WARNING....SPLASH SHIELD CAUSES RUST TO SUB-FRAME!

[craigsx5]

What a disaster.....!

A couple of weeks ago, I accidentally dropped a hose clip down into the engine bay. Looking from the top of the engine bay, I couldn't find it anywhere! So, I decided to look underneath and figured it may be sitting on the topside of the engine splash-shield/guard.

So, after removing the 14 bolts/screws from the shield, and dropping it down, I finally found the clip. But what else I found was shocking!

The whole of the front of the sub-frame and the splash tray mounting-bar had been heavily rusted. In fact, the front mounting bracket for the LHS torsion strut (lower control arm) had completely rusted away! (see photos 1 and 2 attached).

How did this happen? Well.........it turns out that the plastic splash-shield has moulded wells in it, which are mounted flush around the front of the sub-frame (large bar and control arm mounting bracket); and the splash-shield mounting bar. Also, the bumper acts as a funnel for rain water, to flow onto the topside of the splash-shield.

BOTH OF THESE PLASTIC WELLS HOLD POOLS OF WATER, AND HAVE NO DRAIN HOLES! ANOTHER BMW DESIGN FAULT? If you live near a beachside suburb like I do, or drive on salt-laden roads in the winter, these wells could be full of salty water!

Anyway, to fix it, I had to buy a rust-free sub-frame from a wrecking yard and have the rusted section cut out and replaced by an expert welder.

The whole procedure took about 2 weeks to organise and about $700 to repair. I spent about 4 hours removing and replacing the splash-shield, splash-shield support bar, brake/transmission cooling duct and bumper. All caused by having no drain-holes in the splash shield....NOT HAPPY!

Needless to say............ my splash shield now has 4 new drain-holes to clear the pooling water away from the frame components (see picture 3.)

This is a warning for other e53 owners. If your X5 is around 10 years old, you should remove your splash-shield, check for rust on the metal frame and create some drainage points.

Let me know if you have experienced a similar problem.