Help - I have 2 different front struts!

Stevehose · Nov 21, 2011

Apparantly somewhere along the line the passenger front strut has been replaced, the problem is that the collar for the new Bilstein doesnt fit - this strut has a smaller diameter collar and threads, although the tube diameter is the same and both original Boges were in place. The correct strut reads "385 01" and the other one reads"386 198D R"

Does anyone know what car this would have come from, other than this the collar diameter it appears identical to the correct strut. It appears my options are to:

1. Get a new passenger strut
2. Get the correct Bilstein and collar for this strut

UPDATE: Since posting this I read a previous post from SFDon that there were 3 different struts and 2 different ring nuts (48mm and 50mm) so it appears I have one of each, is it possible to get a 48mm Bilstein ring nut for my P36-0024 insert?

Option 2 sounds less expensive - any advice is appreciated, at present my spring/shock project is dead in the water. Thanks.

Incorrect one:

Correct one:

Both:

Incorrect collar on left, correct one on right:

sfdon · Nov 21, 2011

I went through this same mess with Waynes car..
There are different struts and different collar nuts. Mostly due to year and whether someone stuck a Bav strut in there.

Call Ben at La Jolla and he can explain all the messy facts

61porsche · Nov 21, 2011

Both collars are available still. Bav as Dons says. One is M50, the other is M48. Penske shows them both. $11-12.

Stevehose · Nov 21, 2011

The stock collars wont allow the Bilstein arm to come through - they are too small in diameter - I talked to Bilstein and they can get me a 48mm collar that is similar to the one that came with the insert so hopefully that will solve the problem.

61porsche said:
Both collars are available still. Bav as Dons says. One is M50, the other is M48. Penske shows them both. $11-12.

HB Chris · Nov 21, 2011

Steve,

I had the same problem six years ago but I didn't know how the mechanic solved the problem. My right front had been hit/repaired sometime in the distant past. The strange thing is that the bracket/tab to mount the two hoses faces forward over the caliper and is not useable as is, yours are correct at least.

Stevehose · Nov 21, 2011

Update

Ok Bilstein is sending me a 48mm x 1.5 thread size collar nut or "gland nut" as they call it. This should fit in the smaller nut diameter strut. For the record, it is part # B4-B36-U242-C1 if anyone else should encounter the Frankenstrut scenario. Wes in Bilstein customer service 800-537-1085 was very helpful. Hopefully this will solve my problem, if it doesn't you all will know about it :mrgreen:

Stevehose · Dec 3, 2011

Update - and it's not good news

I received the new nut from Bilstein and of course a new problem confronts me. The nut will thread in the tube ok but not with the shock in because a) it doesnt slip an inch down over the top of the shock like the original nut and b) there is not enough room for it to go between the shock and tube wall if it could slip on the shock anyway. I've now wasted time staring at my car on stands and $$ and it now looks like I need to source a correct size passenger side strut tube unless anyone else here has a suggestion? Thinner Bilstein from a Bavaria or whatever tube I have on my car (but they have the same Bilstein part number?)? If this is the case does anyone have a strut to offer up? Thanks.

61porsche · Dec 3, 2011

Steve,

Is it possible that the nut can be machined down in diameter to accept the bilstein?

Stevehose · Dec 3, 2011

Upon closer inspection, the orignal nut is a different design so when it slips over the shock it rests on the top of it, securing it in the tube when screwed in. The replacement has no such feature, so if it did slip over the shock it would not lock the shock in the tube. Double 02 has a strut tower available and I am leaning towards getting that so these new bilsteins fit properly and I don't have to compromise safety/performance by trying to make this strut work.

61porsche said:
Steve,

Is it possible that the nut can be machined down in diameter to accept the bilstein?

BarryG · Dec 3, 2011

good move Steve ^^^

dang · Dec 3, 2011

I just recently went through a strut problem myself, although a little different. Bottom line... I now have two stock struts off of a '69 2800cs that I'm going to throw away. If you think they'll work for you, cover the shipping cost and a six pack for my time and they're yours.

My issue... I started with stock struts/suspension on my '69 2800cs. I had a '73 3.0cs parts car that I dismantled this summer, kept the struts that had good Bilsteins in them and through the rest of the front suspension away. Once I decided to swap the struts (six months later) I found that the struts from the '73 were slightly larger and didn't mount to the tie-rod levers (mounted to the bottom of the struts). I pulled the shock inserts out and figured out they were from an E12 5-series and they didn't fit in the '69 struts. Unfortunately, the parts car had been crushed by this time so I couldn't use those levers, so I found an '82 528i at Pick-n-Pull and all is good now. E12 struts and tie-rod levers bolted onto a CS work just fine, and, the tie-rod levers are about a 1/2 inch shorter than the stock CS levers, which should translate into slightly quicker steering response, maybe.

Dan

Stevehose · Dec 4, 2011

Thanks Dan you have a PM - how about a 6 pack for each strut :smile:

dang said:
I just recently went through a strut problem myself, although a little different. Bottom line... I now have two stock struts off of a '69 2800cs that I'm going to throw away. If you think they'll work for you, cover the shipping cost and a six pack for my time and they're yours.

My issue... I started with stock struts/suspension on my '69 2800cs. I had a '73 3.0cs parts car that I dismantled this summer, kept the struts that had good Bilsteins in them and through the rest of the front suspension away. Once I decided to swap the struts (six months later) I found that the struts from the '73 were slightly larger and didn't mount to the tie-rod levers (mounted to the bottom of the struts). I pulled the shock inserts out and figured out they were from an E12 5-series and they didn't fit in the '69 struts. Unfortunately, the parts car had been crushed by this time so I couldn't use those levers, so I found an '82 528i at Pick-n-Pull and all is good now. E12 struts and tie-rod levers bolted onto a CS work just fine, and, the tie-rod levers are about a 1/2 inch shorter than the stock CS levers, which should translate into slightly quicker steering response, maybe.

Dan

Help - I have 2 different front struts!

Stevehose

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sfdon

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61porsche

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Stevehose

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HB Chris

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Stevehose

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Stevehose

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61porsche

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Stevehose

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BarryG

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dang

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Stevehose

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