F10 / F11 D5 Front Coil Springs

[Frosty]

That is good to hear Marc, thanks for the update.

[Marc 76]

Herr Rimpler did get back to me just to say that the higher the number of the spring, the higher the spring rate.
Therefore having the lowest number will give the lowest ride height...

[Paul0568]

Has anyone had the front coil springs replaced on a D5? I have lost a small section of the bottom coil which Sytner Nottingham spotted today during a 142K mile service. I am waiting for Germany to confirm part number and availability. Anyone like to estimate cost of parts and fitting so I can prepare myself for the telephone call? Fortunately this was the only issue and everything else looks good.

[Marc 76]

Has anyone had the front coil springs replaced on a D5? I have lost a small section of the bottom coil which Sytner Nottingham spotted today during a 142K mile service. I am waiting for Germany to confirm part number and availability. Anyone like to estimate cost of parts and fitting so I can prepare myself for the telephone call? Fortunately this was the only issue and everything else looks good.

I've not replaced mine Paul but as you can read above i have confirmed the correct D5 front spring (31 33 656) with Axel Rimpler at Alpina.

I would expect this to be the spring they quote for you, it would be interesting to hear what they come up with if different.

Regards cost, i fitted aftermarket Eibach front springs to my E61 five years ago and they cost £120 for the pair IIRC. Obviously your new ones, although Eibach will be subject to Alpina / main dealer tax...
And its a whole shock absorber out job, probably a couple of hours a side or thereabouts, although the bottom connection to the TCA on the F11 does look easy to disconnect so might be quicker!

Hope its not too hefty, and glad thats all they found for you

[Paul0568]

I have asked Sytner to order the parts (coil springs and seats). Apparently parts are on back order so could be another 3 weeks before they arrive. Car is now off the road. Their quote for parts and fitting began with a 7 and didn't include wheel alignment. I don't have a breakdown of parts and labour costs yet but I was surprised at the quote. The coil spring swap isn't difficult. It needs a decent spring compressor and a way of accurately aligning the shock when reassembling.

[Marc 76]

Their quote for parts and fitting began with a 7 and didn't include wheel alignment.

Maybe just buy the springs and do it yourself, or have a trusted independent fit them?

Can always have the alignment checked elsewhere.

[Paul0568]

Has anyone had the front coil springs replaced on a D5? I have lost a small section of the bottom coil which Sytner Nottingham spotted today during a 142K mile service. I am waiting for Germany to confirm part number and availability. Anyone like to estimate cost of parts and fitting so I can prepare myself for the telephone call? Fortunately this was the only issue and everything else looks good.

One month has passed since the service and Sytner are still waiting for a pair of replacement coil springs (31 33 656) to arrive from Germany. I had not anticipated that getting parts for a 7 year old car would be so difficult. Is this typical of Alpina? If anyone has a pair of springs sat in their garage please let me know!

[Marc 76]

One month has passed since the service and Sytner are still waiting for a pair of replacement coil springs (31 33 656) to arrive from Germany. I had not anticipated that getting parts for a 7 year old car would be so difficult. Is this typical of Alpina? If anyone has a pair of springs sat in their garage please let me know!

Hi Paul, although not springs i have recently had both front dampers replaced by Sytner. These are listed in the Alpina F1X parts catalogue so i assume they are an Alpina part, or at least are a BMW part modified by Alpina to give the extended range of Alpina ride settings.
Each one was ordered separately (long story which i will recount on this forum one day) and each time took around 3 weeks.
Hopefully your springs will not take too much longer, perhaps they are having to have Eibach make a batch if there out of stock...

[Paul0568]

I finally got the front coil springs on my D5 replaced just before Christmas after waiting over 8 weeks for Sytner to get the parts. All very frustrating as I was unable to use the car. In the end Sytner did the work and give me a discount on the MOT and labour which I was happy with. I have done two long road trips since the repair and it is great to have the car back. In December I was in two minds whether to replace the car due to issues with parts supply however I don't think I could find anything that offers the all-round ability of an Alpina estate.

[ScooBeeFive]

Glad to hear it's sorted, but that is a real pain having the car off the road for so long.

I'm waiting on front discs and pads for the B4 to come in to Sytners Sheffield and they are on at least a 6 week lead time.

[Marc 76]

Great to hear you got sorted after what really is unacceptable service.
Eight weeks for a pair of springs is pretty poor in anyone's book. A cruel combination of Brexit, Covid and Sytner perhaps...

But i hear what youre saying about being worth the wait- mine gets better every day and i'm sure yours does too!

[Swizzer2020]

FYI - Axel Rimpler at Alpina Buchloe has confirmed my D5 should have 3133656. Going to order up for a full suspension refresh!

[Frosty]

FYI - Axel Rimpler at Alpina Buchloe has confirmed my D5 should have 3133656. Going to order up for a full suspension refresh!

Swizzer, did you sort the suspension out?

Contemplating a change of my front springs now I am almost 128k into the life of this car and they have not been changed yet.

On a separate note, I have some coolant loss that the mechanic thinks may be down to a faulty EGR cooler, he said BMW had a service campaign for these, but not sure if they would extend to Alpina, anyone heard about this or had any issues?

[Marc 76]

On a separate note, I have some coolant loss that the mechanic thinks may be down to a faulty EGR cooler, he said BMW had a service campaign for these, but not sure if they would extend to Alpina, anyone heard about this or had any issues?

Frosty, mine had a new EGR cooler on recall in 2020:

EGR.jpg (76.88 KiB) Viewed 811 times

Maybe make some enquiries at BMW?

[Frosty]

Frosty, mine had a new EGR cooler on recall in 2020:

EGR.jpg

Maybe make some enquiries at BMW?
[/quote]

Thanks Marc, I will make some enquiries.