[polishmafia]

I've been chasing down a noise in the front suspension of my 2011 335xi. It is a loud, almost binding, clunk noise when turning left or right. The noise doesn't occur when going straight.

Here's a breakdown of what I've done.

- At first I had a wobble in the steering wheel.. I replaced the front thrust arms and aligned the vehicle and the wobble went away.

- About 5,000 miles later, I started getting this noise. I replaced the front end links. The noise did not go away.

Does anyone have any idea on what the source of the noise could be? Did I not install the thrust arms correctly?

[sonofsun]

Was the noise there prior to replacing the thrust arm?

If so could be the ball joints if they are separate from the thrust arm like in some models.

[polishmafia]

Originally Posted by sonofsun

Was the noise there prior to replacing the thrust arm?

If so could be the ball joints if they are separate from the thrust arm like in some models.

No, there was no noise before replacing the thrust arm. At that time, the only issue was the vibration in the steering wheel.

I think I'll replace the ball joint and see what happens after that.

[sonofsun]

If your ball joint is one of those monsters under the knuckle good lucking pulling them out. You are better off either jerry rigging the tool the remove the ball joint or outright buying the custom made ball joint removal tool.

I realized too late that I needed them tools but mine failed inspection and needed to get back on the road soon. Ended up removing the knuckle altogether and it was a loooonnnnggggg process of missing parts, tools, other problems and dealing with skeeters.

[polishmafia]

There are a few places around me where you can rent specialized tools. Even with that, I know ball joints can be a pain. I'm not looking forward to replacing them.