broken strut tie bar

[der affe]

i have this BMP design front strut tie bar:

http://www.bmpdesign.com/product-exec/product_id/739/category_id/54/search_year/1991/search_model/34

i am told that they break all the time at the strut mounts (on top of the towers).

mine was broken on the pass side mount and opening up wider all the time (although it has stopped getting wider at the crack which is now about 1/8-1/4") now it has a matching crack on the drivers side. the crack is at the weld on the rear plate that goes from the tie bar itself to the mounting plate that goes on the strut tower.

now my question:
what is the design flaw that causes this?
is the angle wrong and it causes the stress to go to a weak point? (it is broken on the top side of the weld, so it is the metal failing not a bad weld)
should i bend it back down and re-weld it, maybe reinforce it a little?

should i leave the gap and weld in a filler for the gap and leave it that way since it has seemed to find it's happy angle/spot?


any help/advice would be appriciated, i am tired of looking at it and would just like to fix it right once.

greg

[der affe]

uuuuummmmmm bump!

[nando]

$100 gets you a new brace - I don't know that fixing yours is worth it, unless you're really attatched to it. If it broke because of a design flaw, it will probably just break again.

oddly enough, you are the third person today I've heard complain about the quality of BMP products.

[der affe]

where can i get one for $100? i am thinking you mean used.
they all seem to be in the $200.00 range

will the mason strut tie clear an m 30 swap?

[DCColegrove]

i have this BMP design front strut tie bar:

http://www.bmpdesign.com/product-exec/product_id/739/category_id/54/search_year/1991/search_model/34

i am told that they break all the time at the strut mounts (on top of the towers).

mine was broken on the pass side mount and opening up wider all the time (although it has stopped getting wider at the crack which is now about 1/8-1/4") now it has a matching crack on the drivers side. the crack is at the weld on the rear plate that goes from the tie bar itself to the mounting plate that goes on the strut tower.

now my question:
what is the design flaw that causes this?
is the angle wrong and it causes the stress to go to a weak point? (it is broken on the top side of the weld, so it is the metal failing not a bad weld)
should i bend it back down and re-weld it, maybe reinforce it a little?

should i leave the gap and weld in a filler for the gap and leave it that way since it has seemed to find it's happy angle/spot?


any help/advice would be appriciated, i am tired of looking at it and would just like to fix it right once.

greg

Flaw in design and build and material quality... That whole low bid thing.

These don't break: http://www.bmwzenperformance.com/products.html