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Thread: Horrid Rear Suspension Replacement

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2019
    Location
    Plano, TX
    Posts
    2
    My Cars
    2005 525

    Rear Suspension Woes

    Newbie to the forum. I looked through all three pages on this forum and didn't find exactly what I was looking for.

    2005 BMW 525 standard suspension
    I recently replaced most of the rear suspension components as the originals were pretty worn. The shocks were replaced with Sachs; no problem other than squeaking noises now (see separate thread on that issue).

    Replaced the rear ball joints with lemforder brand.

    Replaced rear control arms, traction strut, integral links, and sway bar links with generic brand, which after reading through some of threads in this forum I see was NOT a wise choice.

    Rear end was aligned.

    Now the ride is absolutely horrible! It is so stiff that it bounces all over the place rather than absorbing bumps. In addition, the rear end makes banging / thumping sounds anytime a bump in the road is encountered. Driving it is unbearable. I've posted a video of the sounds emanating from the rear. I laid my cell phone in the rear seat and shot video as I drove around the neighborhood.

    Thinking it was the ball joints, I replaced them again, with lemforder again. That did not help. I went back and loosened every bolt / nut and made sure to tighten them to the proper torque spec again too. Still no improvement. I even closed myself in the trunk and had my wife drive around the neighborhood but that did not allow me to pinpoint where the sound is coming from like I had hoped it would.

    Any idea what part(s) would most likely cause the super stiff ride and banging / thumping sound? The only thing I know of to do next is replace each part one-by-one with lemforder brand, but that will get really expensive really quickly. Plus, I'd hate to have to do the job all over again.

    Thanks in advance for any and all guidance.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2019
    Location
    Plano, TX
    Posts
    2
    My Cars
    2005 525

    Horrid Rear Suspension Replacement

    2005 BMW 525 standard suspension

    I recently replaced most of the rear suspension components as the originals were pretty worn. The shocks were replaced with Sachs; no problem other than squeaking noises now (see separate thread on that issue).

    Replaced the rear ball joints with lemforder brand.

    Replaced rear control arms, traction strut, integral links, and sway bar links with generic brand from.

    Rear end was aligned.

    Now the ride is absolutely horrible! It is so stiff that it bounces all over the place rather than absorbing bumps. In addition, the rear end makes banging / thumping sounds anytime a bump in the road is encountered. Driving it is unbearable. I've posted a video of the sounds emanating from the rear. I laid my cell phone in the rear seat and shot video as I drove around the neighborhood.

    Thinking it was the ball joints, I replaced them again, with lemforder again. That did not help. I went back and loosened every bolt / nut and made sure to tighten them to the proper torque spec again too. Still no improvement. I even closed myself in the trunk and had my wife drive around the neighborhood but that did not allow me to pinpoint where the sound is coming from like I had hoped it would.

    Any idea what part(s) would most likely cause the super stiff ride and banging / thumping sound? The only thing I know of to do next is replace each part one-by-one with lemforder brand, but that will get really expensive really quickly. Plus, I'd hate to have to do the job all over again.

    Thanks in advance for any and all guidance.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    San Antonio
    Posts
    712
    My Cars
    850,76 2002 &530,84 633
    I am not familiar with your chassis but its my understanding that the suspension components need to be 'loaded' with weight of car before your tighten up the fasteners. If you did not put the weight of car on suspension when you tightened up the components with new bushings there may be some resistance in wishbones, struts, etc. Plus, if components are not loaded when tightened they will fail prematurely.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Middle of a corn field
    Posts
    14,770
    My Cars
    E39 hamster/ruberbandPWR
    Did you install new Sachs for the sports suspension , or for the standard non-sport suspension ?
    Pictures of the install ?

    Looking for an E39 belly pan , passenger front inner fender liner …

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    .
    Posts
    7,708
    My Cars
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    Don't you love it when someone starts a new thread asking for help, then never even comes back to it?
    ASE and BMW Master Certified Technician

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    San Antonio
    Posts
    712
    My Cars
    850,76 2002 &530,84 633
    Quote Originally Posted by White94RX View Post
    Don't you love it when someone starts a new thread asking for help, then never even comes back to it?
    Oh, well. No one had responded to the thread he started early in the month until the end of the month. Maybe he's resolved the issues?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    San Antonio
    Posts
    712
    My Cars
    850,76 2002 &530,84 633
    Quote Originally Posted by KAILIYAT View Post
    Now the ride is absolutely horrible! It is so stiff that it bounces all over the place rather than absorbing bumps. In addition, the rear end makes banging / thumping sounds anytime a bump in the road is encountered. Driving it is unbearable. I've posted a video of the sounds emanating from the rear. I laid my cell phone in the rear seat and shot video as I drove around the neighborhood.
    I don't see your link to video.

    What suspension are you using now? What are the spring rates you have in the car? Could suspension be bottoming out on the bump stops?

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    San Antonio
    Posts
    712
    My Cars
    850,76 2002 &530,84 633
    Quote Originally Posted by KAILIYAT View Post
    Thinking it was the ball joints, I replaced them again, with lemforder again. That did not help. I went back and loosened every bolt / nut and made sure to tighten them to the proper torque spec again too. Still no improvement. I even closed myself in the trunk and had my wife drive around the neighborhood but that did not allow me to pinpoint where the sound is coming from like I had hoped it would.
    Do you have a recording of the noise? What suspension shocks, struts, and springs are you using?

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    North Carolina
    Posts
    10,579
    My Cars
    '86 M635/'10 Clubman
    Quote Originally Posted by JDP530 View Post
    Do you have a recording of the noise? What suspension shocks, struts, and springs are you using?
    He was a spammer

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