The two 'mylar' rub pads on my car's nose cone are old, yellow, cracked & worn - see picture & sketch.
They are contact points for the two bonnet/hood release tabs (or 'catch brackets' as BMW call them).
Would be good to replace these damaged pads with new ones, but so far I haven't had any luck finding the part number.
Has anyone ever replaced these pads, or come across the BMW P/N?
Current:
1994 E31 850CSi Sterlingsilber/Anthracite Buffalo
Previous:
1987 E28 M5 Delphin
1986 E23 M745iA Arctic Blue
1986 E24 635CSi Polaris
1976 E3 3.0 Si Arctic Blue
This link from my mate in Auckland there with you!
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...diagId=51_1991
Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk
Same RealOEM listing I have (see sketch in first post above) - still don't see the two rub pads I'm after.
Current:
1994 E31 850CSi Sterlingsilber/Anthracite Buffalo
Previous:
1987 E28 M5 Delphin
1986 E23 M745iA Arctic Blue
1986 E24 635CSi Polaris
1976 E3 3.0 Si Arctic Blue
I think it's No 19 in that diagram
E30 1992 335 Cabriolet - Transplant nearly finished
E31 1992 850ci - Hartge H8 6.0 conversion
E34 1995 540A - Stock, low mileage, hi spec and soon to FI'd
E36 1994 M3 - GM LS3 Transplant
E38 2001 735 - Daily driver
E46 2002 330 Cab - Stock
M62B46 with TTV flywheel, dual plate clutch and 6 speed box sitting in a corner waiting for me to decide where to put it.
No, that part is a black 'foil' (tape) x2, located at the very outer edges of the nose cone, in the gaps at the front corners of the hood where the Item 15 seal ends - they simply provide a continuity of black, to hide the body colour in these gaps (not an issue on dark-coloured cars!).
I already have two of these black foils for my car - the original items are a little twisted and torn, with traces of the silver paintwork visible in the gaps. They're easy to replace, but I'd planned to do them at the same time as the subject 'mylar' rub-pads.
Edit: here's another picture, showing the foils.
Last edited by kiwiCSi; 06-26-2017 at 08:39 PM.
Current:
1994 E31 850CSi Sterlingsilber/Anthracite Buffalo
Previous:
1987 E28 M5 Delphin
1986 E23 M745iA Arctic Blue
1986 E24 635CSi Polaris
1976 E3 3.0 Si Arctic Blue
So, what are items #31 (left and right) on the parts list? They aren't shown on the diagram, but if they are still available, the prices are cheap enough to warrant purchasing just to see if those are what you need.
Last edited by mbarrett635; 06-26-2017 at 09:00 PM.
Mike Barrett
94 850CSi, Hellrot over silbergrau dunkel/silbergrau hell
96 850Ci, Oxfordgrun over silbergrau hell
part #31... not thinking that's what he's looking for...
31.jpg
Current:
1994 E31 850CSi Sterlingsilber/Anthracite Buffalo
Previous:
1987 E28 M5 Delphin
1986 E23 M745iA Arctic Blue
1986 E24 635CSi Polaris
1976 E3 3.0 Si Arctic Blue
I have never seen these on any cars, but I can see their purpose. I would think a 10-20 mil film like Lamin-x would achieve the same results. Any NOS item from BMW is likely discolored at this point.
What "thumbs up" really means
These rub/wear pads are definitely factory original items - not aftermarket add-ons.
I doubt if the nose cone surface at the hood catch contact points would survive for long, without the protection afforded by these pads.
As you've suggested, I'm now looking to find a suitable adhesive-backed PVC film material, with a view to replacing them with custom-made items. Thickness needs to be around 0.015 - 0.020 inch.
Removing the old pads without damaging the nose cone surface could be the toughest challenge!
Current:
1994 E31 850CSi Sterlingsilber/Anthracite Buffalo
Previous:
1987 E28 M5 Delphin
1986 E23 M745iA Arctic Blue
1986 E24 635CSi Polaris
1976 E3 3.0 Si Arctic Blue
You know what - I do recall seeing some sort of mylar like film around the back of the sunroof opening (paint buffer) now that I think about it.
20 mil = .02 inches, so the following would be a very good substitute: http://www.lamin-x.com/One-4-x-8-Cle...r-p/1-48cl.htm (also available in 12 mil)
What "thumbs up" really means
Looks like a suitable product, thanks for the link.
Current:
1994 E31 850CSi Sterlingsilber/Anthracite Buffalo
Previous:
1987 E28 M5 Delphin
1986 E23 M745iA Arctic Blue
1986 E24 635CSi Polaris
1976 E3 3.0 Si Arctic Blue
For nothing more than your enjoyment, I traced out and made a set of these today with the above film:
Lamin-x latch.jpg
The small bubbles will go away on their own in the sun. Should give you an idea of what it would look like.
What "thumbs up" really means
Looks perfect!
Closer inspection of mine today has revealed one of them is worn right thru, while the other has almost broken through the pad material.
I would also suggest consider using 3M Booktape. FAA certifies it for use in doing repairs on fabric covered surfaces on planes, so should be good enough for E31s. It is thicker than other clear film tapes, so provides better protection, and has an adhesive that does not damage books or painted surfaces that I have used it on.
I had my nose repainted over winter. I spent hours looking for the original BMW product to no avail. I bought a anti-chafe patch from PSP marine tapes and made a template. I ended up doubling two of the 250 micron pads together to get a nice thick cushion. I bought it on eBay.
- - - Updated - - -
After install.image.jpg
Many thanks for all the input and suggestions guys.
I've found some old, discarded stock of a 3M Aerospace product: #8671 transparent tape, which is a tough, polyurethane film of 0.37 mm (0.015 inch) thickness, with an acrylic adhesive.
It's UV-resistant and can be painted or applied to painted surfaces.
It was placed in disposal stock as it's not qualified to any aerospace flammability standards - not a concern for this application and as a result, the price is right (free)!
An alternative product I also found (brand unknown) is thinner (0.21 mm) and harder, so I think I'll go with the 3M product for now and see how it performs.
Pictures of these two tapes are attached, and also pics of the damaged wear/rub pads on my CSi's nose cone.
I removed the old cracked rub pads in the weekend, but even though I used a soft plastic scraper, some of the underlying paint finish came off with them.
The adhesive residue was particularly stubborn as well, needing several passes with solvent and cloth, more light scraping and yet more solvent wiping.
So I'll now have to sand back and repaint the two recesses on the nosecone before fitting the new pads, otherwise the exposed patches of white primer will show through the clear pad material - see pics.
Meanwhile however, I've fitted the two new black 'foils' to either side of the nose cone, where the hood/fenders meet - see pics.
Current:
1994 E31 850CSi Sterlingsilber/Anthracite Buffalo
Previous:
1987 E28 M5 Delphin
1986 E23 M745iA Arctic Blue
1986 E24 635CSi Polaris
1976 E3 3.0 Si Arctic Blue
My car doesn't even have these at all.... It certainly needs them though, as the paint is already ruined on those rub spots.
Maybe your nose cone got repainted at some stage and the pads weren't replaced.
Current:
1994 E31 850CSi Sterlingsilber/Anthracite Buffalo
Previous:
1987 E28 M5 Delphin
1986 E23 M745iA Arctic Blue
1986 E24 635CSi Polaris
1976 E3 3.0 Si Arctic Blue
Just made a set out of 60mil 3M clear. The same film that is used for the headlight glass protection - perfect thickness and looks stock.
'93 850Ci - Mineralweiß Metallic
2001 740iL - Titansilber
ALPINA B7 -Alpinweiß III
...the price of cool ain't cheap!
Finally got the pad areas repainted and some new pads made and fitted, but I'm not happy with the result.
I made the mistake of not completely sanding back the entire pad recess before repainting, so some small imperfections show up quite clearly.
I'll remove the pads again at a later date and fully sand back the recesses to achieve a more uniform painted surface, but for now these areas are functionally acceptable and the pads are doing their job.
As you can see, the bonnet/hood release tab has already made an indentation mark on the center of the new pad, so I might also go for a thicker, softer pad material next time around.
Last edited by kiwiCSi; 09-03-2017 at 07:09 PM.
Current:
1994 E31 850CSi Sterlingsilber/Anthracite Buffalo
Previous:
1987 E28 M5 Delphin
1986 E23 M745iA Arctic Blue
1986 E24 635CSi Polaris
1976 E3 3.0 Si Arctic Blue
Bookmarks