Why did BMW use fiberboard for the door panels!?

[Orion525it]

Other than being so uber green. What the heck?

Pulled the drivers rear panel off to fix the way cool inserts, and noticed on the backside that the very bottom of the panel was discolored. It looked black or dark gray. I had a not so good feeling about what I was seeing. I grabbed the discolored part and flexed it, knowing well what to expect. A nice little chunk came off between my index finger and thumb. I little wisp of black/gray powder floated off as the piece cracked.

I looked very closely, and noticed some itty bitty, white, six-legged buggers moving about pissed off cause they got exposed to the sun.

Anybody want to take a guess as to what they were!? How about the wisp of black/gray stuff!?

Not happy!

[jfj707]

Termites.... the ugliest creatures on the planet.

[p1zz4guy]

yup its cheap stuff. you get water on it and your boned

[zubbie]

turns to dust easily. When I replaced my rear door lock actuators I had to do a fiberglass job on the bottoms to restore their integrity.

seemed to work just fine. Some gorilla glue was also in the mix...

[Chinman]

They used fiberboard for the same reason they used plastic in:

Radiator side tanks
Thermostat housings
Water pump impellers

And it's not because it is a superior, long-lasting material.

[strad]

light and cheap.

[attack eagle]

and noise absorbent.

[Steve547i]

Termites? I find big motherfcking spiders constantly.

[dansgt]

turns to dust easily. When I replaced my rear door lock actuators I had to do a fiberglass job on the bottoms to restore their integrity.

seemed to work just fine. Some gorilla glue was also in the mix...
how hard was that? one of mine is cracked in half both directions (whoever removed it at the junk yard before i stripped the interior was a moron) stays on the door fine though...

[zubbie]

how hard was that? one of mine is cracked in half both directions (whoever removed it at the junk yard before i stripped the interior was a moron) stays on the door fine though...

Not hard. If your's are just cracked then gorilla glue will work just fine. Just make sure the board is moistened for the gorilla glue to set properly. Then add a few layers of fiberglass for additional strength.

When I did mine I literally had to create and form the curves at the bottom of the door. A little bit of a challenge but it worked fine in the end

[Orion525it]

I haven't checked the other panels yet, but I assume they will be in a similar state.

I already determined that some fiberglass work is the only thing that will do the trick. I am fairly certain that about 1" along the entire bottom will need to be fixed. I don't think I can just do an overlay of the existing material, its too far gone. Even if that is not the case, I think to get the proper strength would require a fairly significant lap joint.

I might be better off going to yard and hope that I find some that are still good. Nothing like replacing crap with more crap.


Termites.... the ugliest creatures on the planet.

Yep!

Black stuff is some sort of fungus/mold.

[zubbie]

I've always wondered if you could spray glue the entire backing to firm it up..