Rotational noise (woof woof)

[kahlilj]

For several weeks (even months?) my car has been experiencing this odd scrubbing sort of noise that appears to be coming from the front end. It's not a constant noise instead it's cyclical like its due to some sort of rotational disturbance. It's very noticeable (from inside the car) at slow speeds like 25 mph and less. I had my wife drive the car while I stood by outside on a quiet street and she passed by at this speed but I couldn't hear anything. i removed both front wheels to see if there was any interference and saw nothing. I even swapped the front tires to see if that would change the noise, but it remained the same.

I took it to as local indie for them to check out & their preliminary assessment is the coilovers (I installed Kido's about a year ago); specifically they mentioned the perch is being worn and that is what is causing the noise? I don't recall all of the description I was at work and in a rush to get something done when we spoke, but he was certain the issue was the coilovers but that it posed no real problems to the car.

Has anyone else experienced this and if so what did you do to fix it? (aside from removing the coilovers if that is what was done)

Also my front passenger side spring has been clicking (like a binded spring) since i got it installed. could that be a part of the problem too?

Thanks all for any help.
Kahlil

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anyone with suggestions on what the cause is?

[Sobek]

It's hard to diagnose something like this without hearing it for yourself, but my first thought was wheel bearings. They can make a grumbly, rubbing or grinding sound depending on who you ask... Not really sure what else it could be. Obviously it doesn't happen while the car is sitting still and idling, correct?

I don't really see how the coil-over's could cause that noise, but I haven't exactly looked at those in much detail personally.

[psjr]

Have had this for forever (7 years) on the old 740. Pretty sure it's the wheel bearing. I have replaced everything else on the front end except strut mounts.
Probably won't get around to replacing the bearing until the end of the year.

[TommyFTR]

Is the tire hitting the perch? If you're getting a rotational noise and the perch looks worn, that's where I'd start.

[kahlilj]

It's hard to diagnose something like this without hearing it for yourself, but my first thought was wheel bearings. They can make a grumbly, rubbing or grinding sound depending on who you ask... Not really sure what else it could be. Obviously it doesn't happen while the car is sitting still and idling, correct?

I don't really see how the coil-over's could cause that noise, but I haven't exactly looked at those in much detail personally.

Thanks Sobek I wondered the same figuring it might be the wheel bearing as well. Not sure how the coilovers could make a cyclical noise either.. and no the car makes no noise while sitting still with engine on or off - only during motion and is very noticeable at speeds < 25 mph.

I swear I wish I had more time and tools to do this crap myself. GRRRRR!! :)

[AquilaBMW]

Tommy makes a good point. What size wheels and tires are you running? Can you find out which perch the rubbing is occurring on? I am a bit miffed that a shop would consider rubbing on a suspension perch as being no real problem to a car. If it is the tire rubbing, then eventually the tire will wear on that part and can fail. As far as the spring clicking, what I have seen is if the strut assembly is adjusted - like the lower locking / adjusting collars are used to adjust height - for example - if they are not properly threaded back, it can result in the spring moving when the wheel is turned causing such a noise. Basically a click click as it moves as it will expand and contract just a little bit.

Can you get pictures? Anyway to get pictures of the area that is rubbing? With the car on the ground and secured from moving, run your hand along the inside of the tire and see if you have enough clearance between the top of tire and the lower perch of the strut assembly.

[kahlilj]

Is the tire hitting the perch? If you're getting a rotational noise and the perch looks worn, that's where I'd start.

I'm pretty sure the tire is not hitting the perch. I had that issue a few months ago when i installed some 19" snow tires and wore a groove right through the inside of both front tires. :(... i got spacers shortyl after that which removed that interference.


Tommy makes a good point. What size wheels and tires are you running? Can you find out which perch the rubbing is occurring on? I am a bit miffed that a shop would consider rubbing on a suspension perch as being no real problem to a car. If it is the tire rubbing, then eventually the tire will wear on that part and can fail. As far as the spring clicking, what I have seen is if the strut assembly is adjusted - like the lower locking / adjusting collars are used to adjust height - for example - if they are not properly threaded back, it can result in the spring moving when the wheel is turned causing such a noise. Basically a click click as it moves as it will expand and contract just a little bit.

Can you get pictures? Anyway to get pictures of the area that is rubbing? With the car on the ground and secured from moving, run your hand along the inside of the tire and see if you have enough clearance between the top of tire and the lower perch of the strut assembly.

Thanks for chiming in Michael. When I had snowtires, as I mentioned before, they were 19" wheels and 245/45 tires, but now I'm running 18" m-pars with 255/45 tires. I don't think there's direct contact between the tire and perch though. What he mentioned was metal on metal contact between the perch and the coilover itself. I'll get more details this morning when I speak with the shop owner. this place was recommended to me and all indications are they seem pretty knowledgeable (McB Autosport (http://www.mcbautosport.com/) in Bridgeville, PA). The more I think about it it seems to be a rotational part like the wheel bearing rather than a shock, but honestly I don't know much about the details/components of the suspension to say what it is.

I'll let you all know exactly what the shop says though.

[TommyFTR]

What size spacers did you go with?

[kahlilj]

What size spacers did you go with?

I used spacers when I had the 19" snowtires - 15mm rear & 20mm fronts; did not use them with the 18" m-pars.

[AquilaBMW]

I used spacers when I had the 19" snowtires - 15mm rear & 20mm fronts; did not use them with the 18" m-pars.

Hmmm.... try using the spacers.

[kahlilj]

got a call from the shop today supposedly the problem is fixed. I can't get the car til tomorrow, but he said the wheel bearings were fine. they adjusted the coilover, did an alignment and adjusted the camber and noise is gone. I'll see for sure tomorrow when I pick up the car & report back my findings. Thanks all for your suggestions and comments. Hopefully
I will verify the good news tomorrow :)

[kahlilj]

Well got my car back & it's sounding much better. They adjusted the perch level about 1/4"; the coil popping noise is gone and the scruffing ("woof woof") sound is practically diminished. It is distinctly gone as the low speeds, but I think I hear a slight, feint noise, but it really isn't noticeable & I'm not sure that I really heard anything other than road noise.

I also asked about the wheel bearing. They said they checked that out and it definitely was not that.

Thanks everyone for responding with ideas & suggestions - problem is solved. Anyway, McB autosport's prices are very reasonable and they are good about explaining their work. If ever I need any work done on my car I've found a solid place. Have not felt this good about a shop in years!