BMW E46 330i 2002 Subframe Crack

[Ralf*]

My suspension technician says that we would charge between R1400 to R1800 to do the work, using our own materials to do the job.

Due to the complexities of stripping out a fair amount from the car, is the reason for the price, he also says that he prefers to see each car indiviually on our lift to see the extent of the cracking, to determine the size of "patch" required, and not just using a "one-size-fits-all" patch plate.

 

[DieselFan]

Vids should work now.

I think your guys are underestimating this job Ralf, did you show them the turner motorsport walk through?

It's quite a bit of work.

I hope powerflow charge me that

Moranor you are going to cry when you see all the dirt. lol

 

[Ralf*]

Vids should work now.

I think your guys are underestimating this job Ralf, did you show them the turner motorsport walk through?

It's quite a bit of work.

I hope powerflow charge me that

Moranor you are going to cry when you see all the dirt. lol

yup I showed him the "Turner Motorsport" link, which is why he said R1800, and then he changed his mind to saying that he would rather see the individual vehicles to determine on an individual basis the amount of work and time required, and then have a more accurate quote

 

[moranor@axis]

on my e46 I did not remove the subframe completely... removed the diff and let it hang there was enough space then to weld

on the front I did not have to remove the fuel tank because I choose to bond those two with Aerospace Grade structural epoxy (this is actually stronger than welds for these plates) rears i had welded as there were tears to fix anyway

2 years and counting with no subframe issues while still beating the car whenever I can :rollsmile:

 

[KSINGH]

had mine done about 5 years ago

as for the recall, it was done in North America after a lawsuit.

 

[DieselFan]

Did you see the videos sean?

My subframe had to come off completely to fit the bushes.

 

[DieselFan]

Vids should work now.

I think your guys are underestimating this job Ralf, did you show them the turner motorsport walk through?

It's quite a bit of work.

I hope powerflow charge me that

Moranor you are going to cry when you see all the dirt. lol

yup I showed him the "Turner Motorsport" link, which is why he said R1800, and then he changed his mind to saying that he would rather see the individual vehicles to determine on an individual basis the amount of work and time required, and then have a more accurate quote

This is the best way. :thumbs:

I don't think mine has cracked. BUT since my car is very dirty underneath I may not know. I will get them to clean it with compressed air when I go back.

 

[moranor@axis]

Did you see the videos sean?

My subframe had to come off completely to fit the bushes.

I fitted the bushes with a special tool i made so did not have to take subframe off :rollsmile:

 

[DieselFan]

Ah I see it wasn't such a mission dropping the subframe I suppose. Lets hope they can reassemble it properly...

 

[InFrA007]

The fun with this job comes in when they drop the subframe and find that all your bushes are poked and need replacing as well
:fencelook:

 

[moranor@axis]

If i had access to a press it would have been easier just to take the whole subframe out

 

[DieselFan]

The fun with this job comes in when they drop the subframe and find that all your bushes are poked and need replacing as well
:fencelook:

And thats why I have a full set of powerflex bushes going in their place :rollsmile:

Funny enough, this powerflow has a press lol.

 

[InFrA007]

The fun with this job comes in when they drop the subframe and find that all your bushes are poked and need replacing as well
:fencelook:

And thats why I have a full set of powerflex bushes going in their place :rollsmile:

Funny enough, this powerflow has a press lol.

My e36 is a 1998 model and only has 148000km on the odo and they're poked so stands to reason that anyone with similar mileage/age should consider replacing the bushes at the same time as part of the chassis reinforcement, before or after it's torn.

I'd imagine that if the bushes surrounding the bolts which hold the subframe to the body being worn will just aid in chassis tears occurring sooner as there is nothing to dampen the forces acting on the bolts. Fortunately my rear subframe is still perfect but it's being reinforced with the full Turner kit anyway. Front subframe will be removed and inspected this week.

 

[GPGrobler]

How will one know if it has serious cracks, can you hear creaking and groaning from the chassis?

 

[AndreasSA]

Yup, it's things like this that make me question the BMW brand. As far as I know it has only been a problem on the higher performance models up to about 2001/2.

Sorry to disappoint you, but for M3, 330i and 330d it did not stop with model year 2002....I know several guys which have that problem even with 2005 models! Especially if SMG II is on board and the car is driven hard....

 

[moranor@axis]

How will one know if it has serious cracks, can you hear creaking and groaning from the chassis?

it will creak 1st then one day you will hear a POP and the back will feel loose :rollsmile:

 

[alucard]

I will pay R1800 with a smile.My issue is where do I find someone in Upington that can do this job properly. I want a very neat job.Must look untouched afterwards.

Sent from Street Standing Telkom Payphone

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How will one know if it has serious cracks, can you hear creaking and groaning from the chassis?

it will creak 1st then one day you will hear a POP and the back will feel loose :rollsmile:

I have slight creaking when driving up the sidewalk. But no creaking when cornering or driving normally/fast.

How quickly does it deteriorate?

Sent from Street Standing Telkom Payphone

 

[Crash_Nemesis]

I heard a massive pop when mine went. Everytime I touched the gas or let go there was a pop from the boot. Heard it instantly. Right away.

That was fixed. Some people don't realize it or ignore it and then it gets too far gone and the only way to fix it is to replace the boot floor and rear axle carrier panel. Not cheap.

 

[Pho3niX90]

I heard a massive pop when mine went. Everytime I touched the gas or let go there was a pop from the boot. Heard it instantly. Right away.

That was fixed. Some people don't realize it or ignore it and then it gets too far gone and the only way to fix it is to replace the boot floor and rear axle carrier panel. Not cheap.

I have heard this exact same noise from the 330 but usually when I reverse, but when I changed the diff I didn't see any cracks.

Clearly I need to go in again amd properly specifically search for cracks.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

 

[Crash_Nemesis]

It's hard to see them with all the protective rubber and other layers BMW have over the metal. Also open your boot and check the metal from above. By the spare wheel carrier and where the back seats and the boot connect. Look around the sides for cracks or stresses on the metal.