September 16, 1997
By: Robert Leidy

1. Jack the vehicle up and place on jack stands. DO NOT WORK UNDER THE VEHICLE WITHOUT USING JACK STANDS. I used a pair of jack stands on the left and right rear jack points, so during installation of the rear sway bars the Z3 was kind of standing on its head.
   

2. It is suggested, but not required, to remove both rear wheels and the spare tire to ease installation. Okay this time you definitely have to remove the tires and the spare tire.
   

3. Disconnect the stock sway bar end links from the lower control arms using two 13mm combination wrenches. It is not necessary to remove the links from the sway bar.The picture on the right shows how I accomplished this task. The vise grips were very handy since I really couldn't get both hands into this area very easily.
   

4. Remove the bushing clamps holding the sway bar to the chassis using a 10mm deep socket. After unbolting these clamps the sway bar will be free of the Z3. However this sucker is going to be a pain in the ass to remove. It will be like trying to trying to solve a rubix cube. With the bends in the sway bar you'll keep getting hung/stuck on the cage that holds the spare tire and other things. I ended up lowering the exhaust a little by removing one of the exhaust rubber hangers and that helped.
   

5. Remove the sway bar towards the passenger side of the vehicle noting its original position. If necessary the rear control arm can be supported with a jack while the lower shock bolt is removed to allow the shock to pivot clear as the bar is removed. Like I said in the previous step, this sway bar thing is really tough to get free of the Z3. The suggestion about "lower shock bolt is removed to allow the shock to pivot clear" kind of scared me because it sounded like they wanted me to mess with the shock and I didn't want to do that. Don't get too frustrated, like I said it's like solving a rubix cube. Take your time and you will figure out how to get it out of there.
   

6. Install the new sway bar with the arms facing toward the front of the car. The middle of the bar should be bent downward and positioned above the differential housing. Getting the new bar is easier than getting the old bar out (thank god). By now you should be VERY familiar with how everything is positioned so this won't be very difficult.
   

7. Lubricate the insides of the urethane bushings with a lithium or moly based grease before installing on the bar in the stock location. NOTE: failing to grease the bushings will cause them to squeak and wear prematurely. Same grease as on the front sway bar. Put a little dab on the outside too.
   

8. Secure the new bar to the chassis using the two factory bushing clamps, but do not tighten the nuts. Because the urethane bushings do not compress as easily as the factory bushings, it may be helpful to spray the outside of the bushing with lubricant, then secure the clamp with a vise grip while aligning the holes. Make sure the bushing seats correctly in the clamp.
   Here's where the shit hit the fan in my installation. If you look at the picture on the left you will notice two different brackets. The bracket on the left is the stock rear bracket off my October '96 produced Z3. Trouble was the new urethane bushings were designed for a bracket like the one on the right (apparently BMW changed bracket designs sometime between October 1st 1996 and January 1st 1997). Problem was I didn't have a bracket like the one on the right (BMW Part number 31-35-1-124-995), and this is not something that the local BMW dealer stocks. I called HMS and they in turn called Racing Dynamics, who located the correct brackets and shipped them too me. The Z3 remained in this stage for three days until the new brackets came. So be sure and take a look at your rear brackets before you start. If they look like the one on the left hold off installing the rear sway bar until you can locate a pair of brackets like the one on the right.
   Once the new brackets arrived I still couldn't get them to go over the protruding bolt until I bent them a little. The picture on the right shows how (using a hammer) I slightly bent them so the hole would be perpendicular with the protruding bolt. Even then I could just barely get the bolt to come through the hole, I ended up having to use vise grips to get the bracket down over the bolt (slightly messing up the threading on the bolt but not enough to hurt anything). Look back at the first picture on this step to see what I'm talking about.
   

9. The metal break lines mounted to the inside of the rear control arms must be moved downward to avoid interference with the end links. Rotate the clips that anchor the line to the arm so that the line runs under the screw that holds the clip to the arm. Or remove the the white plastic clip and metal stud from the control arm altogether. Brake line is secured at both ends of control arm by other clips. I tried to figure out a way of moving that white clip but was unsuccessful. I ended up removing the white plastic clip and metal stud. It made me nervous to do it but after seeing the finished result I'm okay with it.
   

10. Attach the sway bar ends to the control arms with the end link hardware provided (see diagram). For more oversteer, choose the sway bar hole furthest from the end of the bar. For less oversteer, choose the hole nearest to the end of the bar. Mine is on the loose setting. One of these days I'll try the tight setting but after finally getting the rear sway bar installed I'm really not looking forward to getting back under there, removing the spare tire, and messing with it again. The adjustment would have to be made while the car is under its own weight (ie not on jack stands).
    

11. Reinstall the rear wheels and lower the vehicle so the full weight of the car is on the suspension. While checking for adequate clearances and proper bar centering, torque the busing clamp to chassis hardware to 16 ft/lbs and the rod end hardware to 20ft/lbs. 8mm end link bushing hardware should be torqued until the bushing just begins to bulge. OVERTIGHTENING WILL DAMAGE THE BUSHINGS. Once again this is a lot harder than it sounds. The instructions tell you to lower your Z3 then crawl under it and torque these nuts. Well folks most of us don't fit under our Z3 without a little help. I ended up parking the Z3 at the end of the driveway where there is a slight drop off to the street. That way I could lay in the street and get under the Z3 to tighten the nuts.
    

12. Retorque all hardware after 500 miles. I must have originally torqued a little too much because after 500 miles I actually loosed the hardware a little.