How to Change the Cabin Air Filter in a 5 Series BMW

1. Shut the engine off and open the hood.
2. Locate the cabin air filter compartment in the rear (near the windshield) part of the passenger side engine bay.
3. Remove the 13mm bolt from the assembly with a socket wrench. Unplug the pressure sensor connection from the assembly.
4. Flip up the two latches that attach the top part of the assembly. Lift the cover and the cabin air filter from the vehicle (the filter is attached to the cover).
5. Remove the old filter from the compartment cover. Insert the new filter, lining up the filter and cover notches.
6. Inspect the bottom part of the compartment for debris (leaves, twigs, etc.) Remove them from the compartment and wipe it with a dry towel.
7. Insert the top part of the compartment with the new filter. Snap up the two latches, reconnect the pressure sensor and tighten the 13mm bolt.
8. Repeat the process for the driver side cabin air filter.

How to Change the Shock Absorber on a BMW

1. Park the vehicle in a well-lit area that is also flat and level. Loosen the lug nuts for the wheel that has the shock you will be replacing. Lift the car using a floor jack and lower it onto jack stands. Finish removing the wheel and set it out of the way.
2. Spray degreaser where the lower part of the strut is bolted to the suspension and wipe it down with a rag. Disconnect any lines that are fastened to brackets on the strut housing. Depending on the model, this can include the brake line and the brake wear sensor line. Remove the wheel speed sensor for ABS-equipped cars. This is held on with a small bolt. The sensor slides out of the back of the hub.
3. Remove the large bolts holding the brake caliper to the strut housing. Slide the caliper off the rotor. Support the caliper while you work. Remove the bolts where the steering arm attaches to the strut. These are generally accessed from below. Disconnect the sway bar from where it bolts to the strut housing.
4. Open the hood. Remove the three nuts that fasten the upper strut to the chassis strut tower. Slide the bottom of the strut assembly away from the suspension and down from where the studs on the top of the assembly go through the sheet metal.
5. Move the strut assembly to a work bench. Place a spring compressor on the spring, ensuring that the hooks for the spring compressor are directly across from each other. Carefully compress the spring until the tension against the top of the strut housing is relieved.
6. Remove the rubber cap over the nut that secures the strut bearing. Carefully loosen and remove the nut, ensuring that the tension on the spring is completely relieved. Remove the nut, washer and any spacers. Slide the upper strut bearing and the spring off the strut housing.
7. Transfer any pads or spacers at the top and bottom of the old strut to the new strut. Leaving the spring compressed with the compressor still fastened, slide the spring over the new strut. Slide the upper strut bearing onto the strut. Install and tighten the nut that holds the upper strut beating on. Carefully loosen the spring compressor, ensuring that the spring seats correctly in the top and bottom of the strut assembly.
8. Reinstall the top of the strut first by sliding the studs at the top of the assembly up and through the holes in the sheet metal in the cars upper strut tower. Loosely install the nuts to hold it in place. Slide the bottom of the assembly into place. You may need to press down on the suspension and steering components to get the bolt holes to line up. Reinstall the lower bolts. Tighten the upper and lower bolts.
9. Reinstall the sway bar, the brake line and other lines on their respective brackets and reinstall the ABS speed sensor, if applicable. Reinstall the brake caliper. Replace the wheel and hand-tighten the lug nuts. Lower the car to the ground and finish tightening the lugs nuts.

How to Change the Transmission Fluid in a BMW E30

1. Warm your cars transmission by driving it around for about 10 minutes. Be careful not to go far over this time frame, since you want the fluid to be warm, but not scalding hot for this procedure.
2. Turn your BMWs ignition off and lock the emergency brake into place to prevent injury during the fluid replacement.
3. Jack your car evenly about six inches off of the ground and use extra support in the form of jack stands. You will need four jack stands near each tire in order to position the car level with the ground.
4. Find the transmission pan under the front end of the BMW--it is a square, bolted pan-like object.
5. Position the drip pan on the ground, directly beneath the center of the transmission pan. This is to ensure that any hot fluid spills into the drip pan, and not onto you.
6. Release the drain plug at the center of the transmission pan using the socket wrench. The fluid will immediately fall out of the transmission pan, so be sure that you are not in the way of your drip pan.
7. Unscrew the remaining bolts after you are confident that the majority of fluid has drained from the transmission pan. There will still be a small amount of fluid pooled in the bottom of the pan, so use caution as you let the pan down.
8. Empty any remaining fluid from the transmission pan into your drip pan.
9. Wipe the entire transmission pan with the shop rag and a touch of degreaser. Be sure to clean the outside, as well as the inside of the pan, taking caution to also clean the corners, so that the old fluid does not contaminate the new fluid.
10. Mount the transmission pan back into its original position on the transmission, using your socket wrench.
11. Remove the jack stands from under your BMW and lower the car with the jack.
12. Open the hood of thew E30 and locate the transmission fill plug near the windshield, between the center and the drivers side of the car.
13. Open the fill plug cap at the top of the transmission by unscrewing it with your hand. The fill plug on a BMW E30 is yellow and has a dipstick attached to it. The dipstick can be set aside for now.
14. Place the funnel upright into the center of the transmissions fill plug.
15. Begin pouring the new Dexron III transmission fluid into the transmission through the funnel, to avoid spilling.
16. Release the emergency brake after pouring in the second quart of transmission fluid.
17. Turn the ignition key and shift the car into each gear, holding your foot on the brake pedal the entire time. Shifting gears allows the transmission fluid to flow throughout the system, providing a more accurate reading when measuring the level of the fluid.
18. Put your BMW in Park and let the motor continue to run.
19. Add only one-half of the third quart of transmission fluid through the fill plug and funnel.
20. Use the dipstick to measure the level of the transmission fluid by placing the cap back into the fill plug and immediately pulling it out. The dipstick will show you whether or not your transmission is filled to the recommended capacity.
21. Continue pouring small amounts of the third quart of transmission fluid, until the dipstick reads Full. Use extreme caution not to flood the transmission, since the clean-up for such a spill would add significant time to completing this project.
22. Turn your engine off after the dipstick shows the transmission fluid at the recommended fill level.
23. Re-cap the fill plug with the dipstick cap and close the hood of your car. The transmission fluid change is now finished.

How to Change Xenon Lights

1. Disconnect the negative cable from the battery terminal. To do this, use a socket wrench to turn the retaining nut on the cable clamp counterclockwise until the clamp loosens enough for you to slide the cable off the terminal.
2. Open the hood and locate the high intensity discharge box for each light. There will be one located behind each light bulb.
3. Remove the top cover on the box. To do this, push in on the clip on the side of the cover and pull the cover off.
4. Rotate the bulb ignitor counterclockwise (about one-quarter turn) and remove the electrical connector by pulling straight up on it.
5. Remove the ignitor by pulling back on the ignitor (towards the firewall). When it comes loose, you can pull it up and out of the way.
6. Rotate the bulb retaining ring counterclockwise. Then, pull the bulb towards the firewall (after youve rotated the retaining ring to unlock the bulb from the housing) and negotiate the bulb out of the housing.
7. Install the new bulb. Installation is the reverse of removal.

How to Change Struts on a BMW 323i

1. Loosen the lug nuts on the wheels, place the car on a set of jack stands at all four corners and remove the wheels. The rear jack can go at the control arm mounting point.
2. Disconnect the leveling sensor (if the car has Xenon headlights) to prevent damaging it during spring removal. This sensor is located on the passenger side behind the sway bar end-link and shock, and is held on with a 10-mm nut.
3. Disconnect the swaybar end-link with a 16-mm box wrench on the back and a 16-mm socket on the front. Push the end-link out of the way. Next disconnect the shock and the control arm with an 18-mm socket and an extension. You may need a breaker bar to get the bolt loose. Support the control arm when the bolt is removed with a box so the brake lines are not damaged. Remove the three 10-mm nuts at the top of the shock and pull out the shock and spring. Repeat on other side.
4. Move to the workbench or an open area to install the spring compressor to remove the spring from the shock assembly. Place the spring compressor hooks on either side of the spring and alternately compress each side until the hat at the top of the spring is loose. Use a 21-mm socket to remove the hat. Install new the shock and begin to loosen the spring compressor, taking care to properly seat the spring against the hat in the corresponding notches for the spring. Tighten the nut on the hat. Inspect everthing and then reinstall in the car.
5. Reinsert the control arm onto the shock body with a jack pushing up the control arm. Put the swaybar back on and reinsert the top three bolts for the strut. If applicable, reconnect the Xenon sensor.
6. Move on to the rear. Fold down the rear seats and remove the plastic tab underneath the leather or cloth trim. Remove the two plugs that allow access to the shock bolts. Place a jack on the control arm and jack up the shock a little until the tension is released. Remove the top bolt. Move to the bottom of the shock and remove the bolt there. The shock should now come out.
7. Install new shock and replace the bolts. When retightening the top bolts, make sure there is pressure on the shock. Hold the shock piston with a small wrench when you tighten this bolt.