Broken shock mount on E30

Subject: Broken shock mount on E30
From: THE BETTY <inet.co.za@domain.elided>
Date: Thu, 1 Aug 96 12:43 GMT+0200

I was wondering if anybody had had rpoblems with shock mounts. My '85 325's
left rear shock mount has broken aawy from the body. I had a strange
rattling noise like something was loose in the boot. We checked the obvious,
jack secure, spare wheel, toolkit etc., but had no joy. My dad said to check
the shock rubbers. Once we had retracted the carpeting, we could see that
where the "cylinder" through which the shock get bolted onto the car body,
had actually cracked in an upside-down U shape around the shock housing, as
though the "cylinder" was going to come away from the body. I have had my
suspension lowered considerably, and total ground clearance is about 180mm
on the sump cover. This has caused a negative camber of approx 3 degress,
and I am not sure if the cambering has forced the shock away from the side
wall. The suspension is not that stiff, but maybe the angle of the camber is
causing this problem ????? 

What could have caused this, and can it be spot welded, or am I going to
have major problems. PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZE help me !

Regards, Darren
darren@domain.elided