From digest.v7.n1557 Mon Apr 20 21:07:37 1998
From: Steven J Bernstein <stevenb_at_garageboy.com>
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 20:07:14 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: RE: Solution: <E28> YIKES, broken seat mooring point (long)

John writes:

>> Sorry to keep posting BMW content like this, but has anyone else had
>>their seat fastening points in the floor of the car crack up and fall
>>apart?

John, please stop posting BMW content. It's people like you that are REALLY pissing me off! You're starting to ruin this list!!! We're here to discuss M-badges!!

8^)

Just teasing. In fact, I just had this work done - I use the car for driving schools, autocross, and ice racing, and can't take chances. Mine failed *precisely* like yours. I wanted to replace the cross member that holds the front "mooring points", figuring that was my best chance at having the holes lined up properly. This was on my 83 528e with 289k miles (that's 462k km for you high mileage buffs). I originally called my favorite parts guy, who can get ANYTHING on the US or Euro fiches, and he told me that BMW doesn't sell the cross member because if you need one of those (like from an accident), their attitude is: replace the car! Therefore, I went to a bodyshop that is literally one-in-a-million. I can't reveal his name - I already told you too much! Believe it or not, he's in NYC, and is probably one of a half-dozen shops in the USA that does factory-equivalent work. He fabricated the pieces and welded them in place. It was worth EVERY penny I spent with him, because the bolts still finger-roll right in just like before - he aligned everything PERFECTLY!! Of course, he used the factory threaded "nuts" and it all welded together correctly.

My opinion - rip everything in your passenger compartment apart yourself (remove the seats, console, trim) to save yourself some money if you are so inclined, and find a bodyshop that you trust. I walked out of quite a few places that didn't inspire confidence. Once I saw this shop I spoke of (thanks, Chet), I was utterly confident in his abilities (if you know me, you know how hard it is to please me). Some fellow digesters stated that any bodyshop can do the work. Well, any shop can weld, but with an important safety item like this, I wouldn't take chances. With those other shops, I had visions of struggling with the seats every time I removed them (this occurs more often than you might think).

REMEMBER, THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SAFETY ITEMS ON YOU CAR. It doesn't matter HOW good your seatbelt is if your seat prematurely rips out of the floor on impact! Do NOT drive the car until this is repaired!! It is NOT SAFE!

Good luck,
.steve.
p.s. if/when you pull up the carpet and discover rust and other various water-soaked pieces, you will probably want to deal with it before it gets out of control (ask me why I know this 8^)). While the car is off the road, use some "De-moist" or other dessicant equivalent to dry things out. I was AMAZED at how it completely removed puddles from under the carpet and dried everything out beautifully. I left a bag of the stuff in strategic places under the carpet, and in a couple days, each section dried out completely. After it's dry, treat the rusted areas on the floorpan with POR-15 if necessary!
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