BMW M3 Forum (E90 E92)

BMW Garage BMW Meets Register Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read


Go Back   M3Post - BMW M3 Forum > E90/E92 M3 Technical Topics > Suspension | Brakes | Chassis
 
Post Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
      06-12-2012, 04:41 PM   #1
cwidjojo
First Lieutenant
cwidjojo's Avatar
29
Rep
352
Posts

Drives: Sparkling Graphite E92 M3
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Indonesia/San Francisco

iTrader: (1)

bent rear arm / camber link

hey guys, i just discovered that my rear arms/camber links are bent when i took my car in to install my exhaust. do you think this is going to be covered by the warranty? what could have happened that would result to this? i live in sf, so it might be the ghastly potholes. the weird thing is, the car drives normally, and i dont notice anything out of the ordinary when i drive it.
Attached Images
       
Appreciate 0
      06-12-2012, 04:46 PM   #2
THE TECH
BimmerPost Supporting Vendor
THE TECH's Avatar
307
Rep
13,093
Posts


Drives: BPMsport 2012 E92 M3
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Kansas

iTrader: (45)

Garage List
A pothole would likely destroy the wheel before it would a suspension component. To me it looks like it's been pried on/against
Appreciate 0
      06-12-2012, 05:03 PM   #3
TXmtrhed
First Lieutenant
TXmtrhed's Avatar
37
Rep
381
Posts

Drives: VO 1M
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Katy, TX

iTrader: (0)

Has your car ever been towed or transported?
Appreciate 0
      06-12-2012, 05:48 PM   #4
cwidjojo
First Lieutenant
cwidjojo's Avatar
29
Rep
352
Posts

Drives: Sparkling Graphite E92 M3
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Indonesia/San Francisco

iTrader: (1)

Quote:
Originally Posted by TXmtrhed View Post
Has your car ever been towed or transported?
yes... do you think this is a result from the towing?
Appreciate 0
      06-12-2012, 06:12 PM   #5
tlp
Colonel
United_States
276
Rep
2,216
Posts

Drives: 991 GT3, Sold:'11 e92 M3 SG/FR
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Las Vegas/SoCal

iTrader: (6)

Garage List
Looks like towing/transport damage to me.
__________________
991 GT3, Sold: '11 e92 M3 SG/FR ZCP|ZCV|ZP2|2MK|494|415|6NR|752
Appreciate 0
      06-12-2012, 06:38 PM   #6
tibra1
Banned
No_Country
127
Rep
6,773
Posts

Drives: 2011 ZCP M3 - 2007 335i crashd
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: NYC

iTrader: (4)

Those are not your camber links..these are

Name:  images.jpg
Views: 3786
Size:  5.3 KB


The rear trailing arms are what you describe and they are designed to crush on impact (for safety reasons)..did you or someone before you hit something..curb, pothole..thats the likely culprit..they need to be replaced

If a tow operator hitched you car to those he should be flogged..literally
Appreciate 0
      06-12-2012, 11:04 PM   #7
apecush
Lieutenant
Canada
30
Rep
521
Posts

Drives: 2008 E90 M3
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Edmonton

iTrader: (2)

Just posted a few weeks ago about this - mine look the same, and the car has never hit anything aside from potholes. They are the sacrificial part of the rear suspension and designed to bend.

I see you've got 19s just like me...I bet there are a lot of other cars out there with trailing arms that look the same, the drivers just don't know it yet. Chances are your rear wheels are pretty toed out right now.

The arms are about $50 each.
Appreciate 0
      06-12-2012, 11:22 PM   #8
cwidjojo
First Lieutenant
cwidjojo's Avatar
29
Rep
352
Posts

Drives: Sparkling Graphite E92 M3
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Indonesia/San Francisco

iTrader: (1)

Quote:
Originally Posted by tibra1 View Post
Those are not your camber links..these are

Attachment 706644


The rear trailing arms are what you describe and they are designed to crush on impact (for safety reasons)..did you or someone before you hit something..curb, pothole..thats the likely culprit..they need to be replaced

If a tow operator hitched you car to those he should be flogged..literally
oh my bad. yeah what i meant was that the bent trailing arms lead to the unevenness of the camber links to the rear axle(?). you can see in the picture of the camber links that its not dead center to it, and might even be rubbing
do you think the dealer would replace them under warranty?
Appreciate 0
      06-12-2012, 11:24 PM   #9
tibra1
Banned
No_Country
127
Rep
6,773
Posts

Drives: 2011 ZCP M3 - 2007 335i crashd
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: NYC

iTrader: (4)

Quote:
Originally Posted by cwidjojo View Post
oh my bad. yeah what i meant was that the bent trailing arms lead to the unevenness of the camber links to the rear axle(?). you can see in the picture of the camber links that its not dead center to it, and might even be rubbing
do you think the dealer would replace them under warranty?
Do you have a good SA?..I think you have a chance they are not a high dollar item and quick labor time..but you will most likely also need an alignment and they will probably ding you for that..
Appreciate 0
      06-12-2012, 11:26 PM   #10
cwidjojo
First Lieutenant
cwidjojo's Avatar
29
Rep
352
Posts

Drives: Sparkling Graphite E92 M3
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Indonesia/San Francisco

iTrader: (1)

Quote:
Originally Posted by apecush View Post
Just posted a few weeks ago about this - mine look the same, and the car has never hit anything aside from potholes. They are the sacrificial part of the rear suspension and designed to bend.

I see you've got 19s just like me...I bet there are a lot of other cars out there with trailing arms that look the same, the drivers just don't know it yet. Chances are your rear wheels are pretty toed out right now.

The arms are about $50 each.
yeah the weird thing is, my car drives normally. i really hope nothing serious will result from it
Appreciate 0
      06-13-2012, 09:34 AM   #11
apecush
Lieutenant
Canada
30
Rep
521
Posts

Drives: 2008 E90 M3
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Edmonton

iTrader: (2)

Quote:
Originally Posted by cwidjojo View Post
yeah the weird thing is, my car drives normally. i really hope nothing serious will result from it
I had my car aligned and have very uneven rear toe (0.5 deg out/0.1 deg in) and the car tracks straight - since both of your arms look pretty bad, there is a chance the toe is close on both sides.
Appreciate 0
      06-13-2012, 03:27 PM   #12
bigjae1976
Major General
bigjae1976's Avatar
1567
Rep
8,074
Posts

Drives: 11 E90 M3 Individual
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Houston, TX

iTrader: (22)

Garage List
2004 BMW M3  [4.50]
2011 BMW E90 M3  [5.25]
2013 BMW 328i  [5.00]
Dealer likely won't warranty that. Bent usually means not covered.
__________________
2018 F30 320iX Melbourne Red
2011 E90 M3 Monte Carlo Blue
2004 E46 M3 Imola Red
2000 E36/7 Z3 Steel Blue
Appreciate 0
      06-13-2012, 04:53 PM   #13
808MGuy
Colonel
808MGuy's Avatar
218
Rep
2,339
Posts

Drives: 2009 E90 M3
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Oahu, Hawaii

iTrader: (3)

I had that rear trailing arm bend in half on me. Dealer did not cover under warranty due to the Eibach springs. They could not explain what would have caused it. Mine was bent in half like a V when it happened. Luckily I was on a crowded City road and not on a freeway when it happened. It just felt like the back end wanted to break loose all of a sudden.
__________________
2016 Porsche Cayman GTS - Sapphire Blue / Black Full Leather Interior / Carrera S Wheels
Appreciate 0
      06-13-2012, 05:27 PM   #14
apecush
Lieutenant
Canada
30
Rep
521
Posts

Drives: 2008 E90 M3
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Edmonton

iTrader: (2)

The appearance of those arms doesn't instill a lot of confidence - they are very thin stamped steel (though probably fairly high-strength). Given the stiffness of the rest of the arms (solid aluminum) it isn't surprising that they are deforming. They are carried over directly from other 3-series cars where the suspension linkage is likely quite a bit more compliant, not to mention higher profile tires - perhaps they are there to protect a weakness of the subframe.

Like I said before, I'm pretty sure this issue is more widespread than most believe, since a very small percentage of us actually inspect the suspension components on our cars closely enough to see the damage shown in the pictures.
Appreciate 0
      06-13-2012, 07:55 PM   #15
808MGuy
Colonel
808MGuy's Avatar
218
Rep
2,339
Posts

Drives: 2009 E90 M3
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Oahu, Hawaii

iTrader: (3)

Quote:
Originally Posted by apecush View Post
The appearance of those arms doesn't instill a lot of confidence - they are very thin stamped steel (though probably fairly high-strength). Given the stiffness of the rest of the arms (solid aluminum) it isn't surprising that they are deforming. They are carried over directly from other 3-series cars where the suspension linkage is likely quite a bit more compliant, not to mention higher profile tires - perhaps they are there to protect a weakness of the subframe.

Like I said before, I'm pretty sure this issue is more widespread than most believe, since a very small percentage of us actually inspect the suspension components on our cars closely enough to see the damage shown in the pictures.
Like others have said, it is the weak link because it is designed to be that way. The way it fails is actually a safety feature which keeps you from losing control of the car. The OPs situation definitely doesn't look normal and does appear to be caused by someone prying on it which I have heard is common for some inexperienced installers to do when installing springs.
__________________
2016 Porsche Cayman GTS - Sapphire Blue / Black Full Leather Interior / Carrera S Wheels
Appreciate 0
      06-13-2012, 08:17 PM   #16
tibra1
Banned
No_Country
127
Rep
6,773
Posts

Drives: 2011 ZCP M3 - 2007 335i crashd
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: NYC

iTrader: (4)

Quote:
Originally Posted by apecush View Post
The appearance of those arms doesn't instill a lot of confidence - they are very thin stamped steel (though probably fairly high-strength). .
No they are not high strenght...thats the whole point they are designed to crumple easily..

Quote:
Originally Posted by 808MGuy View Post
Like others have said, it is the weak link because it is designed to be that way. The way it fails is actually a safety feature which keeps you from losing control of the car.
Yep
Appreciate 0
      06-13-2012, 10:55 PM   #17
apecush
Lieutenant
Canada
30
Rep
521
Posts

Drives: 2008 E90 M3
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Edmonton

iTrader: (2)

Quote:
Originally Posted by 808MGuy View Post
Like others have said, it is the weak link because it is designed to be that way. The way it fails is actually a safety feature which keeps you from losing control of the car. The OPs situation definitely doesn't look normal and does appear to be caused by someone prying on it which I have heard is common for some inexperienced installers to do when installing springs.
His car looks exactly the same as mine, hence me posting in this thread.

It boils down to this - if you strengthen everything else in the suspension and leave the weak link the same, the weak link will deform at a lower load than the overall weaker system (i.e. in the non-M).

Last edited by apecush; 06-13-2012 at 11:01 PM..
Appreciate 0
      06-13-2012, 10:56 PM   #18
apecush
Lieutenant
Canada
30
Rep
521
Posts

Drives: 2008 E90 M3
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Edmonton

iTrader: (2)

Quote:
Originally Posted by tibra1 View Post
No they are not high strenght...thats the whole point they are designed to crumple easily..
High strength steel, not high strength by design.
Appreciate 0
      06-13-2012, 11:41 PM   #19
bigjae1976
Major General
bigjae1976's Avatar
1567
Rep
8,074
Posts

Drives: 11 E90 M3 Individual
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Houston, TX

iTrader: (22)

Garage List
2004 BMW M3  [4.50]
2011 BMW E90 M3  [5.25]
2013 BMW 328i  [5.00]
Quote:
Originally Posted by apecush View Post
His car looks exactly the same as mine, hence me posting in this thread.

It boils down to this - if you strengthen everything else in the suspension and leave the weak link the same, the weak link will deform at a lower load than the overall weaker system (i.e. in the non-M).
You have a choice. Replace a cheap control arm that is easy to install or allow the load to be transferrred to the subframe mount points and then have your rear floor area get torn up.
__________________
2018 F30 320iX Melbourne Red
2011 E90 M3 Monte Carlo Blue
2004 E46 M3 Imola Red
2000 E36/7 Z3 Steel Blue
Appreciate 0
Post Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:00 PM.




m3post
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
1Addicts.com, BIMMERPOST.com, E90Post.com, F30Post.com, M3Post.com, ZPost.com, 5Post.com, 6Post.com, 7Post.com, XBimmers.com logo and trademark are properties of BIMMERPOST