Suspension turret damage quandary - how to rectify?

[T0M]

Morning chaps and chapesses - I'm After some advice on how I put right a bodge from a previous owner to my front suspension turrets. (2004 E46 M3 for reference)

Job over the weekend was to refresh the old 130k mile suspension with a brand new set of shocks/springs and associated rubber parts

All going swimmingly until the point I remove the OEM strut brace and old Sachs units to discover a previous owner has managed to re-fit the old shocks with the camber adjuster screw in place in the strut top mount from underneath and rotated in the incorrect position... on the left hand side, it's been in two incorrect positions ! See pics below, This has impacted the strut top, deforming the metal, causing the strut brace and screws to not seat correctly.

This also explains why hardly any of the three securing bolts thread either side were showing, and why both ends of the strut brace are cracked (one snapped in half when inspecting after removal).

The question is - how do I go about flattening the raised craters that have been caused in the strut towers without further deforming or weakening.

I was thinking a small dense block of wood and hammer it down? Or would this just mash the crater downwards causing a big ripple? I don't want to make a bad situation worse... Drilling them out wouldn't work I don't think as the diameter of the hole would have to be quite large and would be too close to existing holes.

I have the BMW reinforcement plates which I will be fitting to the underside once this is fixed.

Comments or suggestions most welcome! One suggestion I've already had was to reattach suspension top mount and reinforcing plate, apply localised heat (blowtorch?) and hammer crater down. - would applying heat discolour top mount as it looks painted?

Thanks for your input

https://imgur.com/a/OBuwZ
https://imgur.com/a/XDWFD
https://imgur.com/a/EsnuO

[TooMany2cvs]

Yep, you could just use a hammer and dolly of some kind - even a simple wooden block - to hammer that flat. I wouldn't be using heat - that's definitely painted.

[MalcolmSmith]

Couldn’t you use a G Clamp or similar with 2 heavy steel plates and wind it flat that way without battering it? It is sretched though, so wont ever be completely flat. A fabricated plate below thats cut to match the top might assist if the bolts are long enough.

[jkh112]

I would first try refitting the top plate and the reinforcement bottom plate and bolt them together through the turret. Depends on whether the plates or the turret are stronger.

[227bhp]

Take it to someone who knows what they are doing and has the equipment to do it, or teach yourself and buy the equipment is the choice only you can make.
Hitting it with a hammer with a dolly held underneath will cause some kind of result, but it'll need filling and painting to finish it off no matter what you do.
Otherwise you need to know that the metal has been stretched and you need to shrink it, with that in mind Google 'How to shrink metal' and get reading as there are various methods.

[TooMany2cvs]

227bhp said:

Hitting it with a hammer with a dolly held underneath will cause some kind of result, but it'll need filling and painting to finish it off no matter what you do.

Don't forget that there's a strut brace going on top, so it won't be visible - which is how it got here in the first place.

[227bhp]

TooMany2cvs said:

227bhp said:

Hitting it with a hammer with a dolly held underneath will cause some kind of result, but it'll need filling and painting to finish it off no matter what you do.

Don't forget that there's a strut brace going on top, so it won't be visible - which is how it got here in the first place.

No read his post carefully, it was caused by the strut top plate underneath, but yes if it's covered then you have a bit more leeway. If it was thin sheet it would be much more difficult, but it being thick and held all the way round will mean it's easier to work.

[HustleRussell]

Why fix it? In what way is it compromising the performance, reliability or appearance of the car?

Attempting to improve it would involve removal / disturbance of more of the factory corrosion protection and just spread the area affected.

I'd just remove any flakes of loose paint and touch in any exposed metal. Refit the suspension and brace and forget all about it.

[227bhp]

HustleRussell said:

Why fix it? In what way is it compromising the performance, reliability or appearance of the car?

Attempting to improve it would involve removal / disturbance of more of the factory corrosion protection and just spread the area affected.

I'd just remove any flakes of loose paint and touch in any exposed metal. Refit the suspension and brace and forget all about it.

I doubt the brace will sit down properly.

[TooMany2cvs]

227bhp said:

TooMany2cvs said:

227bhp said:

Hitting it with a hammer with a dolly held underneath will cause some kind of result, but it'll need filling and painting to finish it off no matter what you do.

Don't forget that there's a strut brace going on top, so it won't be visible - which is how it got here in the first place.

No read his post carefully, it was caused by the strut top plate underneath, but yes if it's covered then you have a bit more leeway. If it was thin sheet it would be much more difficult, but it being thick and held all the way round will mean it's easier to work.

I did. He mentions the brace not sitting correctly, and the mounts for it being cracked.

[Chiswickboy]

227bhp said:

HustleRussell said:

Why fix it? In what way is it compromising the performance, reliability or appearance of the car?

Attempting to improve it would involve removal / disturbance of more of the factory corrosion protection and just spread the area affected.

I'd just remove any flakes of loose paint and touch in any exposed metal. Refit the suspension and brace and forget all about it.

I doubt the brace will sit down properly.

An additional problem is that it may not be possible to properly adjust the camber as it is now. Those mounting holes are oval to allow adjustment but you can see from the photographs that a couple of the nuts were over as far as possible but the studs must have been in the middle of the adjustment range.

[T0M]

The strut brace has sheared due to it not resting/seating over the turret and oval holes correctly - therefore a replacement strut bar when torqued to spec will again crack under the unequal load. Also hardly any of the threads show as the bar bracket is displaced higher. A possible (but not optimal) solution is to not re-fit the strut brace, but as stated I wish to rectify rather than workaround the problem. Thanks for the inputs so far

[T0M]

This is the strut bar, to give you an idea of how it needs to seat to be effective and not crumble when tightened back up:

[HustleRussell]

T0M said:

The strut brace has sheared due to it not resting/seating over the turret and oval holes correctly - therefore a replacement strut bar when torqued to spec will again crack under the unequal load. Also hardly any of the threads show as the bar bracket is displaced higher. A possible (but not optimal) solution is to not re-fit the strut brace, but as stated I wish to rectify rather than workaround the problem. Thanks for the inputs so far

Fair nuff. Just be mindful of introducing heat particularly as you get close to the join between the turret and the inner wing.

I wonder if this job can be done cold by a panel beater using one of them pointy hammers, turn the dents from innies to outies. Not pretty but minimum disturbance?

[T0M]

HustleRussell said:

Fair nuff. Just be mindful of introducing heat particularly as you get close to the join between the turret and the inner wing.

I wonder if this job can be done cold by a panel beater using one of them pointy hammers, turn the dents from innies to outies. Not pretty but minimum disturbance?

Yes possible, leaning towards the cold option with a dolly of some description once top mount and reinforcement plate (underneath) is fitted tight underneath - flat and or ball peen hammer.

[DuraAce]

Shrinking dolly/hammer. Carefully knock it flat. Bit of paint /rustproofing over the top. Cover with strut brace.
Ten minute job.