :) Thanks

[@ja2474]

Hey man, followed this guide yesterday to fit coilovers. Appreciated the depth you went into while trying to detach the rear seats! Will be following your front guide along with diff oil change for sure. Many thanks

[@clarkchiles7893]

Did my 95 525i today following your lead and it turned out great. Looks great and drives so much better with the lower center of gravity. Thanks for making the video.. think I'm gonna do my brakes next !

[@SamuelVella1995]

+Clark Chiles Hell yeah, glad to hear it went well! What springs did you put in? My brake videos might be useful for you too

[@clarkchiles7893]

I used H&R Springs and Billstein Sport Shocks. Now I gotta save some $ and get those M Parallel wheels!

[@D0wnis]

Love the e34 videos!!! good too see more e34 channels on youtube i hope you keep them coming. got a wagon myself :)

[@SamuelVella1995]

+Downis Thanks mate! I love the wagons, they look mad. I'll be (slowly) making more as I go along!

[@MrAlvinjesus]

Nice car - Thanks for all the videos - Will change my e34 rear suspension this weekend - Appreciate

[@SamuelVella1995]

+Alvin J. Gonzalez Siverio Good luck!

[@picekbmwmb5846]

Great job i do to my e32 750il front and back thanks for view this video man.

[@daynaaziz1246]

You're a life saver man ! Thanks a lot ! Greets from Normandy (France)

[@omarsaleem3076]

Very helpful vid as I plan to tackle changing my own suspension for the first time...

[@chicomaxima1]

Hi Samuel thank you for uploading E34 content in KZbin i myself have the same car hopefully shed some light on popular DIY fixes and also upgrades

[@SamuelVella1995]

+chicomaxima1 Hey chicomaxima1! Awesome, the more we can make the better. What year is your E34?

[@Aspiired]

im buying an e34 in a couple days this helped so much thanks

[@SamuelVella1995]

+Aspiired thanks! How did it go?

[@Aspiired]

i never ended up getting the people selling it never said anything back

[@MrThummonkey]

He forget put washer back on the mounting bolt. Hit it off with chisel and hammer. Put it on the short side w/ over size socket by hitting hard. Remember how it goes on the old socket. Little thrush bearing, didn't need it on my 95' 525i BMW. Take pics each part you are taking off. Went back view my pics found out one thing wrong. Little thrush bearing slide on top don't know? This a good video.

[@thePGshore]

Very helpful video for doing this same process on my E32. Keep it up!

[@SamuelVella1995]

+Noah Thanos Glad I could help :)

[@chunner]

Thank you SO very much for the How To! Much appreciated. I heard 'wack it off' and 'spread the load' hahaha. Cheers Mate!

[@Darthvolvo]

Happened upon your videos by chance! This one showed up as a suggestion in my feed. I want to get an e34 in the future! liked and subbed!

[@SamuelVella1995]

Thanks mate! Sorry it took so long to reply to this ;)

[@muddersbach]

Thank you for this video! Protip: you can put the seatbelt for the backseat in the middle into this triangular thing up on the parcel/back shelf (i had to google that word) it makes it look pretty neat

[@muddersbach]

Wow you said "parcel shelf" later in the video haha

[@SamuelVella1995]

+Muddersbach I was wondering what that triangular plastic thing was haha! Thanks ill try it next time. To be honest I only knew it was called a parcel shelf because I watched another video

[@agen1man]

Awesome vids mate. Hopefully buying an E34 next month! Excited.

[@SamuelVella1995]

+Artur Cheers mate! Yeah they're cool cars, enjoy

[@brianaust8897]

Great video..I feel much more comfortable, now, in approaching the rears on my E32. The back seat and package tray removal is not nearly as intimidating once I've watched you do it! ;)

[@tikkarace]

Thanks for Wery good videos. Allot of help to work on old BMWs Mine is an short wheelbase 750i e32 but much is the same as the e34. Much of the chassie components are the same on mine. So thanks again from the North of Sweden and come with more nice videos👍

[@brandx4715]

Still enjoying the vids..Do you still have the E34? I have been wanting to do the Bilstein/Eibach combo on my 525i...but the shocks have been on back order for a year now,they are supposed to be available at the end of August,but they keep pushing the date up.I may end up going with the Sachs,but would really like the Bilsteins.I did the rear pitman arm change out and the vid you did was a big help (especially the washer part!) lol.Thank you for taking the time to make these,I hope you still have the car and will keep wrenching on it.

[@timmcdonald958]

Brand X I also have a 525i, did you end up lowering yours?

[@pexmix3288]

I watched it just in case not to fk it up. Even tho I know how to do it plus I did a whole front suspension rebuild already. Plus a 540 brake upgrade for my 525 😀 I still couldn't make such an organized and clean video. Well done :)

[@janpolacek2977]

Hi, thank you for your videos. I did something after watching that. Jan e34 1990.

[@johnnyfmorgan]

hey samuel...excellent, clear how to. thanks for this. how did the car drive after u made the switch? i have a 92 touring and the car drives terrible. feels floaty on the freeway. if I go over speed bumps the rear will bounce. hoping this solves it. cheers J

[@MegaUnvailable]

Man thank you so much! Appreciate it big time!

[@ningishziddashar3480]

I have an E32. I am going to replace the rear suspension soon.

[@SamuelVella1995]

+Ningishzidda Shar Good luck!

[@m20b23]

Excelente video, muy organizado y fácil de comprender, gracias por el tutorial, felicidades.

[@pam2147]

Great video. Thanks, I am about to do mine soon, just awaiting the parts.I had a question: I noticed the back lifted when you put the car in reverse before you started the job. My car does the same. What causes the car to go up and down when you change the gear shift, if it does not have leveling???Did it continue to do that with the new shocks? I did not see you moving the car after the installation.Again, thanks, great job.

[@SamuelVella1995]

+pam2147 Hey Pam! It's nothing to worry about. I'm pretty sure it's just the car and drive train flexing once reverse is engaged, with the brake still on. The torque from the automatic is going down the driveshaft, to the diff, and then to the rear wheels, but the brake keeps the wheels still. I think the diff probably rotates back a bit due to this, which in turn lifts the car slightly. I think it does the opposite when drive is engaged as well (hunkers down). My sub frame bushings were worn out as well which probably allowed the car to move more than it should too?

[@ningishziddashar3480]

Thanks for your video

[@ahmethorosanli]

Excellent !!!

[@bombakdik]

Very nice how to but there is a thing I am struggling with. I am referring to 16:45-50. How do you prevent exactly the shaft from spinning while you are fastening the top nut? I see you use a sort of grip or vice grip to stop it spinning but aren’t you risking that way to damage the thread? Why didn’t you use an impact wrench for example? My question also goed for the front assembly. How did you tighten the top nut at the garage shop where you compressed the spring etc?

[@TheOrdersixtysix]

What a Great car, love it!

[@bombakdik]

Nice video! I was wondering if the top mounts came with the Bilsteins or did you order them separately? I didn’t get how to align the top mount with the underside of the shock during the last step of reassembly.

[@georgekern6528]

Greetings from Michigan USA! Great videos my friend! I’m preparing to replace struts/shocks on my 1995 525i. Im the original owner. Im going with the Bilstein B6 kit. Question: On the rear shock does the small metal spacer just slip on the shaft before the rest of the assembly? Also on the front struts do I still use the metal washers then the top mounts? Thank you for your help and videos! Cheers from up over!!! George

[@Sanych1980]

Under which part do you substitute the jack from behind when lifting the car?

[@JsV95]

Just discovered your channel and your videos are great and help a lot. By the way, do you happen to know that did the e34 535i sedan come with self leveling suspension?

[@SamuelVella1995]

+JsV95 Cheers mate! As far as I know, I thought that only the touring wagon and the M5 had self leveling suspension - the rest are standard. Might want to double check that though.

[@Puffuser]

Nice

[@XW0RKS]

OMG my video about it is posed at the same date as yours :-O

[@user-nb7pv6ns2w]

أحسنت

[@SamuelVella1995]

Thanks!

[@Jawnwickk]

Are your Bilsteins’ the b12, b8 or b6?

[@sugengnofianto682]

Is that vaico or febi top mount?

[@TheCragiez]

I don't know what im doing wrong but my rear absorbers won't come off, i have been knocking with a hammer for 4 days, they seem to be welded stuck.. your came off just by pushing it with one hand

[@SamuelVella1995]

I was pretty lucky with mine. Try out that gear puller trick I mentioned - put something in the bolt hole and put the center of the gear puller on it, then put the claws around the outside of the shock absorber and tighten it down. I've heard that works.

[@muddersbach]

TheCragies put the bolt of the damper on loose and drive a few meters

[@alexs8710]

I had to use a 2 kg hammer and and long pry bar? Don't know if it is called this way correctly. A lot of wd40 and a lot of hammering. Good luck mate. Greetings from northern Germany

[@e34boat88]

thanks big daddy

[@SamuelVella1995]

+e34Boat Haha no worries

[@BahjatAlaadel]

How you going with front camber alignment? I've got an E28 I want to lower the front 15-30mm. You reckon I need camber plates? Thanks

[@SamuelVella1995]

+Bahjat Alaadel Hey mate, as far as I can tell I haven't had an issue since I did my suspension. But I'm no expert on that...

[@Bigbodysquid250x]

B12 better then coilovers???

[@dimty8786]

Круто! Очень хорошее видео

[@mwsmmidweststateofmind7223]

What suspension kit did you buy. I had bought a kit and the front shocks are smaller in diameter and have play inside the housing smh unfortunately I cant send them back and have to take a loss. And with me looking at the rear they are also the wrong size I have called the company and told them and they swear up and down that is the kit for the car. I wanna make sure when I order new ones that they are right and from the lols of your bmw we have the same set up. Can you give me part numbers and brand?

[@mwsmmidweststateofmind7223]

Looks*

[@kad248]

красавчик, продолжай снимать е34

[@SamuelVella1995]

+kad248 спасибо

[@SamuelVella1995]

+kad248 спасибо

[@XW0RKS]

it is pain in the ass with those rear ones. I luckily removed all the interior so when ever I want to replace them bolts are already uncovered and free to be unbolted :-)

[@raqeeblewis5216]

Is it absultly neccsary to change the springs

[@rxmcord2392]

Dont know if im to late but you really dont need to replace them unless they are broken or like rusting or if they bust dont look in a proper state

[@raqeeblewis5216]

Carsspottedontheroad thanks I already did the job but yeah I didn’t replace the springs

[@lambyiii]

4:07 such a hottie!

[@SamuelVella1995]

Cheers ;)

[@TheAly78]

What a pain

[@A1DJPaul]

I Disagree, Change Nothing on an e34. Just Fit OEM Standard Replacement Parts. Original Cars are worth more than DOUBLE a Modified Car. in the UK. You Just HALVED its Value.

[@A1DJPaul]

Why Change the Suspension on an e34 ? Just Replace worn Parts With NEW OEM & the car will be PERFECT. Lowering ? What is LOWERING all About ? Making a Perfect Car Look & Drive SHITE ? I Take it you are a BMW Suspension Design Engineer ? Factory Trained. & Correcting Design Mistakes ? My E34 Handles Perfectly Well on it's Factory Original Suspension. Or are you Drifting the Car Prior to Scrapping it ? if so Let me Know, I will Buy Some Remaining ORIGINAL Parts. Where are the Design Faults with the Original Suspension ? Return the Car to BMW in Germany to have it's Faults Corrected.

[@lachezarvalentinov8751]

hahah :)

[@guidoextol]

thanks for the video