Light front jack point damage - 1 week old 128i

[jayson]

Was doing some crawling around, checking out my factory jack points on my 1-week old 128i, and I noticed that my drivers side joint is a bit chewed up. Anything that I should be concerned about?

[ianc]

That's what inevitably happens when you have PLASTIC jack points.

Definitely a fail on BMW's part...

ianc

[jayson]

I am guessing that there is no easy way to remove / replace these jack points over time.

[Stratos]

Probably the dealer who removed the transport blocks.

What is the problem, its not like they are very visible

[TP 135i]

I read on here somewhere that you can replace these, however, the damage you show in the picture doesn't look like it is anything to worry about.

[jayson]

Originally Posted by TP 135i

I read on here somewhere that you can replace these, however, the damage you show in the picture doesn't look like it is anything to worry about.

Yeah, not really worried about right now - but as time goes on these things will probably get chewed to pieces. Better than it being metal I guess, which would quickly rust in my area.

Originally Posted by Stratos

Probably the dealer who removed the transport blocks.

What is the problem, its not like they are very visible

Just making sure that this is normal (I am slightly anal retentive)

[tgxmike]

There is a replacement DIY for the jack points, check that section.

Also a few good tips are floating around if you are jacking up the car yourself.

Like cutting the sole off a boot and use that.

Rigid foam might work also, but I have not tried on these jack points. (Used that on my old Hyundai Accent....lol)

[SlickShift]

Just wait till you put jack stands under the stock pads. They practically melt.

[tritonx]

How is the OEM jack, useless as always I guess? Would the best option be to make an adapter to fit on a normal garage jack, so not to damage the mounting point?

[mleskovar]

Originally Posted by tritonx

How is the OEM jack, useless as always I guess? Would the best option be to make an adapter to fit on a normal garage jack, so not to damage the mounting point?

There is no OEM jack. I made an adapter out of a hockey puck that fit in my hydraulic jack pad on the bottom and fit in the car jack point at the top. I also made rectangular blocks from hockey pucks (two per puck)that fit in the car jack points to use with jack stands when I rotate the tires (use front and back central jack points to mount these).

[rsjean]

Originally Posted by tritonx

How is the OEM jack, useless as always I guess? Would the best option be to make an adapter to fit on a normal garage jack, so not to damage the mounting point?

Not cheap but she's worth it, so I bought it for her.

[Cris]

Or you can just measure the space in the jacking point, cut blocks using a 2x4, and voila! They work wonders and it's practically free if you find a 2x4 laying around!

[tritonx]

2X4, I love it, I sure will try.

[rsjean]

Originally Posted by Cris

Or you can just measure the space in the jacking point, cut blocks using a 2x4, and voila! They work wonders and it's practically free if you find a 2x4 laying around!

My jack stands have a deep 'v' at the top and they split over a dozen of these nifty little 2x4 gems. A couple of times the split caused the 2 halves to slide and the jack stand slid. That's why I finally decided I'd had enough makeshift and got the 'Cadillac' of inserts for the BMW!

[ianc]

I still don't understand the logic behind this idiocy.

My 87 911 had 4 nice welded-on flat sheet metal pads for use with a normal jack or a lift in addition to the dedicated jack points for use with the OEM jack.

What is this nonsense with no jack included and PLASTIC jack points? WTF would anyone (much less BMW) give the green light on such a retarded design? What is the purpose of PLASTIC load-bearing jack points? Surely it would be cheaper just to design something into the sheet metal that didn't deform, break, require a separate part #, adapter and PISS PEOPLE OFF.

/rant

ianc

[rsjean]

Nailed! We can debate all day what's the best 'adaptor' for the jack point but you've nailed it right on. There should be no need for an adaptor in the first place.

Originally Posted by ianc

I still don't understand the logic behind this idiocy.

My 87 911 had 4 nice welded-on flat sheet metal pads for use with a normal jack or a lift in addition to the dedicated jack points for use with the OEM jack.

What is this nonsense with no jack included and PLASTIC jack points? WTF would anyone (much less BMW) give the green light on such a retarded design? What is the purpose of PLASTIC load-bearing jack points? Surely it would be cheaper just to design something into the sheet metal that didn't deform, break, require a separate part #, adapter and PISS PEOPLE OFF.

/rant

ianc

[mleskovar]

Originally Posted by ianc

... What is the purpose of PLASTIC load-bearing jack points? ....

They are not load bearing, their purpose is to properly and quickly position the jack pad and keep it from moving during lift. My MB has identical jack points. They are designed to make it more efficient and safer during dealer repairs. The expectation is that you would never have to even use them in the BMW although the MB jack fits perfectly (and has a spare ).

[ianc]

They are not load bearing

Ummm... They're bearing the weight of the car, aren't they?

their purpose is to properly and quickly position the jack pad and keep it from moving during lift ... They are designed to make it more efficient and safer during dealer repairs.

That's all fine. I'm still waiting for the explanation of why PLASTIC was the best design choice for this?

And where's my jack?

ianc

[mleskovar]

Originally Posted by ianc

Ummm... They're bearing the weight of the car, aren't they?...

No. Look at them closer and you'll find they are hollow and the pressure point is inside up against the frame. You don't understand them so just pass on commenting.

[ianc]

Look at them closer and you'll find they are hollow and the pressure point is inside up against the frame. You don't understand them so just pass on commenting.

The fact that you're trying to defend a PLASTIC jack point means you don't really understand my beef, so maybe you should just refrain from commenting on it. Thanks for playing...

ianc

[aerobod]

Originally Posted by ianc

The fact that you're trying to defend a PLASTIC jack point means you don't really understand my beef, so maybe you should just refrain from commenting on it. Thanks for playing...

ianc

The plastic jack points are just locators. The advantage compared with a welded point is that if you hit a curb or road debris they will either be ground down (like the OPs seem to have been) or will sheer off. A welded point would transfer the impact into the rocker panel, causing damage to the metal underneath. The plastic jack locators are cheap (~ $10) and easy to replace. If you don't like them, you can pull out the attachment rivet in the centre and take them off very easily, to expose the reinforced frame lifting point underneath (which the plastic blocks protect from scuffing and rusting).

[ianc]

The plastic jack points are just locators. The advantage compared with a welded point is that if you hit a curb or road debris they will either be ground down (like the OPs seem to have been) or will sheer off. A welded point would transfer the impact into the rocker panel, causing damage to the metal underneath.

Yes. Believe it or not, I am aware of that.

What you are not seeing is that jack\lift points (and anything else for that matter) must be designed to fulfill a certain amount of reasonable criteria to function effectively.

They probably work well for the limited use of allowing the dealer to safely raise and lower the car with the specialized lifting equipment they possess, so they could be said to meet that criterion.

How about other criteria of allowing the car to be safely, non-destructively jacked and raised on a lift by owners\facilities who possess only industry standard equipment? In this, BMW has clearly failed, and it's a shame, because it would have been easy for them to meet both requirements had they considered them a little more carefully before deciding to implement PLASTIC jack points.

For myself, I couldn't give a rat's ass if BMW dealers can easily raise the car. How about Joe Owner (like myself) who needs to raise the car in his garage to change wheels or oil and must purchase specialized equipment to avoid damaging the silly PLASTIC jacking points? This condition might have been mitigated to a certain extent if BMW had provided the appropriate jack or adapter(s) to raise the car. Even my 1960 beetle had one, but I guess that's too much to expect in a 40K$ automobile...

Again, for the dealers it's fine, but as a workable solution for lifting the car safely and non-destructively in any other conditions, it's a miserable failure. If you are happy with that, fine. I am not.

ianc