[Mark e90]

I have held off posting on here about this for quite some time as i know things like this are very hard to try and identify when you haven't heard the noise in person.

My car is making a very quiet almost unnoticeable grinding/dragging noise which can only be heard at around 20-30mph,both under braking and when not breaking and both in drive and in neutral. The problem docent get worse with speed and can't be heard above 35mph, i doubt it goes away and more likely just can't be heard at higher speeds due to other road noises etc. As i said i have had this problem for a while now ( at least 6 months ) and it hasn't got any worse or better just remains the exact same.

I have done lost of searching through different forums etc and most people point towards disc guards making contact with disc, calliper sticking ( pads dragging on disc ) and hand break shoes. I have stripped all the callipers and cleaned and regressed them, while i had the callipers off i made sure the disc guards were not touching the discs ( they weren't ) and they spun freely with no noise.

The wheels do make a kind of grinding sound when i spin them when all the brakes are in place but nothing out of the ordinary just obviously the pads touching the discs slightly but still don't recon this is the problem as the noise can still be heard under braking and none of the discs are particularly hot after a drive, so surely if it was the pads dragging applying the brakes would stop the noise.

Then there is the hand break shoes which are the only thing i haven't really investigated but i doubt that it is the problem as when i had the car jacked up i spun the rear wheels with the hand break on a few clicks and then there was a much more audible grinding/dragging sound so i think if this was the problem it would be a lot more obvious especially at higher speeds.


What do use think ? As i have said i did not really want to post this up as i know its a very hard thing to identify. As it is such a minor noise that you really need to be listening for to hear i keep trying to just forget about it until it gets worse and more obvious but that the problem its not

Anyway i thought it can't hurt to ask some advice maybe someone will have had this problem and can point me in the right direction .

Thanks

[Phil325i]

I think you've covered all the bases on this one. It might just be something you've got to live with until you change pads and discs (don't do one without the other). I have a similar noise, but only audible under low speed braking. If it was anything more serious (like a wheel bearing) you'd hear it all the time and it would be much nosier.

Just my five penn'orth...

[bazz780]

i had similar it turned out hand brake shoes in the drum, got them taken out cleaned

No noise since

[Mark e90]

did you have them replaced or just cleaned ? Also was it the same as in the noise was barley noticeable and only at low speeds ?

Its only £30 for new hand break shoes so its seems like its worth a try but its just getting the time todo it and the thought of spending a even more time on the car on once again not sorting the problem !

Cheers

[hazkirby]

I have what sounds to be the same issue. 2005 330i. I have only had the car a few weeks and actually thought the sound was the wind going through the wing mirror or something it was that slight. However in a built up area the sound reverberates against objects so I ruled out the wind being an issue.

I've a number of issues/improvements to go through yet before I get to this.

I've had the brakes checked by an indy and they couldn't find anything.

I'll keep an eye on here!

[abeardo83]

Have you had your alignment done? If your wheels are toeing in more than they should, you'll hear and feel a slight scrubbing sound.

[bazz780]

Mine were just cleaned and was down to the rear discs scoring on the inside combined with the brake shoes rusting