Got one in work! Now I am scared. What to do....

[m3f_Sirius_880bd69485]

Finally saw first hand what happens when a rear shock drives itself through the shock tower.



Thats scary looking.



We had six people looking at it decidnig the best way to repair it. Supposedly BMW has this top peice for the tower, which we are going to order for the guy and see how it fits and how we can repair the existing shock tower.



If that doens't work, we'll have to replace that entire shock tower, wheel house, and the outer quarter panal. Which, if you ran thru your insurance company, could potentially total loss the car.



So, heres my question. Where can I get thoes re-enforcements? I already asked a guy at work if he would weld some up top for me and he said no problem.



I remember when the guy first stopped by. He told us that he had hit a pothole, and now he has this horrible rattling comming from under his back glass. I was out with my manager and suggested the shock may have gone through the tower... he didnt' believe me.



He suggest to the guy to take the car to our service dept to have the suspension checked. They looked at it and sent it right back to us. Heh.

[m3f_Bufalo]

Time to call Ground-Control...





www.ground-control.com

[m3f_SG_M3_d1201712b5]

Here's how you fix it.



Take a wire brush and grind out the under coating on the bottom. Then go in the trunk and grind off the coating in there. You will now see the spot welds from the in the wheel wheel. Take a drill and drill out the spot welds. This will free the shock tower. Its that easy, you guys will probably charge 1200-1300 for it. But it will probably take 80-10 hours total labor.



bmw does sell the new shock tower upper pieces, they are like $30. Then just respot weld them it and undercoat it. Its scary sounding, but very easy to repair.



Unless the actual full shock tower is damaged, there should be no reason to replace it. Just the new upper towers should work.

[m3f_Sirius_880bd69485]

Yeah. Thats what my manager was saying. He said about 8-10 hours of labor.



The actual well looked fine, just the was all tore up heh.



What about thoes re-enforcement plates I keep hearing about?

[m3f_SG_M3_d1201712b5]

I have the plates as apart of my GC RSM's. z3 plates will provide the same protection.

[m3f_Sirius_880bd69485]

Okie. Thanks Sean. Ill look up thoes plates at work tomorrow.

[m3f_salty_80d4b8491b]

It seems to me there is a double standard in the DOT concerning this safety issue. If this was a Lumina with the rear end collapsing, you can bet it would be on 20-20. I think it is pretty clear that BMW has a liability issue on their hands. I expect as E36's keep getting older and passed on to people who don't maintain them like prized possesssions this will become epidemic. Sounds like a recall is in order to at least put heavy duty RSM's in.

Obviously some poor engineering got through the checks and balances in Munich.

[m3f_2k_889896e9da]

Sirus, let me know if you plan on replacing your RSMs now that you saw what happened. Id like to swap mine out as well..That sounds like something I DONT want to even look at after the fact.



Scary sh!t.......

[m3f_Sirius_880bd69485]

I'll probably end up putting the Z3 plates in along with some aftermarket RSM's. They take about 20 minutes to replace, well the mounts do.. the plate are a bit more involved.. :P

[m3f_SG_M3_d1201712b5]

If you are getting aftermarket rsm's, i'd just get the GC's and be done with it.



The towers are a weak point in ours cars, just like the oil pump nut. It happens to some, others are fine. I don't think its a liability for bmw. If you think about it, the stiffer the RSM the more load is transfered to the tower. The stock rsm does what its supposted to do, be quiet, and provide give for the shock.

[m3f_Realhotguy_80d06ef0ad]

Sirius which BMW dealership do u work at? What state?

[m3f_Sirius_880bd69485]

Sirius which BMW dealership do u work at? What state?



BMW of Fairfax, in Virginia.

[m3f_WD Pro]

My stealer told me the shock towers (on Euros) were only a problem on 'older' e36's.



I had Z3 plates fitted (by them) when they replaced my RSM's.



Z3 plates in the UK were cheap ie less than £10 each and although the stealer said they were pointless I wanted peace of mind.

[m3f_m3fuz_1da011f372]

If you are getting aftermarket rsm's, i'd just get the GC's and be done with it.



The towers are a weak point in ours cars, just like the oil pump nut. It happens to some, others are fine. I don't think its a liability for bmw. If you think about it, the stiffer the RSM the more load is transfered to the tower. The stock rsm does what its supposted to do, be quiet, and provide give for the shock.



I have the GC units and they look pretty solid. Replacing them took me about an hour because I had never done anything like that before. I got them from Jon at www.mperformance.com . Pretty easy way to get piece of mind.

[m3f_BAMBAM]

I hear some rattling at the back of my car. Its not too bad, but I've let it go on a couple of months cause I'm saving money to get shocks + RSMs together.



my question is, will I be ok with just new GC RSMs as the additional protecion?



btw m3motorwerks had like $7 off :bugeye: the GC RSMs last time I checked(bimmerforums.com).