Quote Originally Posted by SaltyNC View Post
Thanks, guys.

Well, I found another items that will need to be addressed. It looks like my passenger side strut tower has some mushrooming, and I'm seeing what appears to be a hairline fracture, or at minimum the paint has cracked (wishful thinking at play here). I had already ordered some reinforcement plates. I'm going to try the sandwich route and see if that takes care of it. I'll dead blow the top flat again and then put in the reinforcement plates, and top it off with a strut bar to sandwich the metal. I saw where Dane did that, and I'm assuming it is still holding. I love BMWs, I really do, but sometimes it gets annoying dealing with BMW setting tolerances so tight. It's crazy to think how many engines have been destroyed by broken bolts or popped pins or crumbling plastic parts.

Salty
i found one of the towers on my Touring was mushroomed a tiny bit; i took a small section of 2x4 and a 5lb sledge and gently made it flat again. fortunately i didn't have any cracks... but if i did, i would do as rob did, and stop-drill them. you're on the right track with reinforcement plates underneath, and a proper strut bar on top.

it does suck, yes - this falls in line with the vulnerability of the RACP, where it seems to be a complete oversight on BMWs' part. and then you try to explain the issues to people - or your wife - in the same breath as, say, "the E46 is awesome" - and you get some people (or your wife) thinking you're a total nutcase. there's this critical oversight, yet you're still defending them.

but it drives great.