[craighewer18]

Gents, help me

I've got this annoying vibration on my 2006 e92 335i (6MT) which is doing my skull in. It happens when the car is under torque load in 4th/5th/6th gears from low range and can feel it through the steering wheel and shifter but only at a certain rev range, between 1000 and 1500rpm?! Once above 1500rpm it disappears

When I hold the rev's in this range and drop the clutch, the vibration goes instantly.

It does not occur when in neutral. I've had new tyres and had a 4 wheel alignment done thinking it would solve the problem, but has not.

The car has 56,000 miles on it and is throwing 0 codes.

Any idea's?

Thanks

[Phil325i]

Guibo joint on the prop shaft on the way out?

[craighewer18]

Cheers Phil, yeah Ive read about the guibo joint and centre shaft bearing, ill have a look.

Is the guibo a common issue on the 335i?

[djgandy]

Originally Posted by craighewer18

Gents, help me

I've got this annoying vibration on my 2006 e92 335i (6MT) which is doing my skull in. It happens when the car is under torque load in 4th/5th/6th gears from low range and can feel it through the steering wheel and shifter but only at a certain rev range, between 1000 and 1500rpm?! Once above 1500rpm it disappears

When I hold the rev's in this range and drop the clutch, the vibration goes instantly.

It does not occur when in neutral. I've had new tyres and had a 4 wheel alignment done thinking it would solve the problem, but has not.

The car has 56,000 miles on it and is throwing 0 codes.

Any idea's?

Thanks

I don't know how bad your vibration is, but I have this to some degree. The engine does not like being pushed in those revs in such a long gear. I can feel it lugging a bit and as I hit around 1500 the engine feels much smoother.

DCT models I've driven have never seemed to have this and always felt much smoother in the lower rev ranges. I doubt steptronic autos would ever have this issue due to the torque converter.

I've never been worried about it tbh, and just put it down as being a load thing. I suspect in the lower rpms the turbos are not doing much and perhaps the mixture without forced induction is just not as good. I've often wondered if walnut blasting is the cure for this allowing normal air to flow in more smoothly.

[craighewer18]

Djgandy - Ive had the car 3 years now and only in the last couple of weeks ive noticed the issue. It never used to happen, it was smooth all the way through the rev range. I know what you mean by lugging under loads but the vibration is a different kettle of fish.

We had someone hit the rear passenger wheel a couple of months back, i dont know if this has something to do with it? If it was an alignment issue i would have thought the vibration would occur at certain "speeds" and not at a certain rev range? Maybe im wrong.

I am actually planning on getting the walnut blasting done in the next couple of months.

[old grey steve]

Tough one is the issue from underneath the car from the rear of the csr and you can hear it travelling through the car or can you feel/perhaps hear the noise say from where your sitting slightly ahead of you?


Reason I ask is that we get enquires all the time re vibrations/noises and what you say/describe and what it actually is can be two very different things.

As stated above could be the prop doughnut, could also be the centre bearing or even be a gear box internal issue say layshaft bearing(old Sierra Cosworth Borg Warner boxes when pushing reasonable HP would break down and cause various vibration issues)which were felt through the transmission tunnel/floor pan area, dip the clutch of course the issue would disappear. Could even be a protesting flywheel, clutch assembly which in a higher gear at peak torque could be starting to protest. Could even be a diff protesting as peak torque/high gear low rev power is applied.

Very very difficult to be 100% and very difficult to word what you're feeling/hearing too but the way you're describing this its some sort of drive line type issue you're expieriencing.... But I could be wrong.

[craighewer18]

Thanks for the reply Steve, yeah I know its a tough one to explain. Like I said I can definitely feel something through the steering wheel, shifter and to some extent peddles. It feels like a drivetrain issue. The vibration seems to build from 1000rpm and peak at around 1300rpm, and back down.

Ive been thinking about the prang to the rear passenger wheel i had a couple of months back. If the bump has put something out of alignment re rear axle, what would be the obvious things to check for?

[craighewer18]

Had another read. Could the prang have knocked the guibo/flex disc or even transmission mounts?

[Sparky68]

Welcome to my world. It is a bloody annoying issue that is for sure. I replaced almost the whole back end on mine chasing it down , including the prop shaft. Next thing to try are the output shaft bearings and flexi discs.

Good luck

[RajB]

I'd start looking towards rear that was knocked. Wheel bearing could have been chilled in the knock which now causes the slight vibration at lower rpms, or an out of balance drive shaft due to the knock also.

But as others have mentioned the propshaft doughnut (guibo) has been known on the E53's to cause a lot of frustration due to vibrations etc.

[craighewer18]

Appreciate the replies gents

Anyway had a day off work today so did a bit more investigating. I first tried to figure out whether it was definitely drivetrain/alignment/engine issue.

To eliminate engine issue I scanned the car, no codes. Then I tried holding the revs at 1300 to see if the vibration would occur, which it did not. Although whilst I was holding the revs I found this:

The revs seemed to oscillate when held in the range where the vibration occurs, between 1000-1500rpm. The revs would not settle and seemed to oscillate in a rythmic motion. I thought maybe it was because the car was cold, so I tested it again once the car was up to temp, still the same. Once above 1500rpm i coyld hold the revs fairly steady as expected.

I have always had a rough idle with the car spitting and nudging around whilst stationary, albeit only slighy but still noticeable.

So any ideas? Could the two be related?

Thanks again

[craighewer18]

Any idea's gents?

[Sparky68]

Could be some heavy carbon buildup, thought about getting it walnut blasted ?

[craighewer18]

Yes mate, been meaning to get it done for a while but haven't had chance, also I haven't got much confidence in our local dealer, the nearest garage after that who do walnut blasting is 2 hours away. You had it done? Notice any difference?

[Foxes]

Originally Posted by djgandy

I don't know how bad your vibration is, but I have this to some degree. The engine does not like being pushed in those revs in such a long gear. I can feel it lugging a bit and as I hit around 1500 the engine feels much smoother.

DCT models I've driven have never seemed to have this and always felt much smoother in the lower rev ranges. I doubt steptronic autos would ever have this issue due to the torque converter.

I've never been worried about it tbh, and just put it down as being a load thing. I suspect in the lower rpms the turbos are not doing much and perhaps the mixture without forced induction is just not as good. I've often wondered if walnut blasting is the cure for this allowing normal air to flow in more smoothly.

I noticed this on my car too. It is an 07 335i albeit with an auto, whilst cruising with low rpm's at around 1000-1500, light throttling would induce this vibration which can be felt through the steering wheel. It seems that once rpms climb above 1500 the vibration ceases. It feels similar to mild lugging in a manual.

[Aria]

Originally Posted by Foxes

I noticed this on my car too. It is an 07 335i albeit with an auto, whilst cruising with low rpm's at around 1000-1500, light throttling would induce this vibration which can be felt through the steering wheel. It seems that once rpms climb above 1500 the vibration ceases. It feels similar to mild lugging in a manual.

Hello. Did you find out the problem?

Having same issue with my 335i 6AT