I finally got around to doing this job but unfortunately I waited a little to long. I had very minor clunking which all of a sudden became major clunking very quickly. I think the bushing completely fell apart so there was nothing left. This caused the strut shaft to crack the rubber in the upper strut mount. I had to stop in the middle of the job and park the car while I waited for parts to come in.

Also, don't attempt to do this with the Auto Zone/Advance/Oreilly lonor spring compressor tool. It will take foroever and is not safe. Use the type of tool that the OP shows and you can safely compress the spring in 5 minutes.

FYI the upper and lower bushings can be changed without a spring compressor. Just jack the car up an inch or so and the strut will lower enough to allow the lower bushing to be inserted below the strut upper mount. Then use a long hex key to guide the strut shaft back up into the hole while you lower the jack. There is no side to side pressure on the shaft so it easily goes back up. This method will not work for changing the bump stops but it could be used in an emergency to get you back on the road.

__________________
2009 35d, 2006 325i & 330i