Towbars

[gjm 3258]

A tow car is a great start, but it'll need a bar to hook things to.

My Touring has had a towbar fitted at some point, a fact confirmed by my having a receipt for the purchase and fitment of a custom item. Sadly it's not there now, just a small piece of plastic cutaway showing where it was. No brace, crossbar or mounting or anything.

So, I'm on the lookout for a towbar. The question here is: what will fit?

In a perfect world I'll find an E46 Touring being broken for spares, and get the parts from that. However, the world is far from perfect.

Would a towbar from another model fit? Perhaps from an E36?

I'm not looking to haul anything serious on a regular basis.

[yng_750 247]

i have a good towbar from an e46 sedan.

not sure if it is interchangable with touring.

will have a look at how its mounted in a couple of hours when i get home and let you know how it looks.

edit: looks like they are interchangable with some brands so i guess it depends how its mounted.

will confirm shortly.(im suspicious mine is a factory item.)

Edited January 10, 2014 by jason H

[gjm 3258]

i have a good towbar from an e46 sedan.

not sure if it is interchangable with touring.

will have a look at how its mounted in a couple of hours when i get home and let you know how it looks.

edit: looks like they are interchangable with some brands so i guess it depends how its mounted.

will confirm shortly.(im suspicious mine is a factory item.)

I'll do some poking around too and see if I can find any more info, but please let me (us) know what you find.

Might your towbar currently be 'resting', or looking for a new home....?

[yng_750 247]

just had a look and mine loops under the bumper and bolts behind the factory bumper mounts.

some aftermarket ones look like they replace the entire bumper framing but this one seem to sit behind it.

should be looking for a home if it suits

[yng_750 247]

http://parts.bmwofsouthatlanta.com/products/BMW-3-Series-E21-E30-E36-E46-E90-E91-E92-E93/Carrier--bumper-rear-8-KMH-=-5-MPH/1322626/51128195324.html

so the bumper frame fits between coupe, sedan and touring so the mounting of this towbar should fit.
it appears they have cut a small section from the bottom of the bumper to fit but this bumper seems to have an extended lower valance for the PDC anyway so may not need the cut.

i have taken some photos as below, even circled what part is towbar in red haha

all shots of the mounts are of the left side mount above the muffler as the othe side is blocked.

the towball sit about level with the mounts despite looking quite tall its just because it drops so much behind the bumper. so eepect it to sit about level with the center of the bumper.

can include wiring as well. PM me

[gjm 3258]

Thanks Jason. That's looks promising. And thanks for going to the trouble of the pics and the red lines.

I'll take another look under the back of my car but I anticipate that when the towbar and mounting was removed, so was the wiring.

[MoJoJoe 46]

I have a e36 towbar, the kind that screws on. I was planning to reuse it on my next car but you can have it if you like?

[gjm 3258]

I've just checked RealOEM for my car against an E36 328i coupe, and the towbar fittings are definitely different there: the E36 appears to have a much longer pair of rails running forward from the outside ends of the main beam that fits across the back of the car.

[MoJoJoe 46]

There is this green 540i in Hamilton I got saved on my watchlist, its got a tow bar. If I buy it you can have that if you can take it off.

car in question http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=684192294

[gjm 3258]

There is this green 540i in Hamilton I got saved on my watchlist, its got a tow bar. If I buy it you can have that if you can take it off.

car in question http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=684192294

The side mounting plates on the towbars fitted to an E34 are bolted vertically - the E46 and E36 bolt from the sides.

I'd not be surprised to find each model has it's own unique towbar mounting method. Disappointed, but not surprised.

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2959]

Be careful, the lock of the rear hatch interferes with the fitment of some coupe or sedan tow bars. Just ask me how I know.

You can get around it with packers and longer mounts if you can be bothered to stuff about but still a little bit dodgy if you don't get it quite right.

I have a full factory (Westphalia) trailer wiring kit if you are interested. Connects into the PDC and lights, etc.

[Phil-540i 166]

I have a e36 towbar, the kind that screws on. I was planning to reuse it on my next car but you can have it if you like?

You've got a towbar, on a 318 auto............??!!! Sick f#cker................that's like turning a slow car, into a mobile chicane

[MoJoJoe 46]

You've got a towbar, on a 318 auto............??!!! Sick f#cker................that's like turning a slow car, into a mobile chicane

too many fly's in my house, had to start getting rid of some dead bodies and drive them up the caves near allan's place. mostly body parts of young curious whores and intoxicated tourists I accumulated over the years. So I figured why not use my tow + my bmw so no one suspects...

the towbar has another use too. you put it on your front beam/bumper and no one ever reverses into your car without making a nice 3" hole in their rear bumper.