[09328i]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Seriously dude, HOW bad is the noise? You are going to go spend near $1,000 on chasing a noise in the suspension that you only hear at low speeds, on a car that has just 22,000 miles on it? Trust me, from a 30-year veteran of BMW 3-series ownership, if such a situation like suspension noise is bothering you, you are in for a long haul my friend. My experience with four (4) BMWs tells a story that all BMWs exhibit strange noises and behaviors that will appear, then go away, to never appear again, or happen periodically; it's just the way BMWs are.

I think you said you already replaced the control arms and sway bar links on an apparently undamaged 22,000-mile car. You are going to drive yourself nuts. Just let the fucking car break in. 22,000 miles is so far from wearing out anything on an E9X it borders on ridiculous.

Not a flame, I'm just trying to inject some sense into what you are doing.

The car is 11 years old, I am pretty sure it has already been broken in a long time ago. I have put a couple thousand miles on it, and nothing has changed. Could this go away? Maybe, but I am highly doubting that it will by itself. I am the type of person to fix problems that bother me. This is a noise that I don't like, and if I have to drive with my windows up all the time instead of enjoying the drive, it is worth fixing it. It is probably louder than you are expecting.

If it ends up costing $1,000, then it does. I would rather it not be that much, and it might be something that could have been only $20. The misdiagnosis by the shop was annoying, and I am not one to give up and just not fix a problem now.

So from all your experience, what do you guess could be wrong other than "ignore it"? If you don't know, that's ok, because neither do it, yet.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by 09328i

The car is 11 years old, I am pretty sure it has already been broken in a long time ago. I have put a couple thousand miles on it, and nothing has changed. Could this go away? Maybe, but I am highly doubting that it will by itself. I am the type of person to fix problems that bother me. This is a noise that I don't like, and if I have to drive with my windows up all the time instead of enjoying the drive, it is worth fixing it. It is probably louder than you are expecting.

If it ends up costing $1,000, then it does. I would rather it not be that much, and it might be something that could have been only $20. The misdiagnosis by the shop was annoying, and I am not one to give up and just not fix a problem now.

So from all your experience, what do you guess could be wrong other than "ignore it"? If you don't know, that's ok, because neither do it, yet.

22,000 miles, regardless of age, is not broken in by E9X standards. My E90 325i car had the squeaking steering wheel issue, the periodic steering lock issue, strut boot noise, blah, blah, blah. All went away over time. I replaced the wishbones for the first time at 336,000 miles and the bushings were barely worn and almost as stiff as the new parts I replaced them with. Your car has seen very little miles and sat a lot. Just drive it for awhile, and drive it hard like a BMW likes to be driven, and let the chassis loosen up.

Did the car come from Nebraska? If so, shit, it's never taken a hard turn at speed. Take it for a track day somewhere. It just needs exercise.

[09328i]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

22,000 miles, regardless of age, is not broken in by E9X standards. My E90 325i car had the squeaking steering wheel issue, the periodic steering lock issue, strut boot noise, blah, blah, blah. All went away over time. I replaced the wishbones for the first time at 336,000 miles and the bushings were barely worn and almost as stiff as the new parts I replaced them with. Your car has seen very little miles and sat a lot. Just drive it for awhile, and drive it hard like a BMW likes to be driven, and let the chassis loosen up.

Did the car come from Nebraska? If so, shit, it's never taken a hard turn at speed. Take it for a track day somewhere. It just needs exercise.

It came from southern Missouri, but that probably isn't any better. or worse. With the low mileage, it has sat a lot, but I figured that would shake down after a few thousand very hard miles put on it. I can assure you it has been ran hard since I purchased it. I haven't ever had an issue like this go away on its own on any other vehicle I have ever owned. I have replaced about 4 sets of shocks/struts on Grand Cherokee's, a set on a Lexus GS 350, and a few on other vehicles longer ago. I let them go awhile after making noise before replacing, but none of those were as loud as this. But, none with this low of mileage and diagnosis, so I was saving that option until last resort.

I could try to continue to thrash it for a few thousand more miles. I have multiple vehicles, and I would like to my Grand Cherokee to make this my daily driver, but am not quite ready to pull the trigger and sell the other vehicle until I get this sorted.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by 09328i

It came from southern Missouri, but that probably isn't any better. or worse. With the low mileage, it has sat a lot, but I figured that would shake down after a few thousand very hard miles put on it. I can assure you it has been ran hard since I purchased it. I haven't ever had an issue like this go away on its own on any other vehicle I have ever owned. I have replaced about 4 sets of shocks/struts on Grand Cherokee's, a set on a Lexus GS 350, and a few on other vehicles longer ago. I let them go awhile after making noise before replacing, but none of those were as loud as this. But, none with this low of mileage and diagnosis, so I was saving that option until last resort.

I could try to continue to thrash it for a few thousand more miles. I have multiple vehicles, and I would like to my Grand Cherokee to make this my daily driver, but am not quite ready to pull the trigger and sell the other vehicle until I get this sorted.

Maybe you are just overly sensitive to normal suspension noises that the rest of us aren't. It appears you've had other instances of suspension noises with other vehicles and your hearing is just tuned to better hear such noise. I've never owned a car that any noises from the suspension or brakes has ever bothered me or concerned me. All cars have moving parts and moving parts make noise; it just physics. Have you been in any other E9X vehicles to see if they exhibit the same noises. If the car was not previously damaged somehow, at 22,000 miles, I just can't see there being anything wrong with the suspension.

My opinion is you are chasing something that may be (a) normal suspension noise, and (b) not solvable by throwing new parts at it. Good luck with it.

[09328i]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Maybe you are just overly sensitive to normal suspension noises that the rest of us aren't. It appears you've had other instances of suspension noises with other vehicles and your hearing is just tuned to better hear such noise. I've never owned a car that any noises from the suspension or brakes has ever bothered me or concerned me. All cars have moving parts and moving parts make noise; it just physics. Have you been in any other E9X vehicles to see if they exhibit the same noises. If the car was not previously damaged somehow, at 22,000 miles, I just can't see there being anything wrong with the suspension.

My opinion is you are chasing something that may be (a) normal suspension noise, and (b) not solvable by throwing new parts at it. Good luck with it.

I have only driven about 4 e90 cars, and the others didn't make the same noise. But, since I bought this out of state and had it shipped, I didn't experience it prior to purchase. I am ok with that, because it is the car I wanted and I can probably find a solution.

The shop during diagnosis said that it shouldn't sound like that. I have owned about 40 cars and have been able to easily fix a problem like this. This is my first BMW, but the cheapest car I have purchased in a long time. I wouldn't think just because it is a BMW it should be ok to sound like that. It was a 1 owner with no accidents and a great carfax. I wanted a small fun runabout car to downsize from our SUV's.

But, as you can tell, I probably can't just forgive a noise that others might be ok with. It just sounds "cheap". I don't usually hear a squeaking car pull up next to me and think, "hey, nice car!".

[Sayek]

After looking at the diagram below i now recall not seeing item 6 when i replaced the strut and mount recently. Item 7 was there a large washer.
I am guessing item 6 was stuck to the old mount and binned

So question out there guys.. do i need to dismantle and fit this washer or am i fine to move on.


https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=31_0767

[Batman2001]

Originally Posted by Sayek

After looking at the diagram below i now recall not seeing item 6 when i replaced the strut and mount recently. Item 7 was there a large washer.
I am guessing item 6 was stuck to the old mount and binned

So question out there guys.. do i need to dismantle and fit this washer or am i fine to move on.


https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=31_0767

any updates on this? sorry to revive an old thread.