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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > E90 / E92 / E93 3-series Technical Forums > Suspension | Brakes | Chassis > odd hole drilled in Strut Tower...?



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      04-05-2011, 04:51 PM   #1
SpeedOften
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odd hole drilled in Strut Tower...?

I will have pictures up soon (minutes)...EDIT: pics below

But here's the back story as far as I know so far...

I bought the car in December from Carmax - so there was no accidents, at least no obvious tell tales like paint overspray or color mismatch anywhere on the car. I talked to a service advisor today - could only swing by today during the lunch break so I was unable to have an actual tech make a guess as to the reason....

The passenger strut tower, right next to one of the strut bolts has been drilled through. There looks to be a slight upward bend by the hole as well The hole has also been painted black.

From looking at the service log of the car, the right front suspension has had extensive work - wheel bearing, hub strut and spring all replaced back in 2009 for "noises"...

The driver side tower has no holes which makes me think this isn't just an indication of the previous owner having had an aftermarket suspension on the car.

How do I remedy this as it's an obvious weak area on the strut tower? Turner Motorsports has strut tower plates that can be welded onto the tower, and I am considering them but would like some more opinions.










Last edited by SpeedOften; 04-05-2011 at 04:56 PM.. Reason: uploaded pics
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      04-05-2011, 06:09 PM   #2
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I'm going to guess that's the alignment pin that has been drilled out to allow more adjustment to camber up front.
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      04-05-2011, 06:31 PM   #3
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Quote:
the alignment pin that has been drilled out to allow more adjustment to camber up front
+1

Apparently only a problem with camber on the right side, but why? Perhaps the suspension was bent on that side, and that was part of the fix? Perhaps getting the alignment checked is the first step. Any problems with steering wheel vibration at fwy speeds??

Last edited by AlanAZ; 04-05-2011 at 07:06 PM..
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      04-05-2011, 06:35 PM   #4
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Yep, that's exactly what was done. You can see that the strut was adjusted as well by looking at the marks where the nuts attach to the strut bolts. Nothing to worry about as long as you have the alignment checked.
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      04-05-2011, 07:23 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The HACK View Post
I'm going to guess that's the alignment pin that has been drilled out to allow more adjustment to camber up front.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlanAZ View Post
+1

Apparently only a problem with camber on the right side, but why? Perhaps the suspension was bent on that side, and that was part of the fix? Perhaps getting the alignment checked is the first step. Any problems with steering wheel vibration at fwy speeds??
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blk07335i View Post
Yep, that's exactly what was done. You can see that the strut was adjusted as well by looking at the marks where the nuts attach to the strut bolts. Nothing to worry about as long as you have the alignment checked.


It just strikes me odd that this was only done to one side...
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      04-05-2011, 08:24 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SpeedOften View Post
It just strikes me odd that this was only done to one side...


It is not uncommon to have camber go out of whack on one side of the car, especially as the car racks up on miles. Especially considering that various parts of the front suspension is connected by rubber and they deteriorate over time.

While the proper way to address said deteriorating rubber is to replace those bushings, sometimes people get lazy and just fix it by "aligning" the suspension.
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      04-06-2011, 02:24 PM   #7
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I would expect that wear would be roughly equivalent side to side, but given that
Quote:
the right front suspension has had extensive work - wheel bearing, hub strut and spring all replaced back in 2009 for "noises"...
I suspect that some major trauma occurred to that side only -- hitting a curb at high speed, etc.

If it were my car, I'd work backwards: replace the upper strut mount with a new keyed mount (it looks like the drilling took out the key, not so much the key hole), and see what an alignment shows. Take it from there.
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      04-06-2011, 02:40 PM   #8
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the dealer did that to mine too. never knew what it was.
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      04-06-2011, 03:03 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by slickslvr335i View Post
the dealer did that to mine too. never knew what it was.
What was the reason.
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      04-06-2011, 07:53 PM   #10
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I just got my car back from Dinan Stage 1 suspension install and had the same hole and was wondering what it was. Question answered! Thanks!
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      04-07-2011, 10:01 AM   #11
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The car probably hit a major pot hole.
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      05-17-2011, 10:39 AM   #12
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I know this topic hasnt been looked at in over a month but i have the same thing on my passenger side and had an alignment performed teh otehr day> they took the camber as far as tehy could but its still out of whhack pretty good as its leaning in noticably more than the driver side and the car pulls to the left slightly. im guessing doto the fact theres more rubber on the ground on the driver side than pass. but i could be absoultley wrong as well.

Any help as to what may be going on and what the best solution may be. I dont want to break the bank but at the same time dont want to burn threw rubber. thanks
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      05-17-2011, 11:08 AM   #13
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^^ something is bent in your front suspension, that's why it can't be aligned perfectly. If it is that far out, the only thing you can do is try to find out what part(s) are bent and replace them. The aluminum lower control arms are typical culprits, but could also be the tension strut. Hopefully, your subframe isn't bent.
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      05-17-2011, 12:09 PM   #14
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Mike-y, thanks for the information.

To the untrained eye, (ME), is there anything i should look for that would tell me which one it is or is that something to let BMW or another reputable place look at?
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      05-17-2011, 02:32 PM   #15
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usually, in these cases, things are only slightly bent, so it's going to be hard to tell just by looking. You can try getting under the car and measuring the connection points between the ends of the lower control arms, and also the distance from the center of the wheel to the back edge of the fender (make sure the wheels are straight!). Any variances from the two sides of the car will suggest a bent component.

From there, you can take it to a reputable alignment shop or dealer to double check your findings. You probably need to ask people in your area to find out who the local "guru" is for that sort of thing.
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