Right supporting arm

[EthanPalmer1]

Hi there, a few questions about this right supporting arm, p/n 11811175592 it has been discontinued and seems no parts stores around here or online such as FCP euro has one. My question is can this part be easily fabricated out of steal if I took it to a fabrication shop? Any DIY ways of making this arm? Any help really at all will help a lot!

[Mike W.]

It can. I put an earlier block in my E28 which didn't have the correct bosses for the motor mount bracket, so I made one. If you're going to have it made and you have the broken one that would make it a lot easier.

A possible option however is the later mount which is much more common and might still be available new, I haven't looked. It's a triangular mount with one bolt hole much higher. Look to see what holes are there. The early one is often used with turbos so if you have one of them the late one probably won't fit.

[EthanPalmer1]

It can. I put an earlier block in my E28 which didn't have the correct bosses for the motor mount bracket, so I made one. If you're going to have it made and you have the broken one that would make it a lot easier.

A possible option however is the later mount which is much more common and might still be available new, I haven't looked. It's a triangular mount with one bolt hole much higher. Look to see what holes are there. The early one is often used with turbos so if you have one of them the late one probably won't fit.

Thank you for this information Mike! I have the old mount so may try to bring it into a fabrication shop and see what they have to say about it.

[Mike W.]

It can. I put an earlier block in my E28 which didn't have the correct bosses for the motor mount bracket, so I made one. If you're going to have it made and you have the broken one that would make it a lot easier.

A possible option however is the later mount which is much more common and might still be available new, I haven't looked. It's a triangular mount with one bolt hole much higher. Look to see what holes are there. The early one is often used with turbos so if you have one of them the late one probably won't fit.

Thank you for this information Mike! I have the old mount so may try to bring it into a fabrication shop and see what they have to say about it.

Check for bolt holes first, IIRC and it's been, ahem, a few, IIRC the triangular one uses the top 2 from yours and an additional one up towards the head. One of the later ones will surely be easier and cheaper than having something fabricated. It would fit the car fine, just maybe or maybe not the engine.

[EthanPalmer1]

Thank you for this information Mike! I have the old mount so may try to bring it into a fabrication shop and see what they have to say about it.

Check for bolt holes first, IIRC and it's been, ahem, a few, IIRC the triangular one uses the top 2 from yours and an additional one up towards the head. One of the later ones will surely be easier and cheaper than having something fabricated. It would fit the car fine, just maybe or maybe not the engine.

Sounds good, I’ll check for bolt holes first before going through the trouble of having someone fabricate one, if a later mount does fit that would save me time and money for sure. I appreciate it.

[kojo96]

The e28 M30 blocks on the Right side have (5) mounting bosses for the engine arms.

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* *
* *
The 535i chassis use the top 3 bosses to mount the arm (triangle), it sits higher. It makes most header installations challenging.

The other M30 arm (early) uses the bottom 4 bosses to mount the arm. Found on early chassis (533i) and the M5. The shape of this arm is also a little different, it slopes downward at the top of the mounting base and allows for a much simpler header installation on the 85+ M30 chassis.

There are none left in existence, anywhere and everyone online that shows them as "in stock" is just using old information, even BMW dealers.

Currently NLA with no date to replenish.

[EthanPalmer1]

The e28 M30 blocks on the Right side have (5) mounting bosses for the engine arms.

---*
* *
* *
The 535i chassis use the top 3 bosses to mount the arm (triangle), it sits higher. It makes most header installations challenging.

The other M30 arm (early) uses the bottom 4 bosses to mount the arm. Found on early chassis (533i) and the M5. The shape of this arm is also a little different, it slopes downward at the top of the mounting base and allows for a much simpler header installation on the 85+ M30 chassis.

There are none left in existence, anywhere and everyone online that shows them as "in stock" is just using old information, even BMW dealers.

Currently NLA with no date to replenish.

This makes since as to why some sites say the 535i arm will fit a 533i but I do believe it only fits the 533i’s made in 04/84 and beyond. My car is currently in my shop about 30 min away from me so I haven't been able to check if the bolt holes are there or not yet, but I do believe my car is a 02/84 meaning it might be to early to have those holes, correct me if I’m wrong though.

[Mike W.]

I would guess a 2-84 production date would be compatible, but I would check before I bought anything.

[EthanPalmer1]

I would guess a 2-84 production date would be compatible, but I would check before I bought anything.

Sounds good, thank you.

[EthanPalmer1]

Managed to get into the shop today and take a picture of the mounting location it seems to me that the top bolt hole is there for the later bracket. Please do correct me if I’m wrong. Thank you all for your help!

Seems I can’t get the picture to work for the life of me.

Here’s the link

https://imgur.com/a/VgrGuGg

[Mike W.]

It's been a few, but that's what I remember it should look like. You might want to chase the threads with a tap before bolting it up. Might just thread right in, but looks a little rusty.

Pictures. The image location, not the page location. I right clicked on the image, open in new tab, copied the address and put it between the img links.

[EthanPalmer1]

It's been a few, but that's what I remember it should look like. You might want to chase the threads with a tap before bolting it up. Might just thread right in, but looks a little rusty.

Pictures. The image location, not the page location. I right clicked on the image, open in new tab, copied the address and put it between the img links.

Sweet thank you for the information Mike. You have been a huge help. And great I’ll be sure to get the picture to work next time.

[Mike W.]

And great I’ll be sure to get the picture to work next time.

Eh, no biggie. It's one of those things that seems complicated and confusing... until you get it and go, oh, that's all? That's easy.