Cracked Strut Tower Weld Z3

If it makes a difference I think it may have been repair at least 7 years ago, I bought It from a guy who only had it for a summer and the repair looks older than that. And before him it was owner by a Vicar - Who i presume wold have the moral conscious to report such repairs on MOT.
 
Zephyr said:
I insist that there is an issue with the tower. The first photo you posted is 100% cracked bondo (body filler or how you call it).
why would anyone use bondo on a strut tower? at any paint job, its just primer, paint, clear.
work that area with a screwdriver and remove as much as you can. It may reveal its secret.
and that rust is there just because of this.
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The crack is between metal and metal. With filler on top of it.
 
IMG_5779.webp

this is what bothers me. maybe the strut tower was hammered straight. There is absolutely no reason for bondo to be there.
 
Zephyr said:
I insist that there is an issue with the tower. The first photo you posted is 100% cracked bondo (body filler or how you call it).
why would anyone use bondo on a strut tower? at any paint job, its just primer, paint, clear.
work that area with a screwdriver and remove as much as you can. It may reveal its secret.
and that rust is there just because of this.
Click to expand...

Only way to know for sure is remove the lot and inspect the area.
 
Zephyr said:
View attachment 328853
this is what bothers me. maybe the strut tower was hammered straight. There is absolutely no reason for bondo to be there.
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Sorry I mistook what you wrote
Zephyr said:
View attachment 328853
this is what bothers me. maybe the strut tower was hammered straight. There is absolutely no reason for bondo to be there.
Click to expand...
There's no bondo on that spot. I've a dig around with the screw driver. Here's an updated photo - the white/cream coloured bits around the edge are primer.
20250206_211030.webp
 
It looked like bondo on the photo. Still I do not get it. It does not seem correct. It is rusty, the paint is elevated from the metal and thus I thought bondo.
I would follow @t-tony and @Lee advice. Strip and decide.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: Lee
You might find it’s totally innocent, might have been a bit rusty in the past and someone’s done a bad job of cleaning it back and re painting it.
 
bmwz3tower said:
The crack is between metal and metal. With filler on top of it.
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The e36 front platform, which the Z3 uses, is notorious in the drifting community for cracking, or distorting. If it weren’t there wouldn’t be quite so many strengthening kits/fixes available.

Since there doesn’t appear to be any distortion in the pictures I would just clean it up and re weld. No biggie really, I would check the chassis leg/frame rail for any fold or wrinkle just in case though. The rusty bit looks exactly like the tower’s on mine, same place on both towers too.


If you’re in Scotland, I’d be happy to carry out the welding once cleaned up, if you don’t have the facility/mates who could do it for you.
 
IainP said:
The e36 front platform, which the Z3 uses, is notorious in the drifting community for cracking, or distorting. If it weren’t there wouldn’t be quite so many strengthening kits/fixes available.

Since there doesn’t appear to be any distortion in the pictures I would just clean it up and re weld. No biggie really, I would check the chassis leg/frame rail for any fold or wrinkle just in case though. The rusty bit looks exactly like the tower’s on mine, same place on both towers too.


If you’re in Scotland, I’d be happy to carry out the welding once cleaned up, if you don’t have the facility/mates who could do it for you.
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Thanks for the info, I'll read up on e36 weld issues.
I'm in West Yorkshire so I probably won't take you up on that offer.
 
Yeah, bit far.
Being n/s and not a drifter, I expect it’s been bumped up a kerb most of its life, quite common, not just on Z3/e36.
It’s not a difficult fix, simplest method is drill the spot welds with a cobalt spot drill bit. Tap the metal down and reweld, then use the spot drill between the original spot welds to remove a small circle and weld.
You’ll be told it needs seam welded, it doesn’t. It’s Extremely difficult to clean seam sealer enough for a good seam weld without it looking dreadful. Good spot, (really rosette welds), are stronger and neater than a poor seam weld and cause less paint damage.
 
An MOT tester is well within his rights to insist any welded repairs to be seam welded. Even if spot welds are stronger (which I freely agree they are).

Tony.
 
t-tony said:
An MOT tester is well within his rights to insist any welded repairs to be seam welded. Even if spot welds are stronger (which I freely agree they are).

Tony.
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In Germany I did quite a bit of welding for a local workshop - TUV failures etc. Any structural welds had to be 2cm of weld and a 2cm gap and another 2cm weld etc. It was said that just spots would fail and a continuous seam would also fail.

Also, in the case of a reset, the car had to be presented without seamsealer or underseal on the welds so the inspector could see the work.
 
I can only comment on what is acceptable for the MOT test here in the British Isles, regardless of what happened in Germany.


Show


10. Acceptable methods of repair, Hide
Repairs to structural components must be properly carried out and appear to be as strong as the original structure. This requires the use of suitable materials and any plating or welding extends to a sound part of a load-bearing member.
You can only pass spot welded repairs if the original panel was spot welded and the original panel or section has been removed. Stitch or plug welding can be used instead of spot welding.
In all other circumstances, patch repairs must be continuously seam welded.
Some vehicle manufacturers have recommended repair methods that use MIG brazing, a combination of adhesive bonding and riveting, or amalgamations of these with other joining methods. Such repairs are therefore acceptable unless they are clearly inadequate.


Tony.
 
t-tony said:
I can only comment on what is acceptable for the MOT test here in the British Isles, regardless of what happened in Germany.


Show


10. Acceptable methods of repair, Hide
Repairs to structural components must be properly carried out and appear to be as strong as the original structure. This requires the use of suitable materials and any plating or welding extends to a sound part of a load-bearing member.
You can only pass spot welded repairs if the original panel was spot welded and the original panel or section has been removed. Stitch or plug welding can be used instead of spot welding.
In all other circumstances, patch repairs must be continuously seam welded.
Some vehicle manufacturers have recommended repair methods that use MIG brazing, a combination of adhesive bonding and riveting, or amalgamations of these with other joining methods. Such repairs are therefore acceptable unless they are clearly inadequate.


Tony.
Click to expand...
That is open to interpretation, then.
Seam, spot, stitch, plug....anything goes.

Typical 'guidance' from the UK authorities...."you decide, cos we haven't got a clue."
 
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