e46 Subframe Cracking Help

sonny · 10-13-2010, 11:48 AM

Does anyone have pics of a cracked subframe. I'm curious to see where and what exactly to look for if trying to find it myself.

I've peeked under the car and came across these holes from cracking and rust..as seen in the picture below.. is this the subframe problem everyone is talking about?

Help would be appreciated.

xlr8nbimbo · 10-13-2010, 07:29 PM

There are a number of videos on youtube. Here's one to get you started. Check out the others that link from it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoIUcCMyUHg

B6T · 10-13-2010, 08:54 PM

The 'cracks' you see in your picture are stamped into the formed steel piece before it is welded to the bottom half.

andrew.k · 10-14-2010, 04:23 PM

That has absolutely nothing to do with with BMW E36/E46 sub frame cracking issues. Its simply a weld BMW created. We all have it.

This is a crack near the lower sub-frame mounting point.

-

This is a cracked sub-frame

-

-
Driver side rear lower enforcement

Drivers side front enforcement

Hope this helped.

Blocked_Out · 10-14-2010, 09:21 PM

OMG, the number of uneducated/uninformed people bugs the fvck out of me.

When one says E46 rear subframe damage they actually refer to a cracked/ripped sub-floor. ( dont know what the 3rd 4th and 5th pictures posted are, but they sure dont look like E46 subframe ). ANyway, to see if you have a any damage you need to look at the 4 mounting points. The subframe (diff carrier) bolts to the subfloor of the car with 4 point. The subfloor cracks and may even rip out. Most, if not all call this "subframe failure" when actually its the subfloor(I've yet to see or EVEN hear of an actual subframe on E46 being bad or breaking, except from rusting away, but that irrelevant).

This picture will show the area to inspect more clearly.
Most common failure point is the driver side rear mount.
quadexhaust

andrew.k · 10-15-2010, 12:59 AM

"( dont know what the 3rd 4th and 5th pictures posted are, but they sure dont look like E46 subframe )."

They sure do look like an E46 sub-frame because they are, if you looked a little more closely. The gas tank has been dropped and everything has been removed.

Here's a picture of the reenforcement plates primed and painted.
-

-
Everything installed and aligned

B6T · 10-15-2010, 12:16 PM

FWIW, a service advisor at the BMW dealership told me that BMW traced the failure back to an improper material usage by the company who supplied the discrepant stampings to BMW. They were also able to determine what cars those parts made it on to, so there is a certain range of VIN numbers affected by this problem. We could of course disprove this by taking a tally of the production dates of cars affected, as well as the serial numbers.

I was under the impression that OEMs stamp, weld, construct, etc. the entire unibody and don't sub-out those components. I guess BMW does things a bit different.

And the guy above is right, it isn't at all a "subframe" failure. It wouldn't be that big of a deal if it were a subframe issue. Instead, it's an issue with the unibody, the "part" that everything on the car bolts to. Not very easy to re-and-re...

sonny · 10-27-2010, 09:46 PM

Where have you guys been taking your cars for subframe or unibody repairs?

Uninformed, uneducated..however you want to put it, the title of this thread includes the word "help".

RMPMOTORS · 10-27-2010, 09:56 PM

We repair and install re-enforcement kits on the E46 on a weekly basis!

Rocco

parm · 10-27-2010, 11:01 PM

My neighbour took his e46 to the dealer and they are fixing it no cost to him, he is just with out a car for a week!

RMPMOTORS · 10-27-2010, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by parm

My neighbour took his e46 to the dealer and they are fixing it no cost to him, he is just with out a car for a week!

You are correct, the dealer will fix some of the torn cars, they will not be re-enforced or any stronger then it was originally.

I just give an option that will make your car stronger then it originally was, and you get your car back in 1 day!

Eurostyle · 10-28-2010, 02:01 AM

Too bad they dont build them like they used to! You would have never seen this on a 5-10 year old E30!!! Too bad 25 years have taken a toll on them...

lvan · 10-28-2010, 02:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eurostyle

Too bad they dont build them like they used to! You would have never seen this on a 5-10 year old E30!!! Too bad 25 years have taken a toll on them...

+1 and I agree, but how come you went for the E46? Like why not Newer E36/E90?

Blocked_Out · 10-30-2010, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lvan

+1 and I agree, but how come you went for the E46? Like why not Newer E36/E90?

I think because those are crap.