Strange RACP repair...?

[Nate047]

Hey guys, I have been getting my car ready for some changes and I noticed that there is evidence of an older repair on my RACP area. What appears to be the same type of repair has been done on the CSL in this Redish restoration video, start watching at 2:40

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZY-pORsDYE

I did not watch the whole 2hr video but they are saying this appears to be a panel replacement, done at some point presumably some time ago. Anyone else have this type of repair done on their own car? Here is mine plus some photos attached of the underside:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ec5doo3xiejbu4c/e46_trunk_area.mov?dl=0

I showed this video of my own car to a few people and forum members and got some good feedback. No one had really seen something like this before though. I thought maybe my car had some rust repaired at some point or something else, but after seeing the video of the CSL, I'm lead to believe there must in fact be a good number of other cars with this same kind of repair done on them.

Anyone out there with some definitive info on this type of repair, why it was done this way and at what point in time, that kind of info might be helpful. I have pretty much no documentation on this car from the first 15 years of its life aside from a CarFax.

Plan is to leave it alone, put on my top side brace and send it, and monitor things to see if anything changes. The car has underside plates and doesn't appear to have any popped welds or anything else indicative of a problem right now. I would like to hear the hive's thoughts on this. I'm just curious more than anything at this point. Thanks!

[heinzboehmer]

What does it look like inside the trunk?

[Nate047]

The dropbox link is a video showing the inside of the trunk.

[jet_dogg]

I didn't watch the vid and apologies is this is common knowledge but there was a class action settlement against bmw for this failure in the mid 2000s for which bmwna paid for subframe repairs allegedly with subfloor replacements.

This may be why yours is like that though details of the repairs are foggy.

[heinzboehmer]

Completely missed that link, my bad. The two colors make me think the entire panel was replaced.

[Gt4]

What’s the color of the primer under the tar panel inside the cabin under the corner you already remove?

-Tan/greenish is OEM color primer from factory
-Black is how new RACP comes when you buy a replacement panel

Also, was is possible to buy the tar as a panel to install it inside the cabin?? It looks pretty stock to me.

[bmwfnatic]

What’s the color of the primer under the tar panel inside the cabin under the corner you already remove?

-Tan/greenish is OEM color primer from factory
-Black is how new RACP comes when you buy a replacement panel

Also, was is possible to buy the tar as a panel to install it inside the cabin?? It looks pretty stock to me.

It is possible to buy the tar pad, it comes slightly bigger and you have to cut it yourself to the exact shape of the RACP to rear seat area.

I think it would look quite good on your current project

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-bmw-parts/snd-deadner/51488165271/

[Gt4]

It is possible to buy the tar pad, it comes slightly bigger and you have to cut it yourself to the exact shape of the RACP to rear seat area.

I think it would look quite good on your current project

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-bmw-parts/snd-deadner/51488165271/

I already removed all the tar on the inside the cabin and replaced plastic plugs by welding metal plates instead to avoid any moisture to get between the tar and floor pans. So yeah it would look good/factory-ish with tar panel but did also removed it for weight purpose. Getting CF parts soon too!

[zivagolee]

I'm the original owner of mine (10/02 build) and I noticed hairline cracks ~2006-7 timeframe. I took it to New Century BMW where they have a bodyshop onsite and they were able to approve a full floor replacement. When I took it to TC Design to do a subframe replacement and they said whoever did the work did an amazing job (also no cracks since the floor replacement).

[Nate047]

Good info, thanks guys. I believe it must be one of those class action suit repairs.

I'm the original owner of mine (10/02 build) and I noticed hairline cracks ~2006-7 timeframe. I took it to New Century BMW where they have a bodyshop onsite and they were able to approve a full floor replacement. When I took it to TC Design to do a subframe replacement and they said whoever did the work did an amazing job (also no cracks since the floor replacement).

Do you happen to have any photos of what the inside of your trunk looks like, and the underside of the car?

[Nate047]

What’s the color of the primer under the tar panel inside the cabin under the corner you already remove?

-Tan/greenish is OEM color primer from factory
-Black is how new RACP comes when you buy a replacement panel

Also, was is possible to buy the tar as a panel to install it inside the cabin?? It looks pretty stock to me.

It's actually red underneath that corner I pulled up. It's got a bunch of that black adhesive/tar looking stuff holding the mat in place.