[E92Vancouver]

My E92 is a 6 speed. When going from accelerating to decelerating and vice versa at low speeds in a parking lot, I get a clicking sound. It is coming from the rear differential area and probablly the u-joints or half shaft. It is a single click. Deaccelerate is one clic. Accelerate is one click.

It sounds to be like gear back lash. I can replicate the sound when going from forward to reverse and vice versa. It is one click per direction change. I notice it most slowing down and then speeding up a bit to go over speed bumps. There is no click under constant power,

Anyone else notice this? You can only hear it if the window is open.

[Barbera335]

My old 6MT 328i did the exact same thing. It is a problem within the differential. I took mine to the dealership and they replaced the complete differential. 13,000 miles later when I got rid of it it was still trouble free. Hope that helps

[E92Vancouver]

Originally Posted by Barbera335

My old 6MT 328i did the exact same thing. It is a problem within the differential. I took mine to the dealership and they replaced the complete differential. 13,000 miles later when I got rid of it it was still trouble free. Hope that helps

Thanks for the info. I took the car into the dealer. The service manager said it is probably play in the half shafts and don't worry about it.

[Barbera335]

I would take it to another dealer or demand it be fixed at your dealer. Any new car should not make noises like that and 'play in the halfshafts' is not normal anyways. I don't know about your car but mine got pretty annoying, and like I said, a new differential fixed it. If I'm not mistaken I believe there is a bulletin about it.

[E92Vancouver]

Originally Posted by Barbera335

I would take it to another dealer or demand it be fixed at your dealer. Any new car should not make noises like that and 'play in the halfshafts' is not normal anyways. I don't know about your car but mine got pretty annoying, and like I said, a new differential fixed it. If I'm not mistaken I believe there is a bulletin about it.

Do you have a link to the service bulletin?

[Barbera335]

I don't, sorry. They told me they were following a bulletin when they performed the repair.

[Jurisprudent]

I have this on my 330 - steptronic... I've never really thought much of it, but curious to know what comes of this

[E92Vancouver]

I took the car to another dealer and they figured out the problem right away. It is very common in the E92, 328 manual cars.

There is a splined (male/female) coupling that connects the drive shaft to the differential. It is a 4 hour job to fix.

[Barbera335]

Glad it worked out for you, good to know the root cause of the problem. On my car they just repalced the complete differential which included that piece. Was there in fact a bulletin?

[E92Vancouver]

Originally Posted by Barbera335

Glad it worked out for you, good to know the root cause of the problem. On my car they just repalced the complete differential which included that piece. Was there in fact a bulletin?

No bulletin. Thye fix the problem by putting green loctite on the splines. The loctite hardends like steel and takes up the slack. They replaced a differential on one car and that did not solve the problem, so they figured out it was the flange coupler.

[E92Vancouver]

Got it fixed!!! Everything is awesome again!!!!

[Jurisprudent]

Was yours an "every time" thing or was it more sporadic? I only really notice mine driving around the parking garage to my spot each morning... I notice it as I turn to go up a level and around the ends...

[E92Vancouver]

That's when I noticed it! In the parking garage, going over speed bumps and around the corner. The splined coupler clicks when it becomes loaded and unloaded. I noticed it when changing direction too, going from forwards to backwards.

If it doesn't bug you, don't bother repairing it. I am anal. I had a 7 year old E46 and it never made the clicking sound.

[simpleE92]

i took my car in for the same exact thing they told me it because i lowered the car and was due to the springs. still havent gotten it fixed

[Wissam]

My car has the same problem. I notice it mostly when I pull off in reverse, but also sometimes in foward. it happens intermittently. First trip, dealer replaced the drive shaft, clunk went away for about a month then came back. Second trip they replaced the differential, same story, clunk goes away only to come back after few weeks. Have not taken it back again but will soon.

[E92Vancouver]

My car is like new again!!! Get it fixed. That click will only get lounder and louder.

[greatbm]

Originally Posted by E92Vancouver

My car is like new again!!! Get it fixed. That click will only get lounder and louder.

Mine to after diff renewal. Dealer tried the flange repair first, noise was less but still there, dealer then replaced full diff noise gone.

[Andyk]

I had this issue after 25,000 miles. Noticed it when pulling away and reversing. The dealer struggled to find route cause exchanging the prop shaft in the first instance. They eventually changed the Diff unit and the noise has gone.

[AKbmw]

sorry to bring this thread back from 2008 but im having the same problem. and have my CDV delete. afraid to take it into the dealer because they might see that and void my tranny warranty.


is the noise comming from the differential? mines getting louder and louder and driving me insane!

[rbocc13]

I'm having the same issue... dealer thought it was from a leak in my transfer case so they replaced the entire case. Still happening as soon as i take off and its noticeable up to 20 mph then is masked by speed/wind.

subscribing to thread

[vedolino]

Originally Posted by E92Vancouver

My car is like new again!!! Get it fixed. That click will only get lounder and louder.

Hi, I have an E92 328i automatic 2007, you can hear a loud CLICK when starting in D or in reverse. I see that you got it fixed by using Loctite. I bought the strongest Loctite, and I want now to go to my mechanic so that he can apply it. Can you PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE explain or sketch where EXACTLY they applied it, since my mechanic does not know that. The official BMW dealer suggest to exchange the whole differential (the car is not under warranty, so this would cost me few thousend bucks).

Also, by applying that Green Latite, was your problem fixed forever or did it came back?

THANKS A MILLION BRO!

[vedolino]

Finally, I pushed myself to solve the clicking sound. I am driving a 2007 E92 328i automatic. The clicking was really, really bad when starting in D or starting in reverse. When driving in sport mode, when the car downshifts due to breaking you could hear a loud click in the cabin, the click coming from the differential area.

I first went to my local/official BMW dealer/service. They first told me to buy a whole new differential (few thousend Euros ). I said no, and I showed them this forum post. They asked for about 180 Euros to remove the differential to try to solve this using the description found in this forum post. In the end, they couldn't remove the differential, they didn't have the necessary tools

After that, I went to a local mechanic, I showed him again this forum post. He removed the whole exhaust and the driveshaft, there was no need to remove the differential. here are all the parts that were removed:



He applied the Loctite and we let it dry over night. This morning, I picked up my car, and voila - no clicking noise at all!!!! He charged me 75 Euros, and it was a 2-3 hours work.

I could not imagine in my wildest dreams that a bit of Loctite "glue" could solve this, since the clicking in my car was really, really bad. Even when I turn on the radio, I could still hear it clearly when it happens.

so a BIG BIG BIG thank you for posting the solution to this forum, the clicking was really, really annoying!

Here are some pics for better understanding if someone else wants to solve this: