Spot welds popped...

[BostonGreenZ3]

Hi everyone

Unfortunately I wasn't aware of the Z3M spot weld problem

The car I have just bought has got six spot welds which have popped in the boot

I have to say, I feel slightly upset about this

I believe the diff has to be lowered to repair this problem properly??

Any advice on this procedure would be greatly appreciated

Thank you

Shirley

[Brian H]

Hi Shirley,

Sorry to hear of your popped spot welds, I had them on a car a few years back so can appreciate your feelings.

Let me start by saying that your car can be fixed and made good again so try not to worry too much, there are quite a few horror stories out there.

The repair process is quite involved and if you can try and find a company that has experience in fixing these cars it will help, the cost to repair will really depend upon the current state of the failed welds, cross member etc. this will need to be determined after a thorough examination.

Hopefully someone will be along shortly to recommend a garage/body shop in your area.

Good luck

[BostonGreenZ3]

Hi Brian

Thank you for your reply

Yes, I searched the internet and came across quite a few horror stories

My other half who is a aircraft engineer/rally car boy is going to have a good look underneath the car tomorrow, luckily for me this is something which he can repair, strengthen, weld and make good

I've managed to find some other related posts and some videos too which will be a great help

Sorry to hear you've been through the same experience, very dis-heartening isn't it

Shirley

[Davejue1]

Hi, I'm sure I've read recently on here there's a firm in Wakefield I think that have done a few of these on the forum. A figure of £300 is in the back of my mind. I'm sure someone will be along to confirm or correct me. I really should check mine, I've never looked at them! Fingers crossed!

Cheers
Dave

[Brian H]

.......
My other half who is a aircraft engineer/rally car boy is going to have a good look underneath the car tomorrow, luckily for me this is something which he can repair, strengthen, weld and make good.........

Your off to a great start if you can fix in house, a few members have sorted this issue, Deano1712 and Pingu spring to mind.

Some info from their posts below.

Deano1712 :- http://www.zroadster.net/forum/viewtopi ... 90#p177690

Pingu: - http://www.zroadster.net/forum/viewtopi ... 66#p343266

HTH

[BostonGreenZ3]

Hi, I'm sure I've read recently on here there's a firm in Wakefield I think that have done a few of these on the forum. A figure of £300 is in the back of my mind. I'm sure someone will be along to confirm or correct me. I really should check mine, I've never looked at them! Fingers crossed!

Cheers
Dave

Thank you for your reply Dave

Best check your spot welds sooner rather than later, hope they will be OK

Shirley

[BostonGreenZ3]

.......
My other half who is a aircraft engineer/rally car boy is going to have a good look underneath the car tomorrow, luckily for me this is something which he can repair, strengthen, weld and make good.........

Your off to a great start if you can fix in house, a few members have sorted this issue, Deano1712 and Pingu spring to mind.

Some info from their posts below.

Deano1712 :- http://www.zroadster.net/forum/viewtopi ... 90#p177690

Pingu: - http://www.zroadster.net/forum/viewtopi ... 66#p343266

HTH

Thank you so much for the useful links, very much appreciated

My other half has inspected my car today, and fortunately its not as bad as feared

A few spot welds have pulled and there is a very minor slight crack in the channel by the diff

Looks like we have caught it in the very early stages of this design fault

As a temporary measure (until the work can be carried out) aircraft spec bolts have been put in to pull it back into position




Work will be started tomorrow, depending on the weather


Shirley

[Jonttt]

Make sure you check the diff bracket carefully, it usually has a small split and can be hard to spot unless you check specifically.

Most are not a big job to sort out

[siwilson]

Sorry to hear this Shirley. Popped spot welds and a cracked diff bracket will be a reality for almost all Z3 owners at some point. They key thing is to catch it early (which you have) and get a decent fix done. After that its really no big deal and nothing to worry about.

In addition to this fix I would haves some urethane subframe bushes fitted such as these from Ireland Engineering. They reduce subframe movement which helps handling, but more importantly there is evidence it reduces the stress in the diff mount.

[c_w]

That bolt fix is probably good enough for a while yet - just check the chassis rail that leads back to front just hidden under the carpet on the left. That often cracks along there it gets worse. Mine popped a few in the area you've fixed which is where the diff mount gets pulled down; they never really fail from middle to the right hand side.

[BostonGreenZ3]

Thank you everyone for your replies and the link

Haven't got round to the repair yet, weather has been awful