So, I overhauled the struts on my E30 about a month ago, which hadn't been done since the car was new. New Bilstein HDs, new soft parts (upper/lower spring pads/shims, strut mounts/guide support assemblies), and new hardware, and keeping the stock springs for a variety of reasons. I hadn't done this job before but I am very handy, very careful, and had researched the topic extensivelyby eb - Technical Forum