Preventive maintenance for your E34…

[Rick L]

I was helping my friend with the door brake problem on his E34. You know that annoying sound (snap, snap, etc.) when you open and close the door. His doorframe, where the two bolts hold the door brake, had several cracks cause by the door brake. To my surprise, the metal in this area seemed extremely thin and only two bolts hold the door brake. There is good amount of stress put on this area! After many operations or several wild swing of the door caused by a strong wind WILL CAUSE the doorframe to crack. After repairing my friend’s door, I looked at my door and sure enough my door had a crack as well. Here is the solution to prevent the doorframe from cracking. I purchased two extra wide washers (Home Depot washer # 2642) and put the washer between the doorframe and the bolts that hold the door brake. By doing so, the extra wide washers alleviate the doorframe from stress caused by door brake. To make it even stronger, you could put JB Weld between the doorframe and the washers (glue the washer to the doorframe). You will need Torx T30 socket wrench, two washers (Home Depot #2642), and JB Weld (not needed unless cracked but better if you do use it). I think this cheap preventive maintenance could save you the some grief down the road.

Photo below is from Bruno’s site. Note: this person used a small washer but you should use the extra wide washer instead to divert the stress. Also, if you already have the crack, you NEED TO USE JB Weld or other similar product between the doorframe and washers to repair the crack. Hope this helps...