mjn Posted January 15, 2015 Report Share Posted January 15, 2015 Driftworks and Redditch "only" charge £1000, but you buy the plates from Redditch for less than £100. Bound to find someone local to weld. benny2097 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockers Posted January 15, 2015 Report Share Posted January 15, 2015 It's finding somwhere that can drop the subframe out etc, I took the rear subframe off my old e36 Al be it we cut the brake lines and handbrake cables it took less than 2 hours easy that was on axle stands, surly with a 4 post ramp talk less than 3 -to have the subframe dropped hour to prep hour to weld 3 to out back together 8 hours say 10 hours need to find somwhere that would charge 30-40 per hour that don't play about! If I had a ramp or a building todo it in I would be tempted by it but I don't, TamHam79 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpanneR Posted January 15, 2015 Report Share Posted January 15, 2015 Look for Simpson motorsports... They build lemans spec cars used to race in f1 and build track spec m3, collegue of mine was quoted £600 for reinforcement. benny2097 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry D Posted January 21, 2015 Report Share Posted January 21, 2015 It's not an easy job, most people who complain about the price couldn't do the job. You have to be a good mechanic to drop the rear axle, you need a lot of tools, a mate to steady the axle when dropping, and after that, you need to be a good welder! A while to remove and replace bushes, seal the floor again, then get it back up there, connect everything, bleed the brakes..... Anyone who does that in 8 hours is well practiced, ive done mine, didn't rush, and my floor was bad, but nowhere close to 8 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry D Posted January 21, 2015 Report Share Posted January 21, 2015 Be careful what you're paying for too. I've seen a lot of E36s that had "reinforcements". Most used 1.0-1.2mm steel, and alot were bonded with some sort of glue. Waste of f**king time and money. I got my plates from Craig at dynotorque, he'd already done blair's at this point. The plates were slightly the wrong shape, i had to reshape with a bench grinder, but they were thick stainless plates, im confident that the floor will never tear again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashley1995 Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 Without wanting to scare anyone, here's mine from my old 323ci..... Get it checked! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpanneR Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 This was mine, they reckoned it has been like it for 2 years before i got the entire subframe replaced under warranty Was on its merry way to failing in a big way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruesta Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 Craig at Dyno torque did mine and I can't recommend him enough. When he removed everything from the rear the subframe mounts dropped out leaving nasty holes. All pictures etc here: http://www.e46zone.com/forum/topic/50501-creaky-rear-end/page-3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashley1995 Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 Scary stuff, a friend of mine has just found his 328 is badly gone too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruesta Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 Harsh. I was really annoyed when I found it to start with, and had Blair not mentioned getting onto Craig @ Dyno Torque I'm pretty sure that would've been the end of my E46. Craig offered to do the work for a very reasonable price so I figured why not. Once its done its done and apart from that she was/is a good car. Is your mate going to get it fixed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashley1995 Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 No not worth it, he's already bought a replacement anyway. He's going to break it for parts like i did Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron89 Posted February 2, 2015 Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 hi guys my 02 320d has an issue with the rear end whats happening is that under load (when taking off anyway hard or accelerating hard) it feels like something is shifting in the rear (sub frame i feel) and its making a like grinding noise or something as if the diff or sub frame isnt sitting straight. when i say hard acceleration it dosent have to be full throttle just anything that isnt granny driving really, so what happens is i can feel a shift and there is like a loud bang like the subframe or diff moves then like a grinding noise.sounds like something isnt sitting straight then, any help or info would be appreciated. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruesta Posted February 2, 2015 Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 You need to have a look underneath where the rear subfame mounts are, its not too dificult to spot when you look in the right place, especially if yours is as bad as mine was (which sounds like it could be if the noise is as bad as you say). Have a look through this topic or take a look at mine to see what your looking for. Here's mine: http://www.e46zone.com/forum/topic/50501-creaky-rear-end/ It could be something else of course, but I would suggest you get the subframe mounts looked at, or have a look for your self. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruesta Posted February 2, 2015 Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 I will say, based on your description, it does sound like its similar to the noise mine was making and my subframe mounts were no longer attached to the chassis! Have a look at page 3 on the topic I liked to above and you will see the holes left after the mount simply dropped out! Should also give you an idea where to look. Good luck with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron89 Posted February 10, 2015 Report Share Posted February 10, 2015 Ruesta thanks alot for the reply i had a look through your post and ive got a bad feeling that mine is as bad, if you dont mind me asking how much did it cost you for the repair. Ive got a funny feeling this is the end of my 320d lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruesta Posted February 10, 2015 Report Share Posted February 10, 2015 I will PM you mate. I had doubts at the time too, and seriously considered scrapping her rather than fixing..... It was just over a year ago now and honestly, I'm so glad I went through with the repair, she's been fine since and hasn't really cost me anything more, other than general wear and tear stuff and servicing, which would have been the same with any car. You need to decide what you will do with her once repairded if you do go down that route. I didn't do the repairs thinking I would ever get the money back, I did it because I really liked the car, planned to keep her for a few more years and thought (excluding this issue) I had a good car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benny2097 Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 had my car in at cooper BMW Teesside for some warranty work on paint and asked them to check boot floor they said it was ok so I asked about resin reinforcement and they offered to do it for £295 so went ahead. I went with this route as have not found any cases of cars failing with reinforcement done but have found cars with welded plates failing again hope I don't regret this decision as was going to have plates and resin originally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruesta Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 That obviously works as a preventative measure. Craig at Dyno Torque said the key is to stop the subframe mounts (which are inside the body, between the boot floor and the underside of the body) from moving. This is why a simple patch panel to fix the cracks or ripped underside won't work as the mounts can still move and in time the the cracks will re-appear. I suppose the resin stuff is injected into where the mounts are, stopping them from moving. My car now has a bar running from one side of the car to the other, welded inside the body where the subframe mounts are and the mounts are welded to it. This keeps everything solid and guarantys it wont happen again. But mine was too far gone for preventative resin type fixes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biscuit Posted August 15, 2017 Report Share Posted August 15, 2017 So my car is added to this list. 2003 facelift 330 ci Clubsport. Whilst carrying out remedial work and strengthening plates from Redish/PSDesigns we are doing all the bushes with Meyle HDs and underselling the car at the same time. New brake lines too. RMJ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estoril 333 Posted October 31, 2017 Report Share Posted October 31, 2017 Do not get me wrong,but l think you will find it is the floor not so much the sub-frame.I have not looked at all 17 pages you have on this so probably quite a bit late.Have seen a lot everywhere else and it goes through the whole range.Being a BMW person l am bitterly disappointed. It goes right back to the 2000 BM which we had 1500,1800,525 i,528i,330D, 330Ci,M3 and now 330 Ci Clubsport. Not that we have found any,but to think over the years that BMW have known about this floor problem and done nothing about it.By the way,you need to take back seats out to see most of it,and l have noticed that it is not filled up under them.Whether this is an attempt at hiding it or strengthening it l do not know. Hope yours are all alright : ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toblahoe Posted January 28, 2019 Report Share Posted January 28, 2019 Hi all, I've just bought a 2000 323ci, it's done 83k miles and has been owned by some old bloke who only did about 2k miles a year since 2007. The subframe was an advisory on its latest mot (corroded but not weakened) should I be checking for cracks on this? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momo Posted January 28, 2019 Report Share Posted January 28, 2019 Yes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sssssssss Posted August 25, 2020 Report Share Posted August 25, 2020 Hi, I have the 7 series and I got to replace the subframe as the differential mounts won't stay in place after replacement, cost £2.5 thousands at main dealer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...