BMW Part Number

Description

Retail Price

Zeckhausen Racing Price

31-22-1-093-427

525i/528i/530i/540i Wheel Bearing

(1 per side)

$246.00   

$145 each

31-22-2-229-360

M5 Wheel Bearing

(1 per side)

$260.00   

$174 each

31-12-1-093-843

M12 x 1.5 (55mm long) bolts

(4 per side)

 $3.47   

$2.10 each

31-12-1-094-298

M12 x 1.5 (95mm long) bolt

(1 per side)

$1.84   

$1.20 each

33-32-1-093-103

Self-locking nut for pinch bolt

(1 per side)

$2.70   

$1.50 each

Wheel bearing

Required Hardware (1 set per bearing)

The M5 front wheel bearings are the same internal design as the 528i/530i/540i wheel bearings; however, the M5 bearings have three raised dowel pins which mate with matching holes in the M5 rotors.  M5 bearings will not fit your E39 525i, 528i, 530i, or 540i with stock brakes.

The external appearance of the bearing assembly may vary depending on BMW's supplier.  They either have a large nut on the back or a pressed-on cover.

 If this is your first time changing E39 wheel bearings, you should budget three hours for the job and plan on two hours for the first side and one hour for the second.  Subsequent bearing swaps take about 45 minutes per side, assuming you have air tools.

The wheel bearing assembly is held in place from behind by four bolts.  Two of the bolts are easily accessible.  Two of them are blocked by the shock absorber.  This turns what should be a 5-minute job into the more complicated process documented below.

If you are considering replacement of your front shocks, there is almost 100 percent overlapping labor with the bearing replacement, so you should consider doing both at the same time.

 Installation Instructions

Safety Warning:

Working on your own car can be dangerous.  Even quality jack stands can collapse if not positioned properly, and a floor jack can fail suddenly and without warning.  You can be seriously injured or even killed if you do not follow proper safety procedures.  Please use both a floor jack and a good pair of jack stands to support your car so that a failure of any single support is less likely to result in the car falling on top of you!  Zeckhausen Racing LLC assumes no liability expressed or implied for the improper installation or use of these components.

Note: The following steps are performed on a 540i and are the same for the M5.  The 6-cylinder models (525i, 528i, 530i) have a slightly different suspension configuration and these instructions, while close, do not apply exactly.  You may wish to consult a service manual or a BMW mechanic before attempting this service on any model other than the 540i or M5.

Place the car on jack stands and remove the front wheels.  Remove the brake calipers and rotors.  (I've upgraded to a big brake kit, which is why my brakes look different.)

If you are installing a big brake kit and your car has more than 60,000 miles, it is a good idea to change your wheel bearings at the same time.  Worn bearings can lead to excessive runout at the rotors which will be noticeable as pedal pulsation during braking.

The factory shock absorbers on the E39 BMW are the same part number for the left and right side.  There are marks on the back of the strut ("L" and "R") that are lined up during installation with a slot on the back of the steering knuckle.  Rather than using those marks, it's easier and to draw your own, with a permanent laundry marker, on the strut and steering knuckle.  Clean the dirt off and mark one or two vertical lines on the strut and the aluminum knuckle.

A closer view of the alignment marks.  A horizontal line is not required since the strut has a shoulder that sits firmly in the knuckle.  Also, the strut will have a sharp boundary between the clean and dirty sections, so it will be obvious when it is seated properly in the knuckle.

Once you've marked the strut, remove (and discard) the pinch bolt which is shown in the photo to the right of the alignment marks.  You'll need to use a wrench on one end to keep the bolt from rotating as you remove the nut.

The pinch bolt also holds a small bracket that supports the ABS cable and, on the driver side, the brake pad wear sensor cable.  After you remove the pinch bolt, simply push this bracket out of the way.

Remove the 18mm nut and bolt holding the front lower control arm to the chassis.  A good whack with a rubber mallet should pop the arm out of the chassis attachment points.  The arm is not under pressure and can be reinstalled without special tools.  The arm is shown in the lower left of the photo with the bright yellow "NO HOOKS" sticker on it.  The bolt should be marked "CONTROL ARM" with the laundry pen so it isn't confused with the strut pinch bolt removed in the previous step.  When reinstalling, remember that the bolt goes in from the rear of the car and the nut faces the front of the car.

Remove the nut from the swaybar end link where it attaches to the aluminum bracket.  You will need a 16 mm open end wrench to prevent the stud from turning while you remove the nut.  After removing the nut, wiggle the end link loose and push it out of the way.  You may need to compress the suspension slightly with a floor jack in order to get the end link loose.  Push it back and out of the way.

A closer shot of the swaybar end link.  The 16 mm wrench is used BEHIND the bracket to keep the stud from rotating while the socket wrench is used to remove the nut.

Spray some WD-40 or other lubricant on the lower part of the strut so that it will be easier to slide out of the knuckle.  Be careful not to wash away your alignment marks!

Grab the aluminum steering knuckle and pull it down as far as you can.  Your instinct will be to try to turn the knuckle side to side, but it is held firmly in place by the rear control arm and can't turn.  Instead, grab the strut housing and turn the strut side to side while you pull down on the knuckle.  This is where it is helpful to have a second person working with you.

Pull it down far enough that you can gain access to the four bolts which hold the bearing/hub assembly in place.