E46 330i - how to check boot floor for cracks?
Discussion
MajorMantra said:
HugoFastmann said:
Sounds like it! Or maybe he thinks you're one of those dodgy buggers who "fixes" a car viewing to get money off, like the dirty oil thing I've heard about people doing...
Maybe. The sudden change in tone was a bit weird, and he'd previously sounded normal enough on the phone. The search goes on... Buying petrol estates is bloody hard work!
Yeah, I'm being realistic and keeping my options open. Am considering E46s, E90s, Accord Tourers, A4 Avants among others. I'm not looking to spend a lot (ideally not more than £3k, maybe up to £5k for the right car) so I'm not willing to travel huge distances - cars this far down the depreciation curve invariably have issues that sellers gloss over. I must have done about a hundred MOT checks in the last week!
optimate said:
if you really want to keep car and you can weld there are diy kits you can weld in
it aint a cheap fix to do it properly
or you looking at 1300-1440 for it done right somewhere properly with a kit it is very common
on E46
http://www.redish-motorsport.com/E46M3FloorSubfram...
http://www.redish-motorsport.com/RedishMotorsportE...
I've got an E46 M3 that I've had for 10 years and plan on keeping. I've noticed a few rear-end creaks when navigating steep ramps in a few multi-storey car parks lately, it's either the rear coil springs again (this'll be the fifth set!) or the dreaded boot floor. If it's the latter I think I will get it into Reddish for them to sort it. it aint a cheap fix to do it properly
or you looking at 1300-1440 for it done right somewhere properly with a kit it is very common
on E46
http://www.redish-motorsport.com/E46M3FloorSubfram...
http://www.redish-motorsport.com/RedishMotorsportE...
Edited by optimate on Wednesday 26th April 00:53
Some would say "why not get out of the car now?" but I've had so many cars over the years and found one that I just absolutely love, so I want to keep it.
Fastdruid said:
If you're looking at others then I can't praise the Mondeo 2.5T Estate enough..... but the same issue, if you can find one.
Although it's rather larger than the 3-series and A4 (but much nicer to drive than the A4).
Also on my list, but yeah, there are very few for sale and it is a big car. It's a shame there was no Focus ST Mk2 estate (yes, I've seen that excellent thread in Readers' Cars) as something like that would be ideal. Although it's rather larger than the 3-series and A4 (but much nicer to drive than the A4).
MajorMantra said:
Also on my list, but yeah, there are very few for sale and it is a big car. It's a shame there was no Focus ST Mk2 estate (yes, I've seen that excellent thread in Readers' Cars) as something like that would be ideal.
Aye. I'd have preferred one of those to the Mondeo as well.I'd probably even swap the Mondeo if they brought out a Focus RS Estate (that could tow!)
I'd love to take a rolled RS (I'm sure someone has to have written one off doing that) and transport everything into a Mk3 Estate body but don't have the time or room to do it.
For that price I'd be looking at Japanese stuff - less likely to go wrong.
Something like this: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
Something like this: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
Monty Python said:
For that price I'd be looking at Japanese stuff - less likely to go wrong.
Something like this: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
See my post above. Something like this: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
I'm making my life even more difficult by insisting on a manual, however.
Fastdruid said:
If you're looking at others then I can't praise the Mondeo 2.5T Estate enough..... but the same issue, if you can find one.
Although it's rather larger than the 3-series and A4 (but much nicer to drive than the A4).
Thought about an Alfa Romeo 159 estate? Lovely looking cars, and relatively cheap (I guess that's because the maintenance costs are astronomical...)Although it's rather larger than the 3-series and A4 (but much nicer to drive than the A4).
MajorMantra said:
See my post above.
I'm making my life even more difficult by insisting on a manual, however.
You are me. I'm making my life even more difficult by insisting on a manual, however.
I wanted a >2007 petrol 5-series Touring with a manual box and a decent spec, 525i or better.... Even now not a single one on autotrader.
The 159.... They do the Q4.
I seriously considered one but they're rather small and impractical for an estate and the less said about Alfa reliability the better....
MajorMantra said:
See my post above.
I'm making my life even more difficult by insisting on a manual, however.
Even cheaper:I'm making my life even more difficult by insisting on a manual, however.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
Longnose said:
I thought this one looks OK, quite tempted myself.
https://goo.gl/9Z9GKb
That's the car I was refused permission to view!https://goo.gl/9Z9GKb
PurpleTurtle said:
I've got an E46 M3 that I've had for 10 years and plan on keeping. I've noticed a few rear-end creaks when navigating steep ramps in a few multi-storey car parks lately, it's either the rear coil springs again (this'll be the fifth set!) or the dreaded boot floor. If it's the latter I think I will get it into Reddish for them to sort it.
Some would say "why not get out of the car now?" but I've had so many cars over the years and found one that I just absolutely love, so I want to keep it.
fingers crossed it just the springs iv just changed mine again i agree if it sound get it done mate Some would say "why not get out of the car now?" but I've had so many cars over the years and found one that I just absolutely love, so I want to keep it.
MajorMantra said:
Longnose said:
I thought this one looks OK, quite tempted myself.
https://goo.gl/9Z9GKb
That's the car I was refused permission to view!https://goo.gl/9Z9GKb
Edited by Funk on Wednesday 26th April 22:26
Right, it's time for my take on it .
If someone came to look at your car and brought down sandpaper (OK, that is extreme but I had heard of E46 buyers doing this!), a jack when they have no idea on where to jack the car from etc. would you let them near your car? While it is an extreme example I stand by my point. A number of buyers out there are careless with something that isn't theirs. It's a fact of life unfortunately.
Anyway, now that's done....
The Redish guide explains it well IMHO.
On a 328:
-Both rear mounts area doddle to check. While it being in the air would help a selfie stick and a smartphone in video mode with a torch will be fine
-Front left is visible too.
-Rear right is hard to see, especially if the car has HIDs. There is an undertray in the way in addition to various linkages to do with the headlight levelling and so on.
-If the boot floor internally is cracked and seperating walk away. The car is beyond economical repair. Redish/ETA and BMW charge around £5k to change the RACP ; it's far from an easy or quick job. You can try welding up a severely damaged boot floor but welds are stronger than fatigued metal which leaves a massive question mark over the repair.
Redish are the guys to go to but a number of folk come close. I had mine done by ETA Motorsport in Brands Hatch for £820. For that they:
-Stitch welded the RACP to the inner wing ; this is said to be a key thing to do which AFAIK only Redish and ETA seem to do
-Dealt with the broken cracks and spot welds
-Fitted reinforcement plates by welding them on once the damage was repaired
-Fitted my subframe bushes
-Fitted my revised diff bolts ; this may be an M3 only thing.
-Undersealed the lot as well as the surrounding cavities.
The way I saw it the RACP cracking is a known fault of the E46 irrespective the model you choose. My M3 was check by BMW when it went for an airbag recall. They deemed it fine. I checked it myself and bar the spot welds near the N/S/R being slightly rusty I could not see any cracks even with me cleaning it up. Despite this I fancied getting the reinforcement done as I figured it would help the value of the car by taking out a big question mark over any E46. Furthermore I could enjoy the car further.
When I took mine to ETA this is how it turned out:
One of the rear mounts had a slight crack on further inspection:
The front right was the worst; this had a slight tear in addition to cracking on top of the subframe bush, where many of them crack:
Rear mount again had a slight tear but only after tearing off the factory coating:
Plates were welded in with the dodgy spot welds also dealt with:
RACP to the inner arch was stitch welded:
So was my car any different?
If I am honest it may have less creaks/knocks from the rear but I'd be lying if I said this was definitive. What has improved is the handling. From the moment I turned out of the industrial estate where ETA is located I could tell the car felt different. Before it was very nervous going over white lines. I always felt this was down to the massively shot Falken tyres on the front. I was wrong. It was the rear causing these issues. The motorway trip back was far far better than it had been for some time as a result ; the rear end felt tighter than E46 before!
My E36 323i never felt great on the rear end or overall despite new Powerflex RTABs and I wonder if the subframe were the cause. It had less miles and probably less hard starts than my M3 too.
If you are looking a friend may be looking to sell a 328i Manual estate. The miles are high at 152k but compared to many it's a clean car, especially now he's attended a few of the issues. The RACP on that I can say is good from a visual inspection.
.fatboy b said:
My 328ci had the rear nearside subframe bolt being pulled out of the body with 3 or 4 tears in the metal from the mounting hole. I had a creaking noise inside for a few weeks before hand thinking it was rear seats creaking.
My friend's V-Reg 328i manual touring ripped out the same mounting.MajorMantra said:
Well, I had an appointment to view the car this evening. I sent a text to confirm we were still on and politely asked if I could get under the car with a jack. Apparently that wasn't a reasonable request as he's told me not to bother now. A lucky escape, perhaps?
Without being funny if someone wanted to jack my car up I'd be a little funny about them doing it too. I'd happily take it to get it onto a ramp for them, but not for them to poke about etc. But maybe I am just weird. I'm still surprised I let someone drive a car I am selling for my parents when he had no concept of clutch control. Parking a car while slipping the clutch at 3k (no, I am not joking!) anyone? I was very nearly ready to tell him to sod off! If I can park a car without using the accelerator once 3k to park a car is absurd in the same spot unless he's trying to create a bargaining chip.If someone came to look at your car and brought down sandpaper (OK, that is extreme but I had heard of E46 buyers doing this!), a jack when they have no idea on where to jack the car from etc. would you let them near your car? While it is an extreme example I stand by my point. A number of buyers out there are careless with something that isn't theirs. It's a fact of life unfortunately.
Anyway, now that's done....
The Redish guide explains it well IMHO.
On a 328:
-Both rear mounts area doddle to check. While it being in the air would help a selfie stick and a smartphone in video mode with a torch will be fine
-Front left is visible too.
-Rear right is hard to see, especially if the car has HIDs. There is an undertray in the way in addition to various linkages to do with the headlight levelling and so on.
-If the boot floor internally is cracked and seperating walk away. The car is beyond economical repair. Redish/ETA and BMW charge around £5k to change the RACP ; it's far from an easy or quick job. You can try welding up a severely damaged boot floor but welds are stronger than fatigued metal which leaves a massive question mark over the repair.
Redish are the guys to go to but a number of folk come close. I had mine done by ETA Motorsport in Brands Hatch for £820. For that they:
-Stitch welded the RACP to the inner wing ; this is said to be a key thing to do which AFAIK only Redish and ETA seem to do
-Dealt with the broken cracks and spot welds
-Fitted reinforcement plates by welding them on once the damage was repaired
-Fitted my subframe bushes
-Fitted my revised diff bolts ; this may be an M3 only thing.
-Undersealed the lot as well as the surrounding cavities.
The way I saw it the RACP cracking is a known fault of the E46 irrespective the model you choose. My M3 was check by BMW when it went for an airbag recall. They deemed it fine. I checked it myself and bar the spot welds near the N/S/R being slightly rusty I could not see any cracks even with me cleaning it up. Despite this I fancied getting the reinforcement done as I figured it would help the value of the car by taking out a big question mark over any E46. Furthermore I could enjoy the car further.
When I took mine to ETA this is how it turned out:
One of the rear mounts had a slight crack on further inspection:
The front right was the worst; this had a slight tear in addition to cracking on top of the subframe bush, where many of them crack:
Rear mount again had a slight tear but only after tearing off the factory coating:
Plates were welded in with the dodgy spot welds also dealt with:
RACP to the inner arch was stitch welded:
So was my car any different?
If I am honest it may have less creaks/knocks from the rear but I'd be lying if I said this was definitive. What has improved is the handling. From the moment I turned out of the industrial estate where ETA is located I could tell the car felt different. Before it was very nervous going over white lines. I always felt this was down to the massively shot Falken tyres on the front. I was wrong. It was the rear causing these issues. The motorway trip back was far far better than it had been for some time as a result ; the rear end felt tighter than E46 before!
My E36 323i never felt great on the rear end or overall despite new Powerflex RTABs and I wonder if the subframe were the cause. It had less miles and probably less hard starts than my M3 too.
If you are looking a friend may be looking to sell a 328i Manual estate. The miles are high at 152k but compared to many it's a clean car, especially now he's attended a few of the issues. The RACP on that I can say is good from a visual inspection.
Fastdruid said:
If you're looking at others then I can't praise the Mondeo 2.5T Estate enough..... but the same issue, if you can find one.
Although it's rather larger than the 3-series and A4 (but much nicer to drive than the A4).
IMHO this is the best suggestion. They are starting to pick up in price however. A friend is struggling to find one! My dad has one and I sort of wished he didn't want it! They are a great handler, sound lovely, are great cruisers and have a far far nicer gearchange than any BMW I have driven, despite what people say about BMWs. It is the spiritual sucessor to the ST220 and IMO better in many ways. Oh, you can mod the engines if you desire.Although it's rather larger than the 3-series and A4 (but much nicer to drive than the A4).
Downsides? They have a rubbish badge. They are not a car for you if you are a badge snob or want to keep up with the Joneses. OTOH a friend thought I was lying when I once turned in the Mondeo with a "Volvo" engine ; it even has Volvo stamped on the coil packs!
SebringMan said:
Without being funny if someone wanted to jack my car up I'd be a little funny about them doing it too. I'd happily take it to get it onto a ramp for them, but not for them to poke about etc. But maybe I am just weird. I'm still surprised I let someone drive a car I am selling for my parents when he had no concept of clutch control. Parking a car while slipping the clutch at 3k (no, I am not joking!) anyone? I was very nearly ready to tell him to sod off! If I can park a car without using the accelerator once 3k to park a car is absurd in the same spot unless he's trying to create a bargaining chip.
If someone came to look at your car and brought down sandpaper (OK, that is extreme but I had heard of E46 buyers doing this!), a jack when they have no idea on where to jack the car from etc. would you let them near your car? While it is an extreme example I stand by my point. A number of buyers out there are careless with something that isn't theirs. It's a fact of life unfortunately.
Anyway, now that's done....
The Redish guide explains it well IMHO.
On a 328:
-Both rear mounts area doddle to check. While it being in the air would help a selfie stick and a smartphone in video mode with a torch will be fine
-Front left is visible too.
-Rear right is hard to see, especially if the car has HIDs. There is an undertray in the way in addition to various linkages to do with the headlight levelling and so on.
-If the boot floor internally is cracked and seperating walk away. The car is beyond economical repair. Redish/ETA and BMW charge around £5k to change the RACP ; it's far from an easy or quick job. You can try welding up a severely damaged boot floor but welds are stronger than fatigued metal which leaves a massive question mark over the repair.
Redish are the guys to go to but a number of folk come close. I had mine done by ETA Motorsport in Brands Hatch for £820. For that they:
-Stitch welded the RACP to the inner wing ; this is said to be a key thing to do which AFAIK only Redish and ETA seem to do
-Dealt with the broken cracks and spot welds
-Fitted reinforcement plates by welding them on once the damage was repaired
-Fitted my subframe bushes
-Fitted my revised diff bolts ; this may be an M3 only thing.
-Undersealed the lot as well as the surrounding cavities.
The way I saw it the RACP cracking is a known fault of the E46 irrespective the model you choose. My M3 was check by BMW when it went for an airbag recall. They deemed it fine. I checked it myself and bar the spot welds near the N/S/R being slightly rusty I could not see any cracks even with me cleaning it up. Despite this I fancied getting the reinforcement done as I figured it would help the value of the car by taking out a big question mark over any E46. Furthermore I could enjoy the car further.
When I took mine to ETA this is how it turned out:
One of the rear mounts had a slight crack on further inspection:
The front right was the worst; this had a slight tear in addition to cracking on top of the subframe bush, where many of them crack:
Rear mount again had a slight tear but only after tearing off the factory coating:
Plates were welded in with the dodgy spot welds also dealt with:
RACP to the inner arch was stitch welded:
So was my car any different?
If I am honest it may have less creaks/knocks from the rear but I'd be lying if I said this was definitive. What has improved is the handling. From the moment I turned out of the industrial estate where ETA is located I could tell the car felt different. Before it was very nervous going over white lines. I always felt this was down to the massively shot Falken tyres on the front. I was wrong. It was the rear causing these issues. The motorway trip back was far far better than it had been for some time as a result ; the rear end felt tighter than E46 before!
My E36 323i never felt great on the rear end or overall despite new Powerflex RTABs and I wonder if the subframe were the cause. It had less miles and probably less hard starts than my M3 too.
If you are looking a friend may be looking to sell a 328i Manual estate. The miles are high at 152k but compared to many it's a clean car, especially now he's attended a few of the issues. The RACP on that I can say is good from a visual inspection.
I'd recommend the 328 too, they are quite rare and live in the shadow of the 330. They are fast enough and a 330 manifold will give you 329 power, if such a thing existed.If someone came to look at your car and brought down sandpaper (OK, that is extreme but I had heard of E46 buyers doing this!), a jack when they have no idea on where to jack the car from etc. would you let them near your car? While it is an extreme example I stand by my point. A number of buyers out there are careless with something that isn't theirs. It's a fact of life unfortunately.
Anyway, now that's done....
The Redish guide explains it well IMHO.
On a 328:
-Both rear mounts area doddle to check. While it being in the air would help a selfie stick and a smartphone in video mode with a torch will be fine
-Front left is visible too.
-Rear right is hard to see, especially if the car has HIDs. There is an undertray in the way in addition to various linkages to do with the headlight levelling and so on.
-If the boot floor internally is cracked and seperating walk away. The car is beyond economical repair. Redish/ETA and BMW charge around £5k to change the RACP ; it's far from an easy or quick job. You can try welding up a severely damaged boot floor but welds are stronger than fatigued metal which leaves a massive question mark over the repair.
Redish are the guys to go to but a number of folk come close. I had mine done by ETA Motorsport in Brands Hatch for £820. For that they:
-Stitch welded the RACP to the inner wing ; this is said to be a key thing to do which AFAIK only Redish and ETA seem to do
-Dealt with the broken cracks and spot welds
-Fitted reinforcement plates by welding them on once the damage was repaired
-Fitted my subframe bushes
-Fitted my revised diff bolts ; this may be an M3 only thing.
-Undersealed the lot as well as the surrounding cavities.
The way I saw it the RACP cracking is a known fault of the E46 irrespective the model you choose. My M3 was check by BMW when it went for an airbag recall. They deemed it fine. I checked it myself and bar the spot welds near the N/S/R being slightly rusty I could not see any cracks even with me cleaning it up. Despite this I fancied getting the reinforcement done as I figured it would help the value of the car by taking out a big question mark over any E46. Furthermore I could enjoy the car further.
When I took mine to ETA this is how it turned out:
One of the rear mounts had a slight crack on further inspection:
The front right was the worst; this had a slight tear in addition to cracking on top of the subframe bush, where many of them crack:
Rear mount again had a slight tear but only after tearing off the factory coating:
Plates were welded in with the dodgy spot welds also dealt with:
RACP to the inner arch was stitch welded:
So was my car any different?
If I am honest it may have less creaks/knocks from the rear but I'd be lying if I said this was definitive. What has improved is the handling. From the moment I turned out of the industrial estate where ETA is located I could tell the car felt different. Before it was very nervous going over white lines. I always felt this was down to the massively shot Falken tyres on the front. I was wrong. It was the rear causing these issues. The motorway trip back was far far better than it had been for some time as a result ; the rear end felt tighter than E46 before!
My E36 323i never felt great on the rear end or overall despite new Powerflex RTABs and I wonder if the subframe were the cause. It had less miles and probably less hard starts than my M3 too.
If you are looking a friend may be looking to sell a 328i Manual estate. The miles are high at 152k but compared to many it's a clean car, especially now he's attended a few of the issues. The RACP on that I can say is good from a visual inspection.
That's my old 328, replaced with a 330d. I do like the welding on your M3.
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