Torn dust cover - shock absorber

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spartacus68

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Joined
Jul 9, 2017
Messages
159
Getting one of the Turbine 428 diamond cut alloys refurbished as it has lacquer damage. BMW won't honour it under warranty, but that's another argument. :shock:

With the front wheel off I noticed the rubber dust cover has a couple tears in it. I'm assuming this is a strut out job to fix. Car is coming up for 3 years in September. Woukd this be covered under warranty or classed as wear and tear. Any things to look out for if strut needs to come out?
 
I feel it should be included in bumper to bumper warranty, just like the door seals or seat stitches.
 
spartacus68 said:
With the front wheel off I noticed the rubber dust cover has a couple tears in it. I'm assuming this is a strut out job to fix. Car is coming up for 3 years in September. Woukd this be covered under warranty or classed as wear and tear. Any things to look out for if strut needs to come out?
Others have reported the poor quality of these dust covers that results in them tearing prematurely. They were replaced under warranty. However, after the warranty has expired, the labor cost would be a fairly expensive. Hopefully, warranty replacement dust covers have been redesigned to last many years. Those of us whose warranties are expiring soon should check these dust covers.
 
Same issue on my 2015 REX. My dust boots are torn much worse. Will have the dealer have a look.
 
Front passenger strut dust cover is cracked, though it's not completely torn yet. My in-service date is December 24th, so I don't think I have enough time to make a warranty claim on it.
 
TheMK said:
Front passenger strut dust cover is cracked, though it's not completely torn yet. My in-service date is December 24th, so I don't think I have enough time to make a warranty claim on it.
If I were you, I'd contact your BMW dealer to notify them of this problem. Even if you can't get a service appointment prior to 24 December, maybe you could stop by your dealer to show them the torn dust cover. Replacing them outside of your warranty would likely be costly because the suspension strut/shock absorber would need to be removed and reinstalled. Not replacing it could shorten the life of the shock absorber due to dirt contamination.
 
I think you'll find that a warranty problem identified prior to the calendar running out is still covered if you can't get an appointment within that window.
 
I got this done under BMW's 3-year warranty, so should be good for another 2-3 years.

One word of warning, and this not related to the shock dust sleeve. Use a little grease on the wheel studs. I changed the car's 428 diamond cut wheels to 427 alloys and winter tyres the other week and the studs were seized. The genuine BMW locking wheel bolts are shocking when you apply any pressure. I know there are die-hards that will advocate that applying a little grease changes the torque level. Maybe, but the wheels aren't going on with an air wrench and you risk a broken wheel nut. I had to go back to BMW to get them to remove one last bolt as they have locking wheel nut master set.
 
checked mine and it's torn :-( 2015 with 23k on the clock. Should be under warranty. Will call BMW soon. Thank you for the info guys.
 
Just prior to the expiration of the 4-year warranty on our 2014 BEV in November, 2018, I checked the shock absorber dust covers. They weren't torn, but they felt stiff (i.e., not very supple). I asked BMW to check them as well during my final free maintenance visit, but the dust covers weren't torn so they weren't replaced. I expect them to tear eventually unless I can do something to extend their lives.

Is there some sort of rubber or plastic treatment that might make these dust covers more supple or that would counteract their degradation? My dust covers aren't exposed to road salt or winter cold, but rubber seems to rot faster in our warm, humid, salty air.
 
Art - you can try some silicone grease. I have some silicone grease in a spray form which would work well. Just cover your brakes when you apply the spray. Wipe off any dirt and debris first. Once the spray is applied, wipe off the excess so it doesn't drip all over everything.

Keep in mind that dust will tend to stick to the surface of the boots. If you do this frequently, you will be able to wipe off the dust and reapply the spray. If you leave it, the dust/grease mixture will become harder to remove.

Is it just the front ones that are failing?
 
Would Armor All be a good choice? There are rubber restorer compounds, but the one I've seen, designed for door seals, would not be able to be used as it is an applicator, not a spray. It would be next to impossible to cover the corrugations.

There's a product called Black Again that might work as well. Mother's has one called Back-to-Black that might work, too.
 
On a car's plastic and rubber I have been using Armor-All's "Outlast" for years. Before the i3, I owned a Honda Element for almost 10 years. One treatment kept the Element's black plastic body/fender panels, and rubber looking like new (and not sticky) for years between applications. First used it after the panels had weathered and faded to almost gray in the Texas heat, and tried several other products. A couple of applications of the Outlast actually renewed the panels.
 
It looks like BMW updated the fronts for the 2014. The new part is identified by an index 03 following the part number e.g., 31336852223-03. I just ordered H&R springs and am going to update the spring pads on the front and back. On the front the top spring pad and boot are all one piece. Will verify part numbers.

Do the rears tear as well?
 
ronin said:
It looks like BMW updated the fronts for the 2014. The new part is identified by an index 03 following the part number e.g., 31336852223-03. I just ordered H&R springs and am going to update the spring pads on the front and back. On the front the top spring pad and boot are all one piece. Will verify part numbers.

Do the rears tear as well?

My rears haven't and I haven't seen many complaints about the rears tearing. Good to know there's an updated part number. Part number indicated for my repair was BM31-33-6-852-223. I didn't see an index reference.
 
I got the 03 index from SI B31 06 14: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2016/MC-10151311-9999.pdf. If you look up p/n 31336852223 on Real OEM there is a note to Observe Service Information Bulletin 59834045. I don't have a copy of that but will double check with the parts department and see what they say. I have 33k miles and had no issues with noise from the suspension or tears (from what I can see) one is riding up a little on the lower pad. The lower pad is also cracking. The rubber does feel quite hard and dry, so I am going to replace all upper / boot and lower spring pad 31336852224 while I have it opened up.

Here's a list of all the parts I ordered:

I. Front Suspension
05 Spring pad with guard tube, top 2 31336852223 (-03)
— Observe Service Information Bulletin 59834045
— New part is identified by an index 03 following the part number
06 Spring pad lower 2 31336852224

II. Rear Suspension
04 Spring pad lower 2 33536852239
05 Auxiliary damper w.protective tube rear 2 33536863322
06 Spring pad upper 2 33536852240
 
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