e30 front suspension noise, need help

[Dropped325i]

hey guys,

i'll try to go through some details, after i put my rims on the other day and went to buy seats, i herd noise that sounded awfull on the way home, sounded like my rim was loose on the front drivers side and the spacers where hitting the rims and had room to move, it sounded like my 2 spacers clapping each other. i got home i retorqued my wheels, they were ok, a lil loose but not much..

I checked at my bros, he thinks its the front sway bar end links, but i went to his friend another mechanic and he pulled on the sway bar with full force and he said it can't be or it would move or make noise? so i bought some end links today for 88.30 at napa which i'm going to return, because i thought i need adjustables anyway because i wana drop my car and also i seen regular ones on ebay for 30$ a set, anyone know where to get adjustable sway bar end links or a bump steer kit?

but back to the problem, it gets a lil louder going over some bumps, but seemed like a road with just a hair of bumps made this noise, even when i was on a road that the cracks where sealed, i pulled over, i thought my wheel was gonna fall off. Now i moved the wheel on the lift left to right pulling towards me and pushing, seems tight, then i again from top to bottom seems tight, my bros friend today put the car down to about 6"s off the ground and pushing my tire up with a pry bar off the ground to see any play, we feel a slight hair of play, so he tells me its gotta be the ball joint, hes unsure if this is it though? (because in the air he couldnt play with it? he said its all tight though when it was up in the air) this just started to happen.

Now i seen someone selling shocks on ebay, he stated he was diagnosing a noise in his suspension and it was upper front strut mounts? how can i determine if this might be my problem or not?

I seen the boots for the outter tie rod ends, they looked warn, and balljoints looked ok (looked like they lost grease and going to go bad eventaully).

My brothers friend suggested it might be in the strut assembley? thats a big variation i have now i have? anyone can help me slim down my possiblities of what this noise could be ?

the sound i'm hearing, sounds more like loose washers are hitting bouncing on a stud.

I cant believe my bro or his friend that is a mechanic cant point it out 100%, my bro says 95% sure its sway bar end links?

Thanks,
Alex L

[Dropped325i]

come on guys i want to order some parts to do it this weekend but dont want to spend 100's on whats not needed at the moment.....

i have put my coilovers on hold now :(

[var1ant]

I'm confused.

[jim89325is]

hey guys,

i'll try to go through some details, after i put my rims on the other day and went to buy seats, i herd noise that sounded awful on the way home, sounded like my rim was loose on the front drivers side and the spacers where hitting the rims and had room to move, it sounded like my 2 spacers clapping each other. i got home i retorqued my wheels, they were ok, a lil loose but not much..

I checked at my bros, he thinks its the front sway bar end links, but i went to his friend another mechanic and he pulled on the sway bar with full force and he said it cant be or it would move or make noise? so i bought some today end links for 88.30 at napa which i'm going to return, because i thought i need adjustables anyway because i wana drop my car and also i seen reg ones on ebay for 30$ a set, anyone know where to get adjustable sway bar end links or a bump steer kit?

but back to the problem, it gets a lil louder on with some bumps, but seemed like a road with just a hair of bumps made this noise, even when i was on a road with sealer for the cracks i pulled over i thought my wheel was gonna fall off, now i moved the wheel on the lift left to right pulling towards me and pushing, seems tight, then i again from top to bottom seems tight, my bros friend today puts the car down about 6"s of the ground and pushing my tire up with a pry bar off the ground to see any play, we feel a slight hair of play, so he tells me its gotta be the ball joint, hes unsure if this is it though? (because in the air he couldnt play with it? he said its all tight) this just started to happen, now i seen someone selling shocks on ebay, he stated he was diagnosing a noise and it was upper shock mounts? how can i determine if its these or not? i seen the boots for the outter tie rod ends looked warn, and balljoints looked a lil warn (both looked like they lost grease and going to go bad eventaully), so my brothers friend suggested it might be in the strut assembley? thats a big variation i have? anyone can help me slim down my possiblities?

it sounds more like loose washers are hitting bouncing on a stud thats just there ? get what i mean, i cant believe my bro or his friend another mechanic cant point it out 10%, my bro says 95% sure its sway bar end links?

Thanks,
Alex L

Some advice:

Learn to write.
Learn to spell.
Learn to punctuate.
Learn how to form a complete, legible sentence.

BTW, the first letter after a period is usually a CAPITAL letter.

Seriously, I'm dizzy from reading your post.

Good luck. :rolleyes

[village idiot]

Wheel bearings possibly. Jack the car up and grab the tire at 6 and 12 o'clock push in and out alternately, if there's any play you've found the problem.

[Dropped325i]

no play that way...

[Dropped325i]

re-did it a lil, there was a few typo's... now can someone help me out? i basically tried to put everything i have herd and done, and my questions into the paragraph above...

[Zoso]

re-did it a lil, there was a few typo's... now can someone help me out? i basically tried to put everything i have herd and done, and my questions into the paragraph above...


That's better. I had a hard time reading it last night too. :stickoutt

It almost sounds like the collar nut that holds the strut insert into the strut has backed off. When I put my bilsteins in, I didn't have the proper tool and I tightenend it as much as I could but it managed to back off. It would make a bunch of clunking noises and would only shut up on the smoothest of roads.

However - If you haven't changed the strut inserts, chances are this is not your problem. Most collar nuts are "welded" on with rust and it takes blow-torches and chisels to get them off.

Check it out though. Also check out your strut mount bushing (and the bearing inside it).

[underDAWG]

Some advice:

Learn to write.
Learn to spell.
Learn to punctuate.
Learn how to form a complete, legible sentence.

BTW, the first letter after a period is usually a CAPITAL letter.

Seriously, I'm dizzy from reading your post.

Good luck. :rolleyes
I didn't have a chance to read the first vesion. But I have I agree with you. Nevertheless......

No one likes to write or communicate badly. But whatever the reasons, it happens.

May be:

1. He was not into books,
2. He had to work three jobs to support his parents and did not go the school.
3. English is not his first language,
4. He just came to this country,
5. He wrote this in his palm pilot and in a hurry,
6. He forgot to ask his secretary to proof read his post
7. and others

If he submits an article to Time magazine, I will be critical. But on a forum for Car Nutz, I tend to look the other way. Of course, I do prefer reading a post that is well written. I always wish I can write better and faster, but after all these years, I gave up.

Fifteen years ago, when still I had a boss, one day he asked me if the report is ready to send out. I told him that I was in the process of proofread myself and made sure everything is correct – spelling and grammar. He told me that the company is paying me too much to do proofreading. That is my secretary’s job. He is right, he wants me to do the job that no one can do, and let others do the things that I don’t do well. I think I got spoiled since then.

No punch intended :)

[Dropped325i]

underdawg, STFU, go somewhere to make a difference.. either answer my questions of dont post in my post, post whore!

[Zoso]

underdawg, STFU, go somewhere to make a difference.. either answer my questions of dont post in my post, post whore!

Wait - wasn't he defending you?

Any updates on the suspension noise?

[underDAWG]

underdawg, STFU, go somewhere to make a difference.. either answer my questions of dont post in my post, post whore!
I am sorry that you found my post offensive. I was wrong to step in. I will not do it agin.

Cheers.

[Dropped325i]

no update, going to my friends house in minutes now to install my seats, i made an appointment with him to do it today.. any other guess's or things i can try to do to find out this noise? i wanted to get this fixed by friday. i'm thinking to go to a place and ask them to check it out and ask for a price so they can determine what it is and i can get it done...

[casperphriendly]

Why were your tires off?
What speed does the noise start?
Does the noies stop after a specific speed?

[vtbimmer]

underdawg, STFU, go somewhere to make a difference.. either answer my questions of dont post in my post, post whore!
DIAF

[Dropped325i]

i duno why you asked about why my tires where off?

but i think it happens at about 20mph-? 60, dont really keep the windows down with the stereo off, and now i have a loud dual exhaust so its a lil hard to hear, but i do hear it something from the front.... i just got my seats in tonight what a PITA, but those are done... i took tomrorow off to have a long weekend, i might try to go to some places tomorrow so they can determine the problem and give me a quote, also i gotta return the sway bar end links that i paid 88.5? at napa for what a rip off...

anyone know where to get adjustable sway bar end links, i seen them in kit son ebay with aftermarket sway bars, are they sold seperately?

[jim89325is]

Okay, maybe I was a bit harsh in my original post. I just get sick and tired of seeing posts by people asking for help on these forums and not being able to read or understand them without getting a headache. How hard is it to just copy and paste a post into MS Word and check it out? Takes maybe a minute, tops.

It's not just car forums, BTW. I get RFQ's at work with the same bad grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

Plus, I was doing my taxes last night, which might have put me in a sour mood. :(
I'll be on my best behavior form now on. :)

Alex, it seems like you are on the right track. I'd check control arm bushings, sway bar links, and tie rod ends. Also, make sure everything is nice and tight, bolt wise. I had a pretty bad knock in my front end while driving, but it wasn't noticeable when the car was on the ground, and only slightly so when the car was on jack stands. Turns out that I had worn control arms. It's not completely gone yet, so I'll be looking into tie rod ends soon. You'd be surprised at how much force gets put on the front suspension while driving, causing all kinds of fun noises.

Seriously, good luck, and let us know what you find out.

Jim

[rolandmw]

wwwdotbmw2002dotcom (sorry for the dots, not worthy enough to post urls, guess I should type more sohpmoric posts)

sells adjustable sway links.

Have you checked you brake calipers and/or brake pads? Does the noise go away when you apply the brakes?

Also, I had an issue with my 90 325i where I would hear noise going over bumps as well. I thought for sure it was the front end, but after investigating it further, I found that the compression nut that joins the upper steering column to the lower steering column was loose. I used a 32mm wrench to tighten it up. The nut is down but the gas/brake pedal area.

good luck

[Dropped325i]

whats odd is, i did apply the brakes and i believed it did quiet it down or go away, but didnt think that noise comes from that.. its such a noticeable clinging that i dont see how the brakes could do it, i can try again today to drive and press the brakes, and also go to a store to get a quote and try to have the diasgnose it.. i did mess up the spring thing on the front caliper but i could of swore it was good pretty good when i put it back in? maybe i might pull my caliper off and see if the spring is still in place. but yeah i have some people telling mne it could be my struts? on the ground pushing full force a few times on my front hood i dont hear any noise?

i seen a kit on ebay for front lower control arms and inner and outer tie rods,, upgrades poly bushings for 220.00 but i'm a lil afraid to buy it and it not fix the prob, even though i will need it eventaully :(

[Dropped325i]

could a loose front brake pad center spring being make a clinging noise?

[Dropped325i]

i was assuming that the noise i was hearing went down when i pressed the brakes because the suspension tightens up a lil when doing so no?

[Dropped325i]

found problem, the sporing for the top of the pad, one is out in the open through tht ehole, so the pads rattl'en!!! dam am i happy now :) just gotta fix it quick..

[rolandmw]

glad to help!

[Dropped325i]

yeah thanks rolandmw, and to the others that helped.. i was thinkin that the other day, but really thought it over today, i thought maybe the center piece fell out that i removed and hammered back in, but it didnt, the pad just either wasnt in right and took 2 weeks to make noise or the spring poped out of the top of the hole..

[derffred]

my friend had a similiar problem, we couldn't find anything wrong with the suspension, but upon further inspection.. we found the mounting ear for the sway bar broken haha.. not the endlink, but where the bushing mounts up. so we welded the ear back in and everything is honky dory. we just checked his front end again last night.. found the ball joints are worn, tie rod ends are worn, and both wheel bearings need to be repacked.. about 2 years later lol.

just think.. if the parts you replace aren't defective.. at least you'll have a new front end haha

[SWISS]

I didn't have a chance to read the first vesion. But I have I agree with you. Nevertheless......

No one likes to write or communicate badly. But whatever the reasons, it happens.

May be:

1. He was not into books, Why the comma here?
2. He had to work three jobs to support his parents and did not go the school.
3. English is not his first language, and here?
4. He just came to this country, WTF?
5. He wrote this in his palm pilot and in a hurry, What a douche :eek:
6. He forgot to ask his secretary to proof read his post
7. and others (Wait a minute, did he start a sentance with a lower case letter )

If he submits an article to Time magazine, I will be critical. But on a forum for Car Nutz, I tend to look the other way. Of course, I do prefer reading a post that is well written. I always wish I can write better and faster, but after all these years, I gave up. Is Car Nutz like a clique or something?

Fifteen years ago, when still I had a boss, one day he asked me if the report is ready to send out. I told him that I was in the process of proofread myself and made sure everything is correct – spelling and grammar. :lol He told me that the company is paying me too much to do proofreading. That is my secretary’s job. He is right, he wants me to do the job that no one can do, and let others do the things that I don’t do well. I think I got spoiled since then.

No punch intended :)Dude you so lack writing skillz,it shows. And this is a BDub forum not a retreat for lit professor's. Nobody really proofreads documents anymore, that's what MS Word is for.:rolleyes

And BTW it's no PUN intended......dumbass