[luckyblack]

Here are my symptoms:

Popping sound coming from front passenger side on take off (leaving from a stoplight).

When going over speed bumps i get a nasty crunch sound on the front passenger side. (hopefully not a shock)

When making a left Uturn with the wheel fully locked i get a rubbing sound in the front right. ( might not be related to other symptoms) Suspected wheel bearing but could be related to ball joint?

Thanks in advance. I know these things are hard to pinpoint without seeing the car but my local indy is a lot cheaper if i go in knowing what to replace.

[feuer]

Strut mount or strut.

[boro92]

Strut/strut mount is a good guess.
If a ball joint is going, you may feel it in the wheel. It's very easy to pin point.
Just go to your indy (or jack up the car yourself) and yank on the components - you will find where the play is. The indy shouldn't be charging much (if at all) for this. They are going to bill you for parts + install anyways

I would check/replace end links first; easiest/cheapest part that's usually the source of popping/clunking.

[Wolf 335]

What feuer and FCobra94 said

[luckyblack]

thanks for the replies guys. I was hoping you wouldnt say strut. With the crunch sound when going over speed bumps i am leaning towards strut or shock? Maybe its a good time to upgrade them.

I know shocks and struts are different but do the same thing. When looking up struts i come up with a lot shocks for my car.

These "shocks" come up around $100 each. Would this be the best way to go? or am i looking at the wrong thing?

I would like to add that when i push down on front of car it is easily pushed down on both sides on the front. I hear like a rubber on rubber sound coming from drivers side. Im not sure how much play should occur when pushing.

[Wolf 335]

Front "shocks" are correctly referred to as Struts, and the spring is mounted around it.

Rear shocks are simply referred to as shocks, and the spring is normally seated away from the shock itself.

Price of the shocks is marginally cheaper than the struts. Simply because the strut component is engineered differently with the ability to handle a bigger load, etc.

You may want to check for any oil that may be present on the struts and shocks as that will be an indicator that they are on their last breath.

Seems that you are new to this whole thing so I would strongly suggest you take you car in to a professional for further inspection of all front end suspension components for wear (no offense). Something as simple as a broken stab-bar link (as mentioned above by another user) can create lots of noise.

Also use realoem.com to search for correct part numbers for you specific VIN.

Cheers

[luckyblack]

Thank you, that is great info.

I just measured front wheel gap on suspect side and compared. Passenger side is sitting at least half an inch lower.

How much should i expect to pay at indy for two front struts and an alignment? My tire on that side is already wearing prematurely on that side

Originally Posted by Wolf 335

Front "shocks" are correctly referred to as
Struts, and the spring is mounted around it.

Rear shocks are simply referred to as shocks, and the spring is normally seated away from the shock itself.

Price of the shocks is marginally cheaper than the struts. Simply because the strut component is engineered differently with the ability to handle a bigger load, etc.

You may want to check for any oil that may be present on the struts and shocks as that will be an indicator that they are on their last breath.

Seems that you are new to this whole thing so I would strongly suggest you take you car in to a professional for further inspection of all front end suspension components for wear (no offense). Something as simple as a broken stab-bar link (as mentioned above by another user) can create lots of noise.

Also use realoem.com to search for correct part numbers for you specific VIN.

Cheers

[Wolf 335]

Originally Posted by luckyblack

Thank you, that is great info.

I just measured front wheel gap on suspect side and compared. Passenger side is sitting at least half an inch lower.

How much should i expect to pay at indy for two front struts and an alignment? My tire on that side is already wearing prematurely on that side

Assuming you are still on your original factory suspension from 2006/2007, I would replace the following:

1. Strut mount (aka guide support) ($40-$60 each)
2. Bump Stop ($20-$30 each)
3. Dust cover ($5-$10 each)
4. Strut ($100-$150 each)
5. Alignment ($50-$60)

For additional information/part numbers see realoem.com

And as you already know, you have to do both sides followed by an alignment. So the above cost x2, excluding alignment.

So all the prices I got from ecstuning.com. Considering you are in the US and I am in Canada, you guys have way more better pricing on parts than us.

Really you have tree options:

1. Buy your own parts and do a DIY
2. Buy your own parts and take them to mechanic and pay for labor (should be around 1h - 2h labor cost)
3. Get parts and labor from mechanic. If you are dealing with an indy that specializes in bmw's then you may be able to get an even better deal as they get better pricing due to volume. And also it's less of a headache if something fails during the warranty period. You won't have to deal with shipping the parts back and having downtime with your car while waiting for new ones.

Hope this helps.

[luckyblack]

awesome, i am going to start ordering the parts. Now that my car has over 100k miles i have also ordered turbos, engine mounts, catless downpipes. Plugs and coils done about 10k miles ago. New water pump installed recently. The next thing to go will be fuel pump or injectors i'm sure.

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by luckyblack

Here are my symptoms:

Popping sound coming from front passenger side on take off (leaving from a stoplight).

When going over speed bumps i get a nasty crunch sound on the front passenger side. (hopefully not a shock)

When making a left Uturn with the wheel fully locked i get a rubbing sound in the front right. ( might not be related to other symptoms) Suspected wheel bearing but could be related to ball joint?

Thanks in advance. I know these things are hard to pinpoint without seeing the car but my local indy is a lot cheaper if i go in knowing what to replace.

You have 3 ball joints on the hub. Two of them are from control arms and one is the tie rod.

Either way, you'd have a difficult time steering the car.

I'd look at the struts, springs, mounts and the like especially if your over 75k on the shocks and struts.

[SE7EN335]

I changed my sway bar end links and the popping and clunking sound went right away and ride quality was much better. Also check your tie rods ends and arms. Mine only has 90k kms and the tie rods had fair amount of play where everytime over bumps it would shake the steering wheel and my steering wheel would have a inch or so of non responsiveness when I turn the wheel.

[luckyblack]

I am thinking of giving the end links a go myself. I have never worked on any suspension before...

[Wolf 335]

Originally Posted by luckyblack

I am thinking of giving the end links a go myself. I have never worked on any suspension before...

Here you go bud.

[luckyblack]

Thanks Wolf! Good thing i have a torque wrench!

Originally Posted by Wolf 335

Here you go bud.

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