Sheared rear damper

[Chris H]

Disaster struck last night driving home from Hampshire - noticed an occassionaly loud knocking coming from the right rear wheel. Loud knocking then turned into a loud metallic rattle, so pulled over to have a look and the rear damper had sheared from its top mount :shock:

I had ACS suspension fitted only 9 months ago and was shocked to see this happen, especially when I haven't driven over anything that should cause such a failure.

I'm absolutely gutted now because it's almost certainly not going to be ready to drive to Le Mans tomorrow morning. The job to fix shouldn't be big, but finding a replacement Bilstein shock for an MC will probably take a while - it took 2 weeks for my ACS kit to arrive.

I used BMW emergency services (through my EW) to collect me and deliver the car to Cooper Wimbledon this morning but all they're offering me as a replacement to take to France is a vauxhall hire car through Enterprise Car Rental :!: Will speak to Coopers in a short while to find out what the score is.

Why this had to happen 2 days before Le Mans I do not know. :cry:

[Broccers]

Gutting, still you didnt crash at high speed on the way to Le Mans so look on the bright side !

Good luck getting a better replacement - maybe ask for an extended test in a M5 ;)

[c_w]

When you say sheared from the top mount, what do you mean? When I've had a top mount go the damper gets a bit loose but by design it cant come away but rattles a lot. Or has the damper rod snapped? :?

I have heard lower bushes fail though (was ACS Suspension too on a Z3M Roadster) as there wasn't a "safety" washer bolted behind the shock which prevents this happening (when the lower bush fails the shock can just come away from the trailing arm without hte large washer there).

If it's just the top mount it can be change quickly enough, just depends on what the dealer can do if you can't do it yourself.

[Chris H]

I've just come off the phone to Cooper Wimbledon who's initial investigation is worse than expected. Not only has the damper rod snapped, but also part of the body panel that the top mount bolts into has broken away :shock: This is really concerning because I haven't hit anything that would have caused such a structural failure. Looks like it'll be in for some time now, but I'll know more after they've carried out some further investigation this afternoon.

[Lee]

I've just come off the phone to Cooper Wimbledon who's initial investigation is worse than expected. Not only has the damper rod snapped, but also part of the body panel that the top mount bolts into has broken away :shock: This is really concerning because I haven't hit anything that would have caused such a structural failure. Looks like it'll be in for some time now, but I'll know more after they've carried out some further investigation this afternoon.

good luck Chris! hope you can get it sorted in time :(

[BEN]

thats poo news chris!

dont know if it helps but if you dont get the car back in time, i have my mums MG ZT so plenty of room if you need a lift, just let me know!

[exdos]

I've just come off the phone to Cooper Wimbledon who's initial investigation is worse than expected. Not only has the damper rod snapped, but also part of the body panel that the top mount bolts into has broken away :shock: This is really concerning because I haven't hit anything that would have caused such a structural failure. Looks like it'll be in for some time now, but I'll know more after they've carried out some further investigation this afternoon.

That is really BAD.

Can you get some photos of the structural damage to your car and post them in the gallery.

I"ve not heard of this problem on any of the other forums.

[BEN]

whats happening now?

[Chris H]

Still in dispute with BMW about the cause and who should pay. :roll:

[steve1]

What are they actually disputing, if the structural integrity of the car has failed, and you have used parts that are approved by BMW then surely it's a no brainer, also the ACS stuff would still be under some sort of warranty being as it is less than 12 months old.

Steve.