E53 front struts failure? Anyone?
 

Coils only, not air.

I'm at almost 180k miles now on my original non-Sport struts on my 2001 3.0i. I've replaced many suspension components on this truck, due to failure or maintaining symmetry.

So I'm wondering how long I should expect to get out of the original struts. I searched high and low here and could not find any reports of these failing. Sure, there are plenty of people who replace them at 100k (or whatever) for good measure, but that does not do me any good in making my decision. Unlike a fuel pump or alternator, a strut with reduced damping will not strand me on the side of the road - so a pre-emptive repair is hard to justify here.

I'll be happy to run these to 400k if they're still working. I believe mine are Sachs.

Anyone have an actual failure to report?

Not an E53, but it is a 2002 3.0 E46. My wife's front strut started leaking at around 100k. We replaced all 4 corners with Eibach.

Yeah no need to change them unless you get a leak or they the vehicle starts to bounce without control. Changing them out after 150-175K mark makes a huge difference on ride and handling. When I did my strut change to bilstein sport on my 540I Touring I had a huge change in the handling and great ride control. My X5 struts were the original delphi (102K)on the front and I changed them out to the sachs touring when I installed the H&R springs. So glad I did this.

All depends. My E83 X3 front struts started leaking at about 60k. Current E53 with 129k no signs of leak.

I have two 2006 X5's. The one I drive has 189,000 miles on it. The other, the wife's, about 138,000. Changed out the struts and shocks on the higher mileage X5. The ride definitely improved and was better than the lower mileage X. The old units were not leaking that I could tell, just old. Then I did a full suspension refresh front and rear, including rear sub-frame bushing replacement. Wow! What a difference in ride and handling. If that hasn't been done anywhere in the past to yours, you're probably past due.

You'd be surprised what a new pair would do. Most don't last more than 80-90k in NYC.

My E39 had 201k on the struts and they were destroyed. I drove it back from VA and it's a miracle I didn't die somehow.

Most German makes seem to have their shocks fail gradually and most people fail to notice the ride getting worse, compared to say a Japanese or Korean brand where it pretty much rides like crap at 70-80k miles.

Mine were not leaking at 106k miles when I replaced them couple months ago but my left strut mount had big crack in rubber.
Obviously, my wheel / tire combo is much heavier and less rubber meat than yours so that's a big factor in wear.
Regardless, I can guarantee you that at the age and mileage you have, yours are definitely tired and you'd benefit from new set.

Mine were replaced by the previous owner around 102k as they were leaking. Replace them and you will most likely notice a big difference.

Thanks for all the helpful advice here. I went ahead and swapped in new Bilstein B4 (22119261 right and 22119278 left) struts yesterday, removing the presumed original ones that said BMW and Delphi on them. Easy job to do - I'll see if I notice any improvement. So far I have driven the truck from my driveway to the street.

Wondering what to do with the old ones since they still seemed fine before and after removal. Gas pressure, damping, surface finish on strut rod, etc. all look just fine.

I replaced the boots (bellows) as well. One of them had cracked, but they both looked amazingly good considering the age and mileage on this truck. I wished I had bought new bump stops ... until I saw the original ones were in mint condition - like they had never been touched (I guess that's how they're supposed to work when everything is working as it should). The mounts, pads, etc., everything was in amazingly good condition here. I would really not doubt that I could have gone a lot further with no problems at all.

But it was fun to do the swap and I got a good deal on the new parts. And it's nice to know things are squared away up there.

I just wish BMW would build their doors (clips, regulators, handles, handle carriers, locks) as well as they appear to build their suspension.

EDIT - I'm realizing that there were a lot of things replaced by the PO that were not in the records. So I think the struts I removed were pretty new, which would explain why the new ones feel the same. Bad move on my part to replace just based on mileage. And probably best to not draw any conclusions from my reports here.

When I bought my 4.6is I had different front struts which I swapped for Sachs units and it wasn't that difficult.