Front strut question

[falconpunch]

After a recent oil change my mechanic says I have a failing right front strut mount. After looking into it, it looks exactly like the problem described here (cracked strut mount, likely also worn out struts, but not the "mushrooming" problem):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZLg...5s&spfreload=5

My '06 3.0 coupe has 70K miles on it. This video was great, but it raised a couple questions:

1) Are the strut mounts really designed to fail in that way? As in, when it cracks the strut goes shooting through the hood?? In the video he describes it as being a half inch from cracking completely and that happening, but when looking at mine I noticed the round cracked part is actually fairly soft rubber. So maybe the interior of the mount isn't nearly as close to failure as the mechanic says?

2) Are there different struts/mounts between that YouTuber's car ('04 roadster, I believe a 2.5) and mine ('06 3.0 coupe)? Seems like something would be different given the added chassis stiffness of the coupe. Maybe this is just in the stiffness of the strut itself?

I'm looking to replace it, but I may also be selling the car soon and it would be useful to know if it's "imminent catastrophic failure" or "just a generally bad strut". Thanks!!

[Shipkiller]

Just because its a BMW does not mean that it will be immune to material degradation.

Because of the materials used to manufacture the upper strut mounts, they will fail over time. The rubber just degrades.

The strut mounts on all BMW's are of a very similar design. The chassis stiffness is not due to the suspension components but due to adding the roof.
The issue is that when it fails completely, the strut will punch through and quite possibly go through the hood. The struts themselves are not the cause and you can just replace the upper mounts, but given the mileage on the car, the struts are failing due to longevity and will have to be replaced at some point rather soonly....

I would fix this now because most buyers of BMW's will have a PPI performed and this issue WILL be found and will lower the price point a buyer will pay because they will have to fix this. Hell, just a general driveway inspection by the buyer should find this.

Just fix it... oh, you do not have a SMG transmission (see your 'My Cars' sig). I think the 2005 cars were the last year that it was offered. You have a standard automatic with paddle shifters.

[falconpunch]

Oh I certainly didn't mean it as "how dare any parts wear out in a BMW" haha. I meant it as a more specific "seems weird that this potential failure would be so catastrophic as to result in hood holes". I mean after all, many people don't even realize their suspension is worn out (though I certainly did). Seems like it could have been made with more in the way to prevent damaging other areas, is all I'm saying... and image searches of this type of thing don't turn up that type of horror story, either.

What I was getting at is it seems counterproductive to do an $1100 repair on a $9-10K car right before selling it. If I sell it to any sort of dealer they can fix it cheaper (now whether they'd ever actually pass on that savings to me is another debate...)

- - - Updated - - -

As for the transmission comment, is that really so? No manual-type paddle shifters in '06es? When I looked into it at first all I could find was that BMW nomenclature on these trannies seemed wildly inconsistent and with many different setups. But I assumed I had something closer to a manual clutch that was computer-controlled? All I cared about when buying used was that it was my daily driver and I didn't want the 8am many-consecutive-stop-sign commutes in a manual...

[BimmerBreaker]

$1100 to change a strut?

Does that including doing it for 3-4 cars or what?

[falconpunch]

Oh whoops that was for parts and labor on L and R front struts and mounts. Struts quoted at $233 each and mounts $53 each, with $460 total for labor. Still too much?

Unfortunately I'm in the city and can't really do it myself... also any repair is more than when I was in Missouri

[Elhua Po]

So is this cracking visible without disassembling the strut tower, etc.? I'm looking my 2004 over and cannot see any cracks...? As far as I can tell there's no "mushrooming" either.

[falconpunch]

Yeah, you should be able to mostly see it without disassembly. Check the video in my first post, the guy does a good job of showing both issues before fixing it.

It'll obviously depend a lot on your mileage & when you last changed struts. If you haven't done anything with struts for 30K plus miles (like me, I'm a dummy haha) then at least the struts to be replaced, but the mounts (the things between the strut shaft and big rounded strut tower) may not show cracking as bad as mine did. As for the tower mushrooming problem... I dunno if that might just be caused by rougher-than-average driving. It could also be worse on '04-'05 models as my '06 with 70K miles didn't seem to have it, but the YouTube guy did have it with an earlier model and 110Kish miles.

Anyway, ride quality is a lot better now. Need to look at replacing the rear ones soon...

[Elhua Po]

Thanks, I do like Zed4Me's video, I can see that it should be obvious that if they're cracked I could see it with the struts in place. My car has 113K but it was owned by an older fellow (much like myself) and driven like he loved it, as I do too. I've installed a bigger front brace and the rear bar too, so I don't expect any issues/problems---unless the beefed-up braces cause more problems than they solve....
Harry
2004 Z4 3.0
2001 Dodge Ram Offroad Option
1968 Jeepster Commando (undergoing revival)
1973 John Deere 510C