Strut Tower Issue

M

mecheng77

New member
I'd first like to start off with me introducing myself, as this is my first post in the forum. my name is chris, im from new york, i'm a mechanical engineer (hence the username)I purchased a 2003 z4 3.0i a couple months ago and so far i love the thing. I've been throughout this forum slowing learning the ins and outs of this car and now i've finally come across a problem that id like some opinions on.

when i bought the car, the guy said it had been in an front end collision. I test drove the car and it drove completely straight without any vibration, or a pull in either direction. the tires looked evenly worn so i thought everything was ok. a few weeks ago i noticed what looked like a crack in the strut tower. im not sure what to make of it. i've posted some pictures of it below. Ive scraped away caulking (not sure what exactly that stuff is called and it looks a mess so i feel like its not stock) to reveal the crack the litte better. im currently pretty concerned with it, but what im asking is how concerned should i be.

IMG_20120626_1908291.jpg
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Hi Chris,
Welcome to the forum. It looks like a bad home made attempt to put a bit of fibreglass patch on which would never have worked really.
I don't think it serious that the car is about to collapse. I would be careful noty to drive it too hard though. This is only my opinion and I'm not an expert. You should take it asap to a reputable repair place to get it assessed and repaired properly. The strut towers can be replaced but that looks like perhaps it could be repaired. I am not sure

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=BT53&mospid=47799&btnr=41_1479&hg=41&fg=10
 
The caulking like goop is OEM applied, at least what's left. Not sure what you removed. It edge seals panels that are rosette or spot welded together to prevent that vector of corrosion from gaining a foothold. I would drill out the ends of the crack immediately to stop it from spreading. You might try welding the crack, then welding a formed patch over it to reinforce the area. Replacing the tower cap is major surgery, so a patch is definitely worth a try first.

You are probably aware welding sheet metal takes some skill to not burn up the material or cause it to become brittle, warped, overstressed, etc. Be careful who you choose to do the work.
 
I could be totally wrong, but that doesn't look like a crack to me, too smooth a cure to the line and no corresponding crack in the tower itself. Looks like where the tower sits behind other panelling and is welded behind. The goop you scraped off is OEM as bcworkz says, and probably covers that connecting point quite deliberately. Worth getting someone to look at it soon though - perhaps the weld is coming away slightly, hence the gap :?
 
I'm going to be taking my car next monday for an alignment with all new tires. My rear tires are shot because of the broken rear spring issue that I've fixed and i got a screw through one of my front ones. When i get all four corners aligned I'll ask the guy his opinion of it. I kno that cualking is applied from the factory, but the condition that mine is in (minus the part i stripped away to get a better look at the crack) i dont think BMW would do from the factory. the strut brace i can tell has been welded back on so im guessing the strut tower may have been replaced in the accident.
 
BMW did a messy job of applying this goop, on my car it looks like my 1 year old had a go!! Lol afaik it's only their to
Cover sharp edges, yours looks normal, you've made a real mess by removing that stuff.
 
My first thought is "What does the other side look like?"

If the gap is changing, or just because you're worried about it, I'd get it straight into an accident centre (BMW approved) and get it checked out

Hope it's nothing serious/expensive
 
Cant see as thats a crack, its just the flange on the inner wing section that looks like its pulled away where it should be spot welded to the strut tower, looks like the car has had a fair old crump judging from the amount of distortion you can see and look at the position of that bolt head but
its difficult to make out exactly whats happened here by just looking at a couple of pics so may be a good idea to get a reputable repairer to look at it just to be safe.
 
Is the car still behaving normally? No pulling to either side or wobbly steering etc? Are the tyres still worn evenly?
 
I scraped it off because the strut brace had a terrible weld repair job at the point where is meets the strut tower, so i assumed the strut towers had been replaced and that "crack" looked like who ever did the repair didn't do a good job. With the goop on it looked like the sheet metal itself was cracked. Once i scrapped it off i could see that it was two separate pieces of sheet metal. they had about 2mm gap between them. the car does drive straight without a vibration but there is a slight uneven wear on the inside of the front tires.
 
IMO-I would just get it looked at for peace of mind- (or it's one of those things you will always be wondering about!) -I would just pop it into my local dealer and ask them what they think- they should confirm whether its 'normal / additional/bodge' - if welding required then you could take it to an independent.
 
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