What does this thing do?

[997_rich]

it's a bracket mounted on the bottom of the bellhousing support on the bottom of the engine.

On the microfiche it says this is some kind of a "stop" but I can't see what it might stop. it's close to the anti-roll bar but that doesn't seem right. The microfiche shows a rubber stop but mine didn't have it.

I took it off when I did my oil pan gasket and I haven't seen any ill effects.

[travish325]

I can't remember but it may be an exhaust bracket or stop

[Sagaris]

Its a snubber that keeps your engine and trans mounts from shearing off during hard braking. The rubber piece comes into contact with the back of the subframe when the mounts flex enough.

[dashboardmonkey]

^ this

[jeffnhiscars]

Its a snubber that keeps your engine and trans mounts from shearing off during hard braking. The rubber piece comes into contact with the back of the subframe when the mounts flex enough.

I wonder how many radiators were eaten before they thought of this and is it really a "snubber" or did you make that up

[dougie30]

is it necessary? because im pretty sure iv never had one

[Sagaris]

I wonder how many radiators were eaten before they thought of this and is it really a "snubber" or did you make that up

no need for the rolleyes smiley hahah

yes, the word snubber is sometimes used to describe a bump stop or energy absorber.

No it is not technically needed in order to operate the vehicle but you can't get angry if you end up shearing your engine or trans mounts or stuffing the fan blades into the radiator.

[sfinsf]

put the damn thing back on! just because you can't figure out what the hell it does, does not mean it should be removed. BMW engineering did not evolve in a vacuum, I have yet to come across something on any of the various models that I have worked on that was not thought out. Granted, there is some redundancy.....

[TobyB]

2002 engines go through the radiator sometimes.

Because not have this!

t

[Hani]

What does this thing do?

The Drive train Buffer is bolted to the underside of the oil pan/bell housing area as you have discovered. It consists of a small metal arm with a rubber buffer snapped into the end. Under hard braking this rubber buffer pad snubs up against the backside of the sub-frame and prevents the engine from sliding forward while braking hard. This is a very important piece especially if the car is auto-crossed. I broke a few engine mounts before I figured out that this rubber piece was missing from the arm and how important it is to have it.

If this metal arm is not there, or if the arm is there but the rubber buffer is missing, the engine can move forward enough to shear the engine mounts even if they are still in decent shape (I've seen this on various E30 at auto-crosses).

Also, if the car is an 84-87 6-cylinder model then the lower radiator hose gets cut by the power steering pump pulley when the engine shifts forward. For the 88-93 E30s BMW redesigned the hose routing and radiator to prevent this hose-cutting problem of the earlier cars. I've also seen (and heard of) cars where the engine slid so far forward that the fan chewed up the radiator after the engine mounts sheared (possible on all years).

This thing takes a lot of abuse and I lose a few per year so I always keep a spare buffer in the glovebox.

HTH :)

[bmwguy325is]

Im sure derlin motor mounts can fix this problem.....