The brief
The 216i had gone choppy: a rough ride over humps, the body floating and bouncing, and unusual noises off the front. He brought it in for a thorough check. That's worn front shock absorbers, the struts on the front of these. The strut damps the spring, it stops the car carrying on bouncing after a bump and keeps the tyre pressed on the road through corners and over rough surfaces. As it wears, the damping fades, so the body floats and bounces, the ride goes rough, and a tired strut or a perished top mount makes the noise. Shocks fade gradually so you get used to it, but it's a ride, grip and safety issue, so worn ones need changing.
The diagnosis
On the lift each front strut got a bounce-and-inspect. Both were past it, weak damping, weeping, the body carrying on after a push instead of settling in one, the top mounts tired. The rears were still doing their job. When the pair on an axle have gone together, you do them as a set with fresh top mounts, a fresh strut next to a tired one gives you a car that handles differently side to side, so the call was both fronts.
The work
Both front struts were unbolted and removed, and a new genuine BMW-spec pair fitted with fresh top mounts and bearings, every fastener torqued to the manual figures. With both sides back together, the front geometry was checked and set so the new struts weren't fighting a misaligned corner. A road test confirmed the ride had settled, no float, no excess sway, the noise gone, the front planted again.
The outcome
A composed ride that settles in one motion, flat and stable through corners, the noise gone, and the front planted again over bumps. The 216i went home riding properly again. Worn shocks only get softer and they take ride quality and grip down with them, so doing the pair as a set with fresh mounts reset the front end rather than leaving one side lagging the other.
