E70 Rear Air Strut / Airbag Replacement DIY

[blue dragon]

Considering they are $160 per side on Amazon, and this is about a 2 on the 1 - 10 difficulty scale for DIY, I'd opt to save some money and DIY. I don't like paying for stuff I can do myself.

[Sam617]

Arnott air spring users, do you have to remove the brass nut that came already installed in the new bag off and reused the brass nut on the air supply line?? Or do I just insert the air supple hose only to the new arnott bag??
Thanks, Sam

[mart_dev]

Sam, best advice I could offer is to have a look at the video instruction on the Arnott website. I used everything supplied in the kit so if they had supplied new ferrules and nuts then I would certainly have removed the old ones.

[Sam617]

On the arnott installation video, it says to toss out the old air supply line brass fitting on the old bmw bags and just insert the air hose. Is this right?? Also the instruction say to insert the air hose and gently pull it. When I do that the air hose pull right out, there nothing stopping it from pulling out. Is this normal?? Thanks, Sam

[mart_dev]

This is NOT correct Sam. It's been a while since a replaced mine but I'm certain the airbags where supplied with new brass ferrules. The reason you are instructed to gently tug on the lines is to make sure you've correctly fastened them to the bags...which will be impossible to do without the ferrules (brass retaining rings) so if you didn't get any in your kit then I hope you have not thrown your old ones out because you will have to reuse them.

[Sam617]

Originally Posted by mart_dev

This is NOT correct Sam. It's been a while since a replaced mine but I'm certain the airbags where supplied with new brass ferrules. The reason you are instructed to gently tug on the lines is to make sure you've correctly fastened them to the bags...which will be impossible to do without the ferrules (brass retaining rings) so if you didn't get any in your kit then I hope you have not thrown your old ones out because you will have to reuse them.

The bags came with the brass nut already installed. But I didn't see the little brass locking nut inside. While watching the installation video, I didn't see them taking out the brass nut when they were installing the air hose. Does this mean I have redo it?? Thanks, Sam

[mart_dev]

If it's not leaking then I suppose you could adopt the principal of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". But if we're both referring to tiny brass rings that should be slipped around the pipe ahead of the nuts and you have by some chance removed them then the likelihood is the pipes will be easily dislodged by air pressure or by other mechanical means and you'll be left without suspension. Like I said before, it's been a while since I replaced mine and the old memory is a little foggy and I would hate to be leading you astray...especially given the potential for misinformation owing to the fact we're trying to explain something to each other without the benefit of visual aids.

[Sam617]

Originally Posted by mart_dev

If it's not leaking then I suppose you could adopt the principal of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". But if we're both referring to tiny brass rings that should be slipped around the pipe ahead of the nuts and you have by some chance removed them then the likelihood is the pipes will be easily dislodged by air pressure or by other mechanical means and you'll be left without suspension. Like I said before, it's been a while since I replaced mine and the old memory is a little foggy and I would hate to be leading you astray...especially given the potential for misinformation owing to the fact we're trying to explain something to each other without the benefit of visual aids.

Thanks for responding, I'm going to redo it n see if the tiny ring is inside the arnott air bag.

[95wildtt]

Hi,

My Rear ABs aren't leaking, yet (82k) but figure I should do this as preventative maintenance like the trans fluid flush. From reading this thread it sounds like there is no trim removal needed in the interior, is that correct?

Thanks,
John

[ART-qitec]

Originally Posted by 95wildtt

Hi,

My Rear ABs aren't leaking, yet (82k) but figure I should do this as preventative maintenance like the trans fluid flush. From reading this thread it sounds like there is no trim removal needed in the interior, is that correct?

Thanks,
John

Yes that's correct, you can see the tops of the bags in the upper right and left hand corners once you lift up the trunk floor where the spare tire/battery is.