Clicking Sound at Slow Speeds in Motion- Absolutely Desperate

B4LL3N · 04-10-2018, 08:37 PM

Hey Guys, I have an 08 335Xi that I've owned for 3 years and somewhat drastically modded in the process. I vowed NEVER to sell this car, but here I am actually considering selling it... needless to say- it really means a lot to me.

After installing BC racing coils and putting 3k worth of preventative maintenance into it, it's developed this faint rotary clicking sound only while in motion- generally at slower speeds. I've had so many problems with this car (only 53k on the clock) but this one has puzzled me and every mechanic that I've taken it to in the last month.

No one likes to read all these paragraphs so here are the headlines:

Very faint rotating/ clicking sound really only head in the car with the windows up at lower speeds
Suspension components ruled out as it make the sound while lifted in the air
Noise is extremely inconsistant: will do it accelerating, braking, and coasting- no real correlation
Injectors ruled out as we tired replacing them hoping it would fix it as well as replaced the FR driveshaft and topped of the fluid
While listening underneath the car while on the lift it sounded like it was coming from the bell housing area but couldn't isolate it to any one component
The mechanic where it's currently at in Orange said he thought it sounded like "playing cards in the spokes of a bike" which is actually a good description of it

I'm absolutely lost and out of money. If anyone knows of anything that I could give to steer them in the right direction I would be EXTREMELY grateful.

Thanks for reading.

dsjr2006 · 04-11-2018, 12:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by B4LL3N

Hey Guys, I have an 08 335Xi that I've owned for 3 years and somewhat drastically modded in the process. I vowed NEVER to sell this car, but here I am actually considering selling it... needless to say- it really means a lot to me.

After installing BC racing coils and putting 3k worth of preventative maintenance into it, it's developed this faint rotary clicking sound only while in motion- generally at slower speeds. I've had so many problems with this car (only 53k on the clock) but this one has puzzled me and every mechanic that I've taken it to in the last month.

No one likes to read all these paragraphs so here are the headlines:

Very faint rotating/ clicking sound really only head in the car with the windows up at lower speeds
Suspension components ruled out as it make the sound while lifted in the air
Noise is extremely inconsistant: will do it accelerating, braking, and coasting- no real correlation
Injectors ruled out as we tired replacing them hoping it would fix it as well as replaced the FR driveshaft and topped of the fluid
While listening underneath the car while on the lift it sounded like it was coming from the bell housing area but couldn't isolate it to any one component
The mechanic where it's currently at in Orange said he thought it sounded like "playing cards in the spokes of a bike" which is actually a good description of it

I'm absolutely lost and out of money. If anyone knows of anything that I could give to steer them in the right direction I would be EXTREMELY grateful.

Thanks for reading.

Do you have a recording of the sound?

Does it occur if you rev the vehicle in neutral or only in gear?

Does the frequency change at all depending on speed or does it always happen at the same rate?

B4LL3N · 04-13-2018, 02:16 PM

I tried to do a recording with my gopro but it couldn't really capture it unfortunately.

It only makes the noise when in gear, you wont hear anything in neutral.

The frequency changes very slightly based on speed but its generally very consistent. The other thing that's been throwing us off is that it will stop and then start back up again for no apparent reason.

Appreciate your input, I'm actually from Traverse City living in the LA area now.

nsjames · 04-13-2018, 08:39 PM

sounds like a halfshaft that sucks.

the other possibility that happesn on volvos is the splines fit kind of loosely n the hub, so you can get a faint clicking there.

frenchi · 04-14-2018, 05:49 AM

Remove your front driveshaft it's less then 30 min job and listen again on a lift...still noisy - gear box or transfer case bearing....no noise - front diff or axles.

04-10-2018, 08:37 PM	#1
B4LL3N Private First Class 26 Rep 156 Posts Drives: E92 N54 335xi FBO / E70 X5 N55 Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Huntington Beach, CA iTrader: (0)	Clicking Sound at Slow Speeds in Motion- Absolutely Desperate Hey Guys, I have an 08 335Xi that I've owned for 3 years and somewhat drastically modded in the process. I vowed NEVER to sell this car, but here I am actually considering selling it... needless to say- it really means a lot to me. After installing BC racing coils and putting 3k worth of preventative maintenance into it, it's developed this faint rotary clicking sound only while in motion- generally at slower speeds. I've had so many problems with this car (only 53k on the clock) but this one has puzzled me and every mechanic that I've taken it to in the last month. No one likes to read all these paragraphs so here are the headlines: Very faint rotating/ clicking sound really only head in the car with the windows up at lower speeds Suspension components ruled out as it make the sound while lifted in the air Noise is extremely inconsistant: will do it accelerating, braking, and coasting- no real correlation Injectors ruled out as we tired replacing them hoping it would fix it as well as replaced the FR driveshaft and topped of the fluid While listening underneath the car while on the lift it sounded like it was coming from the bell housing area but couldn't isolate it to any one component The mechanic where it's currently at in Orange said he thought it sounded like "playing cards in the spokes of a bike" which is actually a good description of it I'm absolutely lost and out of money. If anyone knows of anything that I could give to steer them in the right direction I would be EXTREMELY grateful. Thanks for reading. __________________ ‘08 335Xi FBO (RWD Conversion) / PURE600 / JB4 MHD Backend / Precision RW Coils / VRSF Piping / COBB Catback / xHP / xDelete / BC Racing Coilovers / Fuel-it Stage 2 / Wagner Tuning FMIC / Turbosmart BOVs
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04-13-2018, 02:16 PM	#3
B4LL3N Private First Class 26 Rep 156 Posts Drives: E92 N54 335xi FBO / E70 X5 N55 Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Huntington Beach, CA iTrader: (0)	I tried to do a recording with my gopro but it couldn't really capture it unfortunately. It only makes the noise when in gear, you wont hear anything in neutral. The frequency changes very slightly based on speed but its generally very consistent. The other thing that's been throwing us off is that it will stop and then start back up again for no apparent reason. Appreciate your input, I'm actually from Traverse City living in the LA area now. __________________ ‘08 335Xi FBO (RWD Conversion) / PURE600 / JB4 MHD Backend / Precision RW Coils / VRSF Piping / COBB Catback / xHP / xDelete / BC Racing Coilovers / Fuel-it Stage 2 / Wagner Tuning FMIC / Turbosmart BOVs
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04-13-2018, 08:39 PM	#4
nsjames Brigadier General 2440 Rep 4,330 Posts Drives: 08 328xi Touring Join Date: May 2017 Location: ohio iTrader: (0)	sounds like a halfshaft that sucks. the other possibility that happesn on volvos is the splines fit kind of loosely n the hub, so you can get a faint clicking there.
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04-14-2018, 05:49 AM	#5
frenchi Lieutenant 89 Rep 452 Posts Drives: F30 340i M Performance Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: France iTrader: (11)	Remove your front driveshaft it's less then 30 min job and listen again on a lift...still noisy - gear box or transfer case bearing....no noise - front diff or axles.
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