A new E46 body crack

[helix402]

When stripping my car today for a new rear arch I found this:

. There are actually 3 small cracks. First time I've seen this happen on an E46.

It has done 237k miles, standard dampers, Sport springs, M3 top mounts and Z3 reinforcement plates. Also has a 21mm Eibach arb. More info to follow in my Readers cars thread.

[helix402]

The crack is on the arch, not in the area covered by the Z3 plate or by any subframe mount reinforcement kit.

[helix402]

N/s/r damper top mount.

[helix402]

The picture shows the body shell. The circled area is where the top mount is secured to the body with two 13mm nuts. The damper has been removed, along with most of the rear interior. The body is cracked.

Edited by helix402 on Sunday 26th March 19:48

[helix402]

Led light handle.