1988 635csi Bootlid torsion bars, boot lift mechanism

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Trickysadd

1988 635csi Bootlid torsion bars, boot lift mechanism

Post by Trickysadd »

Hello,
I'm brand new to the forum so Hi everyone !

Ive recently taken a 635 against another car I sold and really love it. Originally I was going to sell but its definitely a keeper !

Unfortunately it fell into the wrong hands ( a drifter or some other person , no names!) and he had stripped some parts out.
Most I have and I have had repairs to the wiring he butchered whilst trying to fit a new radio, so the car is starting to look great again.

For some daft reason he removed the torsion bars or boot lift springs. The boot is impossibly heavy without these so I was wondering if anyone local to Essex has these or a picture of what I need to do or if there is a strut conversion that can be done ?

The bonnet ones were easy, I ordered those from Cooper BMW colchester but the boot is confusing me a little. All that sleft are the hinges .
Hope some one can advise /help.
Kind Regards

Richard
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markh
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Post by markh »

Parts #6-9 work in unison to lift and hold the trunk up in the air. This is for an 88 - may be different for yours. Suggest you put your model, year and location in your signature.

Image
06 SUSPENSION 1 51241815364 $0.90
07 SUSPENSION 1 51241804080 $1.92
08 TORSION SPRING RIGHT 1 41621839194 $13.50
For vehicles with
M TECHNIC REAR SPOILER
08 TORSION SPRING RIGHT 1 41621942210 $28.61
09 TORSION SPRING LEFT 1 41621839193 $13.50
1988 ///M Zinno/Lotus 70K miles
Pod
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Post by Pod »

Welcome to the forum! I have torsion springs. What colour is your car?
Trickysadd

Post by Trickysadd »

Hi , and thanks.

My car is a metallic Black 1988 635CSI Highline (one of the last made apparantley ) and I am based near Colchester in Essex , UK.

I have no idea why they have been removed. I probably need to drive to a parts place or breaker relatively close, Suffolk , Essex, Kent etc and swop the parst over from a car thats being broken.
Chris Wright

Post by Chris Wright »

Here is a thread on how to put the torsion springs on:

viewtopic.php?t=3367&

The photo from the thread above:
<img src="http://bigcoupe.com/ims/pic.php?u=21GvpX2&i=242">
Pod
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Post by Pod »

Well, I have red, green & blue springs, but not black!

However, I have an unpainted pair with BMW OEM stickers on - so they are probably replacements, so maybe not well-used? Looking for ?15 + postage for them.
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Trickysadd

Post by Trickysadd »

Thats great thanks. I think I need the little plastic spacers or whatever they are shown in the photos holding the bars apart as well as its all gone.

Nearly lost my fingers last night...Its the heaviest boot I have ever lifted!!
Colour doesnt really worry me as I can spray them.

I don't want to fall foul of forum rules here around buying and asking for parts if there are any but how do you want paying, contact addresses etc.
Many thanks, this has been so helpful.

Richard
MöchteWeiß

Post by MöchteWeiß »

Trickysadd wrote:Nearly lost my fingers last night...Its the heaviest boot I have ever lifted!!
As well, you'll be lucky not to lose any digits installing these bitches. BE CAREFUL!
Colour doesnt really worry me as I can spray them.
Personally, I wouldn't bother. Brightens up an otherwise unremarkable part of the car ...
Chris Wright

Post by Chris Wright »

Forgot to say welcome! :mrgreen:

BTW, have you seen the "Goodies Page"? It has links to Online (or PDF Downloads) of the Factory Workshop Manuals, Wiring Diagrams (ETM's), Parts Manuals, Online Suppliers, etc.:
viewtopic.php?t=10410
It is actually in the "Tech Articles" Section, "Stickied" at the top as "E24 Shop Manual" if you need to find it later.
____
M?chteWei? wrote:
Trickysadd wrote:Nearly lost my fingers last night...Its the heaviest boot I have ever lifted!!
As well, you'll be lucky not to lose any digits installing these bitches. BE CAREFUL!
My secret weapon for installing the torsion bars, a giant pair of cheap, China import, oversized water pump pliers. You can get both hands on the handles and control the bars as you torque them into place:
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Oversized Pliers.jpg
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Pod
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Post by Pod »

Trickysadd wrote:Thats great thanks. I think I need the little plastic spacers or whatever they are shown in the photos holding the bars apart as well as its all gone.

Nearly lost my fingers last night...Its the heaviest boot I have ever lifted!!
Colour doesnt really worry me as I can spray them.

I don't want to fall foul of forum rules here around buying and asking for parts if there are any but how do you want paying, contact addresses etc.
Many thanks, this has been so helpful.

Richard
Just read your message Richard. I can add the plastic spacers. I reckon ?8 should cover postage, packing & Paypal fees etc. If you can send me a PM with your email address, I'll send you a Paypal invoice.
mauser

Post by mauser »

If you are wandering how this system looks like installed. The same boot lifting mechanism is in e30 also, so if you can find one you can study it and it will give you better idea when seen in person.
E34 on the other hand has strut, as do all the later bmws I suspect.

Advice on installing- you can install it with hands, bars arent too strong, just grip it with strength and dont let it wander around or snap.
Trickysadd

Post by Trickysadd »

Hi and thanks for all the advice.

Apologies to Pod , I just havent had time to get on here for a few days for any time.

Believe it or not we managed to get the boot springs from BMW for less than any of the s/h ones I was offered. Bizarre.

They have also quoted me for a few other parts that are cheaper new than I have been quoted by breakers.
Oh well I suppose its just luck.

I'll post when I ve had a go at fitting them !!
Pod
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Post by Pod »

Well, I'm amazed you got a pair of springs from BMW for less than ?15 - but good for you!

Still, you could have taken the time to let me know, rather than just posting here because I sent you a PM [-X
Trickysadd

Post by Trickysadd »

Absolutely, It wasen't just the ?15 though , by the time you add postage there is nothing in it.

However I do apologise as i did not intend to annoy you. I didn't get your PM until after I had ordered the parts through BMW and even then they were not 100% as to their availability, so rather than mess you around twice I waited until after they arrived from Germany before posting on here.. on the advice of the dealer.

Anyway lesson learn't ...check BMW first and then post !!
Pod
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Post by Pod »

Trickysadd wrote:Absolutely, It wasen't just the ?15 though , by the time you add postage there is nothing in it.

However I do apologise as i did not intend to annoy you. I didn't get your PM until after I had ordered the parts through BMW and even then they were not 100% as to their availability, so rather than mess you around twice I waited until after they arrived from Germany before posting on here.. on the advice of the dealer.

Anyway lesson learn't ...check BMW first and then post !!
Fair enough, apology accepted :D
Trickysadd

Post by Trickysadd »

Well,
I thought I would post a little update a few months on.....

I still own the car and wish I had bought one years ago. After a little altercation with my workshop wall ( yes my workshop) in the snow , I had to do a small repair on the N/S wing, replace the bumper rubber strip and not connected but both inner headlamps and n/s/r window motor.
All thats off topic but suffice to say after taking the bumper off etc it all looks good now and I can see ! Horrified that I couldnt get the motor anywhere ( ?400 from BMW , and the lights were ?80 each, but at least they are all done.

Back to the boot torsion bars........ They still arent done and I have 2 questions.
Firstly is it easier without the weight of the bootlid on ?
Secondly , has anyone modified it to use hydraulic rams instead as having had a little go I am struggling to do it on my own ?

What a great car !!

Richard
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Post by ron »

Trickysadd wrote: ....Horrified that I couldnt get the motor anywhere ( ?400 from BMW ,
Why didn't you put a want ad. on here for the motor? Plenty of good used motors about.

I assume you are in UK as you have a Highline. Good idea to put your location and model in your profile as it helps everyone to answer any queries etc.
They are ALWAYS rustier than you thought!!!!!!
'85 M #228
'87 M #367
'88 High line.
'10 X5
‘84 Alfasud 1.5 ti
Trickysadd

Post by Trickysadd »

Hi Ron,

I agree , I probably should have posted on here, but I did spend several weeks contacting all my local BMW specialists and I'm sure you will understand that after a while you give up. There are plenty of front motors about and even os/r ones . Also ones that fit early cars but not the later 635 ( they are different). A couple of bmw parts people kept saying they had one and then either didnt call back / answer emails or decided they didn't have one after all. I monitored Ebay for a month as well. I even googled parts overlap with outher models.

I did try and rebuild the old one but I think the plastic gear had stripped slightly.
In the end with business commitments it was just easier to pop into Coopers and haggle as much as I could knowing that the parts would be there 3 days later.

A forum would normally be my first stop.

Sorry about the lack of Location. I am in the UK south east - Essex.

Richard
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Post by Brucey »

re bootlid; having 'made do' with various ad-hoc tools in the past, I now know that this is what I need.

Image

I shall be making my own version at some point; if there is enough interest I shall make a batch, just let me know if you want one, cost will be about ?20 posted in the UK.

Re motor; there are commonalities between the motors and internal gearing etc between various motors used on the four windows. I documented this in a posting on this site. This means that it is often possible to cannibalise a 'wrong' unit and make a good one to do the job.

BTW the rear window mechanisms in these cars are the exact same items from '76 through to '89 according to the ETK.

cheers
~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trickysadd

Post by Trickysadd »

Hi Brucey,
Yes I would be interested ! I havent tried yet but I can imagine a world of pain and frustration trying with my hands. Also I am unsure why they were removed in the firstplace. Some of the bracketry looks bent.... But the boot is impossibly heavy at the moment.

I did do a search on here for window motor compatability, but couldn't find anything. Also did the same on Google. Spent an hour with my BMW parts guys and couldn't find any common ground , hence why I went for a new one. Even though I get staff discount via a friend of the family who is Service manager, it was still ?363. They have a lot on the shelf in Germany though !!!

I will do another search and retrieve my old motor from the scrap skip !!

Thank you for your reply.

Richard
Chris Wright

Post by Chris Wright »

My favorite weapon of choice for the torsion bar springs, over-sized pliers. You can get both hands on the handles and control the bars as you torque them into place. $15-20 at the local cheap import tool store:

Image
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Post by bpoliakoff »

Pod wrote:
Trickysadd wrote:Thats great thanks. I think I need the little plastic spacers or whatever they are shown in the photos holding the bars apart as well as its all gone."
Just read your message Richard. I can add the plastic spacers. I reckon ?8 should cover postage, packing & Paypal fees etc. If you can send me a PM with your email address, I'll send you a Paypal invoice.
FYI information, the little plastic spacers also fit 2002 and E24 front brake pipes on the old style calipers zaand are used to keep the metal brake lines symetrical where they come out of the calipers
81 Euro 635 M90 with motronic. Currently under a complete nut and bolt restoration. Pictures at
flickr.com/photos/bertsphotos.
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Post by bpoliakoff »

[quote="Brucey"]
I shall be making my own version at some point; if there is enough interest I shall make a batch, just let me know if you want one, cost will be about ?20 posted in the UK.

I am in for one for sure, having realized the canibal method of installation can get painful
81 Euro 635 M90 with motronic. Currently under a complete nut and bolt restoration. Pictures at
flickr.com/photos/bertsphotos.
Trickysadd

Post by Trickysadd »

Having had the bootlid drop and only just miss my fingers last night I am moving tis job to the very top of the list !

I'll report back on how it goes !
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Prototype tool made

Post by Brucey »

here is my first go at a decent tool for this job.

In use, the tool needs to be twisted slightly as the springs are unhooked. I quickly found that this marred the paint somewhat (although I did have several goes on the same spring, and you could protect the spring with tape if you wanted...). I'd imagine that the BMW tool does the same thing; -hence I've incorporated an optional anti-marring sleeve into my design.

For those that are interested, provisional costs are;

basic tool, (posted in mainland UK) -?20
tool with optional anti-marring sleeve fitted - add ?7
tool with DIY sleeve - add ?3
tool with international postage -add ?6

The DIY sleeve needs a marker pen, sharp scissors or shears, and a cigarette lighter to fit it.

I've used the prototype on several sets of springs (left and right side); it works very well, and requires very little effort. The measured force at the tool end is just 16lbs, so it is pretty much a one-finger job.

Beats the heck out of fiddling around with grips etc. which is how I used to do it.

Why didn't I build one before?

:-k :-k :-k

#-o #-o #-o

cheers
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does what it says on the tin.<br /><br /> (what tin?)
does what it says on the tin.

(what tin?)
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~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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