NeilSmith

Well, I finally got time to begin this blog. I have been so busy with vacation, Camp Commander, school starting, not to mention work. Wheew !!
So we have this BMW at the shop. Some models have an issue where the rear suspension mounts are actually ripped from the uni-body because of drivetrain torque. This is the third one we have repaired for the dealership. This particular one is a 2000 3 -Series.

In this picture you can see the mounting points, in the middle of the unit. There are four mounting points.

The part that fails is the " carrier " , which is a structure that is made of sheet metal. This pic shows the replacement part.

The carrier welds up into the floor between the wheel wells, forward of the spare tire well. The worst part is cutting the original piece out. You have to scrape off the undercoating, then the seam sealer, then drill out the spot welds. There are probably a hundred spot welds on this thing.


The kicker is, the replacement part is exactly the same as the original. It has not been re-designed one bit. What is going to keep it from happening again ? You have to present that question to BMW.
While our technician was doing that, I had the every day simple task of painting. I had two new bumper covers and a rear quarter trim panel for a Honda Civic. Here are the new parts , shown in the factory primer.


The parts are scuffed with a red Scotch - Pad and then sprayed with a " wet - on - wet " sealer.

After ten minutes, the base-coat is applied.

After about ten minutes, two coats of clear are applied.

The parts will be ready to be installed first thing in the morning.
Stayed tuned for the next installment of " Tales From The Body Shop ".