BMW E36 strut tower reinforcement

[Tom328]

Hi guys,I just acquired a set of Hotbits DT1 coilovers and just sent them in to be serviced and adjusted to "COMFORT". But even their "COMFORT" setting is still firmer than normal. I'm looking at preventive measures here to PREVENT CRACKING OF THE STRUT TOWERS even though i'm not running it "HARD". From what i have gathered, our strut towers aren't the strongest around (no thanks also to our roads and the increasing age of our cars) and have found many solutions to this. But still unsure of a few more things. For the back, it'll be the reinforcement plates / rear strut bar put on top of the strut tower to spread the load on the downstroke. But what about the upstroke??? i couldn't find anything to suggest reducing the load of the upstroke.For the front, i found that E36 M3s come with a factory made reinforcement plate that is placed on the underside of the strut tower to spread the load of the upstroke. This can be fitted to ordinary E36s as well. Any idea where i can get them??? For the downstroke, struts bars come into play. Should i get both the reinforcement plates for the underside AND a strut bar as well for the top??? Not very keen with the idea of a bar but more for the strut bar HOUSING which functions the same like the rear reinforcement plates put on top of the strut housing. Just in case i knock/get knocked from any side of the front, the bar will transfer the force to the opposite as well. True???

 

[ICEMAN 68]

hey tom ...if you're running the HB DT1 without the helper springs at the front, you wont be able to get the "COMFORT" but instead a much more aggresive ride... adjustments can be made but usually won't be that great ..unless you upgrade using the helper spring and installing a canister on your fronts ...

so far i've not used any re-inforcement plates in my ride, but till today it's still going strong after all the hard drives and would keep this into consideration ..

 

[Tom328]

Hey iceman, yeap i've got the helper springs up front but tak ada ext canister. back got ext canister. adjustments for my DT1 only hi/lo. was told that hard/soft adjust during servicing.

Should consider reinforcement plates especially for those running harder setups. i saw a lot of pics online with cracked strut towers, takut la... hahaha... once cracked, then got to weld, won't be as good as ori, worry that it'll rust etc.

 

[Tom328]

Ohhh ya... i also have the adjustable pillow ball mounts compared to the normal bush. this will also add more stress on the mounts right???

 

[Tom328]

M3 front reinforcement plate is part number 15

 

[ICEMAN 68]

ok now i got it ...as when you use the adjustables pillow mount you may loose some of the comfort unlike if you're using ITEM no 13 #post no 5 diag

but as for item no 15 for the front's ..till today i'm not worried of it ... more worried of item no 13 usually due to wear and tear ..

as for the rear yehh it would be good to use the re-informent plate ( if you usually carry lotsa load and passenger ) otherwise should not have any problem ...as been wacking my e36 for the past 10 years and never had any issue with the chassis ...

 

[Tom328]

Ya, that's why. using the adjustable pillow mount also transfer more load directly to the tower. the problem is that i saw pics on the internet of cracked strut towers, that's why takut. hahahaha... maybe because overseas go through snow, rust faster then easier to crack.

I got the front reinforcement plates (item no. 15) from Sg Besi AB for RM46. Cheaper compared to outside stockist by almost half the price e.g. Stuttgart. BA don't even have the plate. Rear plates also being arranged for.

Wahhh, whack for 10 years and still no problem. what setup u using by the way??? lagi coupled together with 18" style 5, the drop memang cantik. :top:

Will post up pics when items arrive and installation process of the Hotbits.

 

[Tom328]

Just got the rear reinforcement plates from Fabian. Good quality stuff. Light aluminium alloy 6mm thick. :top:

 

[5150]

Hi Tom328,

I've experienced that problem of strut tower twice with 2 E36. Both of them same sequence, 1st car was my totaled e36 325i ori manual, first symptom was the sound of old-grandma-bed-spring sound from the rear, few weeks after that the RSM got blown and the shock's inner tube shot thru the trunk carpet, change Ori RSM straightaway but few days after that blown again and this time the tower got literally TORN. I straightaway did a research on the net and found a solution which consists of ordering the E36 M3 "Shock Absorber Support". Ask my mech to order them from Inner Power. But i need a transport so my mech offered to weld them without any support just for the meantime while waiting for the parts to arrive. Got them welded but 3 days after that the creaking sound came back and tak sempat to solve the prob bcoz 11 days after that while i was driving 90km/h a drunk driver hit my left rear and my car swerved and flown without wings hitting the sound proofing wall in MRR2 and my 1st udm was totaled. This 325i set up was Koni shocks and Eibach springs.

2nd car is my current 97 328i Manual, now the first 3 months none of the symptoms arise so that time was so happy but unfortunately after i changed my set up to Bilstein PSS, no creaking sound this time, just blown RSM, called Fabianyee for his custom RSMs. reinforcement plate was out of stock. Installed them and was trouble free for 4 months until 1 fine day, the dreadful torn-tower sound suddenly appeared.

Found out that the custom RSM was intact but the whole upper shock tear its was thru the tower. Not in panic coz the M3 shock absorber support part has arrived, sent the car in, show my mech the "Torn Strut Tower Repair" page from forum.bimmerforums.com and asked my mech to do spot-weld welding exactly like they did. And i bought another custom rsm frm fabianyee just in case. Few days after that car went out till now no problem. fyi i work in klia from gombak and i always utilise the confidence-inspiring bmw accrdingly so my cruising speed is usually 180-220 everyday of course when the road is clear. That is why
i bought bmws, to feel safe while driving fast, roads are roads if they can do it at the autobahn, they can do it anywhere the problem is only the governments are different. but the cars, insyaAllah can take it.

Since i've been hit from behind at 90km/h the speed limit there last year, i've made up my mind to drive according to my normal pace, under or above speed limit that's the regulation. But as friends say to me, kau kena drive laju mcm biasa that's where your sense of awareness is good, I dunno hihi

 

[Lionel_Koh]

Just for sharing. . . . If u all worried about a crack strut tower after changed to adjustable. . My advice is match d shock with ur oem top absorber mounting. . Off cause u lost d adjustable camber function but its give more comfort drive and less worry. . . I did it to my drive. . .so far so good. .

 

[Tom328]

5150 - Thanks for your input. I'll know what things to lookout for next time if i hear such sounds. Your Koni + Eibach last time on the 325i set to hard???

Lionel -That's exactly what i was thinking. Remove the adjustable pillows and use back the ori mounts. The last thing i want to do is to do any welding for a cracked strut tower. Thanks for the advice.

 

[5150]

5150 - Thanks for your input. I'll know what things to lookout for next time if i hear such sounds. Your Koni + Eibach last time on the 325i set to hard???

I think it was moderately hard, but i luv em', installed by the previous owner.

That strut tower where the RSM mounts is a well known flaw for E36 except M3 models. So my advice is, if you always drive em' hard it's better to address the issue accordingly. Welding the strut tower is not a big deal to the chassis if it's done carefully, and it can last a long time too.

Here is a link for you on how the guys in the US do the welding job by doing their best replicating the factory germany spot-weld style.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1429052

BTW, my current Bilstein PSS is much harder than my previous Koni, but i guess it should be ok bcoz i already change ALL undercarriage bushings and rubbers including rear subframe bushing and axle bushing. The 328i feels tight and very composed now. It's a good thing that germany still produce E36 parts and we can still buy brand new parts for a 15yrs old superb car at reasonable prices!

 

[Tom328]

As promised, the M3 front reinforcement plates

Ori with sticker from AB

How it looks on the car

Rear top reinforcement plates from Fabian.

 

[Tom328]

Hotbits DT1

Before

After, 30mm drop all round

Overall, satisfied with the Speedworks' service. Not excellent though, but acceptable. Eugene (person in-charge) explained everything very nicely.

 

[UnoS]

I think it was moderately hard, but i luv em', installed by the previous owner.

That strut tower where the RSM mounts is a well known flaw for E36 except M3 models. So my advice is, if you always drive em' hard it's better to address the issue accordingly. Welding the strut tower is not a big deal to the chassis if it's done carefully, and it can last a long time too.

Here is a link for you on how the guys in the US do the welding job by doing their best replicating the factory germany spot-weld style.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1429052

BTW, my current Bilstein PSS is much harder than my previous Koni, but i guess it should be ok bcoz i already change ALL undercarriage bushings and rubbers including rear subframe bushing and axle bushing. The 328i feels tight and very composed now. It's a good thing that germany still produce E36 parts and we can still buy brand new parts for a 15yrs old superb car at reasonable prices!

bro, how much for all under carriage bushings + workmanship? where u get it done... how many days needed for the jobs? one workshop quote to me that the car need to be left there over night...