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2 minute read
E39 540i front swaybar upgrade instructions - upgraded
Compliments of DZeckhausen @ www.zeckhausen.com
1-5-2004
After following my own instructions this weekend to perform the third M5 front swaybar transplant into a 540i, I updated the web page to correct a couple of errors and to make it easier to follow. Placing a piece of wood under the floor jack in order to gain another inch of lift really made a big difference when it came time to pull the old bar out and snake the new bar into place!
With two people who have done a couple of these before, it's possible to crank one out in under three hours. Plan on seven to eleven hours if you're doing it by yourself. Some of the steps really require two people and are MUCH harder with one.
http://www.zeckhausen.com/howto/bmwe...eplacement.htm
Each time I've done this installation, it has been on jack stands and was with two people. Now that you've just done it with one person and the pain is fresh in your mind, is there anything that you would suggest to improve the installation instructions? Were any of the fastener sizes different on your car than in my instructions? Specifically what was hard about getting the subframe back in place? Was it getting it lined up with the engine mount studs? Or did the 6 bilts not want to line up? It's been my experience that you should install the front 4 bolts first and tighten them. At that point, the two rear subframe bolts that are installed at an angle will go in easily. But if you install them first, it's very hard to get the front ones to go in.
Congratulations on doing this modification! I'll bet you are going to be sore today. 
