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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum
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Basic front suspension question
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11-03-2018, 03:05 PM | #1 |
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Basic front suspension question
Hi - I have a 2006 330i, stock, non-sport suspension.
The original struts & springs are still on the car. Car drives fine. I was driving thru some road construction and heard some light clunking from front end. no noises, pulling during braking, turning on smooth road. I jacked the front end up and couldn't find any bushing worn, etc. I could hear the clunk when compressing the strut slightly and releasing. ie. - the droop stop of suspension. (lever under tire and releasing method) I don't have experience with this sort of suspension. From everything I can see/read - it appears the droop bump stop is in the strut. There's not any obvious problem with the top strut mount - can't see or feel any motion when I drop the tire. It's possible the clunk/hard droop bump stop in the strut is normal - I normally don't drive on bumpy roads and have never noticed. maybe first time the tire quickly bottomed out the suspension that I noticed. Can anyone educate me on this? - update: Thinking about this - no way he suspension fully extended on the bumps out so this can't be the cause of the noise. I need to get back underneath and look closer for something making the noise. it appears strut is not really bad. With car on ground, loading it and releasing it doesn't bounce, rebounds as I would expect. Though with 120k on car I expect they aren't like new so I'm thinking of replacing regardless. I'd like to keep stock. I read either Blistien B4 or Sachs would be best for stock OEM replacement. If on track/off on this - I'd also appreciate advice. Thanks Ed Last edited by sabino56; 11-04-2018 at 10:30 AM.. Reason: not thinking thru problem before posting |
11-20-2018, 04:07 PM | #3 |
Private First Class
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Thanks for suggestion.
I put car on jackstands, removed the belly pan so I could see everything and can't find anything obvious. The end links on sway bar seem ok. I put a bit of pressure on them with large screwdriver and couldn't see any up/down play. I also didn't see anything obvious on the control arm bushings - but not sure about what is normal. The lower control arm bushing was very stiff - couldn't get much play with large screwdriver. The upper (or tension arm?) bushing is softer - I could get play (a mm or 2) with a large screw driver but it returns to center - no feeling of a break or slop/shift. I can't get any noise by attempting to wiggle wheel in any direction though probably not be strong enough to move whatever is making the noise. I took it to a independent shop and he said the control arm bushings and struts were bad, there was movement of the wheel during braking. But I videoed the wheels during low speed braking and can't see any movement + I never hear the noise during braking. I think their answer that it's struts and control arm bushings on a car with 125k is just a stock good starting point. The noise is only on bumps but not all the time. It doesn't have to be large bumps, sometimes just rough road. I can usually hear it on a low speed left turn out of my driveway - which is why I was liking the suggestion of a sway bar link. so, I'd appreciate any other ideas and/or how to better check something - is the tension arm bushing "softer" than the lower control arm bushing, that is - is some movement normal as long as it springs back to center? - can a strut mount make a knock? I would think if it goes bad it'd be pretty obvious and I can't see any damage, tears, etc. If I can't figure out anything, I may just start with struts - but it'd sure be nice to find the source before shotgunning the problem. |
Appreciate
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