Driver door stay/stop Re enforcement

[mc625569]

Hello,

The sheet metal in my drivers door that holds the door brake/stop is damaged to the point that the bolt holes won't properly hold the door stop mechanism and support the weight of the door.

I have no experience with welding/or sheet metal. Are there any pre-fabricated reenforcement plates for this?

Something like the Porsche kits here

Is anyone aware of an e30 type product like this?

Or aside from taking it to a body shop, which in my area will probably be 500 minimum, any ideas on the best way to repair?

I don't want to find a new door, since I don't want to pay for a repaint.

-MC

[AndrewBird]

This is a common problem in E34s. Perhaps the plates made for those will fit the E30? Either that or make up your own.

While searching for the E34 plate, I came across a company that makes one for the E30:

http://www.bmw-stuff.com/proddetail.asp?prod=drpe30

[lukeADE335i]

Nice find! My drivers door has let go completely in that area due to metal fatigue, so I've been driving without the door brake for years. Might have to order one.

[mc625569]

This is a common problem in E34s. Perhaps the plates made for those will fit the E30? Either that or make up your own.

While searching for the E34 plate, I came across a company that makes one for the E30:

http://www.bmw-stuff.com/proddetail.asp?prod=drpe30

Thank yo u! this was what I was looking for.

I just ordered one. I hope my door panel can be saved, its quite tweaked.

[mc625569]

Update. The Reinforcement plates from Koala motorsports solved my problem.

For 15 bucks I bolted this into place and voila I was able to install a door brake.
It is always so satisfying to find an inexpensive purpose built niche product to solve the exact problem you hare having.

[jtheilbrun]

Update. The Reinforcement plates from Koala motorsports solved my problem.

For 15 bucks I bolted this into place and voila I was able to install a door brake.
It is always so satisfying to find an inexpensive purpose built niche product to solve the exact problem you hare having.

I'm having a similar problem. If I hook up the door brake to the door it makes a very loud popping noise when opening and closing the door. I believe this is because a weld has broken loose inside the car side of the pillar. Any idea if this would fix that as well?

[mc625569]

If you have a bad weld on the car frame vs a torn up door itself, then I can't see how this would help you.

I'm having a similar problem. If I hook up the door brake to the door it makes a very loud popping noise when opening and closing the door. I believe this is because a weld has broken loose inside the car side of the pillar. Any idea if this would fix that as well?

[jtheilbrun]

If you have a bad weld on the car frame vs a torn up door itself, then I can't see how this would help you.

Thanks for the response, now it makes sense. I kept looking at the pictures and knew I was missing something. And now I realize these go on the door not the frame side!