Similar strut tower problems

[Grease Monkey]

The following is from an article by tech guru Mike Miller in the January 2008 issue of Roundel magazine:

The E-46 3 Series has a known structural deficiency in the front wheel housings, in the upper-strut-mount areas. Nail a pothole really hard, and the steel actually bends, mushrooming at the top. This results in the three upper-strut-mount studs skewing akimbo - the strut mount bends, too. The damage can be fixed, but it requires strut removal, mount replacement, hammer-and-dolly work, and often some touch-up paint. The problem is not universal, but it is certainly a good idea to reinforce this area if possible - and it is possible. The top is reinforced by the Dinan strut brace (or any strut brace) and the bottom of the wheel housing can be reinforced using the original BMW reinforcement plates used on the E46 all-wheel-drive cars.....(Note that the E36 has the same problem and reinforcements were used in the later M3s)....The reinforcements are about 2mm thick, adding to the front ride height of the vehicle. It's worth it.

[macfly]

I had heard this before, but nice to see it written out so clearly. Shame aluminum isn't as easy to put back in shape!

[Z8Mania]

I had this problem with my E36 M3 on the rear shock towers. I was also told somewhere that at some point all cars will do this to protect against the suspension just snapping when you hit a bump. It made sense at the time, do you guys agree? The thing about the 3 vs the Z8 is that on the steel framed cars, its a pain but fairly easy to replace the shock tower. On the Z8, as we know, its another matter entirely.

[thegunguy]

I've talked to BMW techs who state that they have seen this issue across the recent model lines in varying degrees.