Damaged lip and oil cooler - Need repair recommendations

[panzer948]

I have been lucky to avoid doing any real damage to my front end till today. I have a Lightweight front lip with a mild drop. I have had this configuration for just over one year. On my way back home from vacation I went across a railroad crossing in a small town with an awkward dip/incline and bam. I pulled over immediately and saw the damage. The jolt was hard enough to somehow warp my oil cooler behind the front lip. It took me another hour to get home from here, which is where I took the attached pics. The lower oil cooler is normally horizontal directly behind the lower bumper (basically hiding it from a view of the front), now it is bent up near the center (gray/sliver frame just behind the front grill).

So was thinking of ordering a replacement front lip since I do not think the lip itself caused the damage (lip appeared to have been pulled down and is now bowed in at the center). I think the low lying (impact) area not only pulled my lip down but the angle somehow impacted the oil cooler and pushed that area up. If the lip did somehow cause my cooler to be bend like it did then I may hesitate to replace it and maybe just get it back to stock. Has anyone seen this kind of damage before and if so could it be from lip being pulled back into the cooler?

The bigger question is what to do about my now bent oil cooler. I am not throwing any codes and have been home a few hours now and see no sign of leaks. I called and a replacement is like $500 and there is no way they will cover this under warranty Should I consider seeing if this could be simply pulled back into position. If the latter, could I be jeopardizing oil cooling performance? Maybe a solution to that is to simply monitor oil cooling to see if I do have a problem. Would hate to find out when really pushing the car. But to be honest, I have yet to track it and only occasionally participated in some serious long term punishment (taken it to Tail of the Dragon twice).

Thanks for any advice!

[Wah]

Are you sure the oil cooler itself is bent? I wouldn't take a chance.... If it springs a leak at the wrong time, your engine is toast. Get it inspected and replaced if necessary. You can always run it through your insurance company if the repair estimate is too high.

[alex2364]

Get it inspected at a dealer or body shop and make an insurance claim if it's more than your deductible. I don't know why you're even thinking about handling this yourself.

[panzer948]

Originally Posted by alex2364

Get it inspected at a dealer or body shop and make an insurance claim if it's more than your deductible. I don't know why you're even thinking about handling this yourself.

Not handling this myself, but getting options. I have already called a local dealer and a local BMW independent repair specialist.

Good points about the insurance. Will wait to see more. But I have to say this should be a concern for all of us. When I dragged bottom and stopped to look; at the most was expecting a little scrape on my lip. Not this. If it can happen to me it can happen to anyone.

[AIRHEIR]

Oil cooler is less than $400..get it replaced. Same thing happened to me and I swapped it out...

Gotta be careful with that thing

--I got the following changed:
1. Oil cooler, Oil cooler guard, Right and Left bottom cover
with install about $1100

[stilljester]

Sorry for the bad luck on the RR crossing. I would replace the oil cooler. Even if it's not leaking today it's a critical part and given the likely failure mode (sudden) I wouldn't risk it.

[UH_TX]

Like what other said get it replaced. I and another member hit something in our neighborhood and had to replace both coolers. Get the Fall line guard. https://ind-distribution.com/product?sku=FLM-F8X-3FSKID

This is a poor placement design and protection by BMW.

[panzer948]

Originally Posted by UH_TX

Like what other said get it replaced. I and another member hit something in our neighborhood and had to replace both coolers. Get the Fall line guard. https://ind-distribution.com/product?sku=FLM-F8X-3FSKID

This is a poor placement design and protection by BMW.

Wow, thanks for the link. This little bump in the road is going to cost me well north of a grand! All for a car that still runs great. I am still going to get it checked out be a professional first.

[jballs16]

My cooler bent up like that from a can in the road. A crushed soda can at about 65mph, broke through the plastic underneath and hit the cooler. I even have a dashcam and double checked to see what I hit.

[panzer948]

Originally Posted by jballs16

My cooler bent up like that from a can in the road. A crushed soda can at about 65mph, broke through the plastic underneath and hit the cooler. I even have a dashcam and double checked to see what I hit.

Actually, it could have been something like that in this case. I swear I saw a water bottle there too but it was to late to avoid it. Who knows. My wife reminded me I hit a couple of pot holes on an earlier short cut I took. The more I think of it the more I am convinced that the road damaged both the lip and the cooler at same time. The lip being push back could not have done this to the cooler. That plastic beneath the cooler is also pushed up.

[skyline408]

Ouch.

[horsepower_and_hounds]

Just what I was going to suggest, IND makes that cooler cover. Not sure how that would have helped you in a front end hit. I have to be very careful on railroad crossings. The car starts to bounce and it digs into the drops. You just have springs so it is probably softer then my coil overs. I can explain in person......

[panzer948]

Originally Posted by ehagerty

Just what I was going to suggest, IND makes that cooler cover. Not sure how that would have helped you in a front end hit. I have to be very careful on railroad crossings. The car starts to bounce and it digs into the drops. You just have springs so it is probably softer then my coil overs. I can explain in person......

Yep, ironically, I had just installed a dashcam a couple of days earlier and just now went back to watch the crossing. That's a good explanation of what it did... dig into the drop near the center. I also saw that water bottle in the road but that did not cause the problem as the impact occurred just before the bottle.

The crazy thing is I had gone across that same RR track about 3 weeks earlier with no problem. Only difference was more luggage and a 5 year old. I guess the extra weight was enough. Just so you know, this is where it happened! This is the new shortcut to the beaches so want to warn all my Charlotte area friends!

[phyek]

I would 100% get that fixed ASAP. You either pay ~$1K or $40K for a new engine. Your call.

[TrevorM3]

even with the IND cover the car is still susceptible to debri hitting the cooler (rocks etc)


shaker looks great btw.


I realize I contributed nothing to this thread.

[swifty]

Originally Posted by TrevorM3

even with the IND cover the car is still susceptible to debri hitting the cooler (rocks etc)

How accurate is this as I was going to spring for the iND cover.

[rakusak]

Originally Posted by swifty

How accurate is this as I was going to spring for the iND cover.

Same. It's not a cheap cover....

If all i need is wire mesh, HD or Lowes has that for less...

[Kossos]

Originally Posted by rakusak

Same. It's not a cheap cover....

If all i need is wire mesh, HD or Lowes has that for less...

I was worried about small debris as well. My plan is to get the IND cover and add wire mesh inside.

[rakusak]

Originally Posted by Kossos

I was worried about small debris as well. My plan is to get the IND cover and add wire mesh inside.

Yeah. I consider the mesh + cover as 'cheap' preventative maintenance... new oil cooler... not so 'cheap'.

[rakusak]

Originally Posted by panzer948

Yep, ironically, I had just installed a dashcam a couple of days earlier and just now went back to watch the crossing. That's a good explanation of what it did... dig into the drop near the center. I also saw that water bottle in the road but that did not cause the problem as the impact occurred just before the bottle.

The crazy thing is I had gone across that same RR track about 3 weeks earlier with no problem. Only difference was more luggage and a 5 year old. I guess the extra weight was enough. Just so you know, this is where it happened! This is the new shortcut to the beaches so want to warn all my Charlotte area friends!

Note to self: only travel with either 5 year old or luggage... never both.

[Kossos]

Originally Posted by rakusak

Yeah. I consider the mesh + cover as 'cheap' preventative maintenance... new oil cooler... not so 'cheap'.

Not just the oil cooler, the entire engine. There have been a couple of people that have had their enitre engine replaced because it pumped all the oil out and smoked the engine before they could pull over and turn it off.

Not too keen that BMW put the oil cooler down there and the only thing between it and the road is a piece of plastic.

[16M3]

I recognize tons of engineering has gone into the oil cooler/engine design etc. However has anyone who owns this car ever had the oil cooler repositioned? Could it be done, is it feasible? I have in the past seen oil coolers on other cars adjacent and parallel to the radiator or on top of the engine..albeit with a functional hood scoop, but you get the gist of my question.