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| Message: | You will not believe or might believe what happened to my differential mount on my Roadster. IT HAS CRACKED!!! Last Saturday, after driving with my girlfriend Cindy on the Blue Ridge Parkway and having a picnic, we were driving home and I heard a noise when we were driving over small expansion joints in the road, she did not hear it. I was able to determine it came from the rear of the car. I needed gas, so we pulled into a gas station to fill the tank. While my car was drinking, I started to look over the back end of the car to see if I could find anything loose. I did not immediately see anything (Note, it was already late at night and the sun had set), but still could hear a small noise when I hit the rear left tire. Looking around, I did not see any thing loose. Temporary satisfied that my car would not fall apart for the drive home. We left for home. That Sunday, I put my car up and pulled the rear wheels off to see what I could see. Not finding anything, I pulled both rear brake caliper units off the wheel. I cleaned and reassembled them. I took a quick ride and still heard the sound, but not as loud. Good I thought. So I parked her. I wanted to mull around in my brain on what could be wrong. Monday, I am at work and in the back of my mind, still thinking of what I could have missed. I decided to go home for lunch. So, during lunch, I go home. Put my car on stands and crawl under her to see what I could see. With my strong halogen work light in hand I saw it. A crack in the differential mount! Starts from the right side to the left, approximately 3-inches long, it is located on the first bend from the rear cross member. Check out my website for photos. I also reviewed the whole underside of the car and did not see any additional cracks. Remembering a post on MZ3.net, I headed back to work to do a search. Finding it, I started communication with Dave Alsabery, because he has experienced this same issue. The only difference is that he hit something on the road to cause this crack. Since his repair, he has put on 18,000 miles, including autocrossing, with no new cracks. Some Facts: 1. I did not hit anything on the road 2. I do have a Da ‘Lan hidden trailer hitch 3. I do have a small trailer to pull my racing wheels, tires & equipment to Autocrossing events. Gross weight approximately 300# 4. I have aftermarket suspension system 5. I drive Deal’s Gap more than most Z3’ers 6. My car is a 2000 model that I purchased in 1999. 7. My car has over 50,000 miles What to do: Since this will NOT be a warrantee item, due to the things I have done to the car. I need to fix it my self, by either welding the crack, replacing the differential mount or make a mount that is stronger than stock. I plan to design and build a stronger than stock differential mount. I have a few drawings done on AutoCAD. I will keep everyone updated on this issue. Contact me if you have any questions. | ||||
| Link: | Nathan's Z3 homepage | ||||
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