Suspension! Could it need repairs?!? HELP!

[RPX5]

AAH!! So I had a friend in the car over the weekend, he has an 03 4.6, and is pretty car savvy. He hit a huge pot hole and had his whole front end replaced by the city of Boston, including suspension. Anyway, we were driving in my 03 4.4, and he mentioned that my suspension sounded a little iffy, and that I should get it checked. Since then, I've been driving without the radio on, and listening to every little click and clack as I go over small road bumps (lots to hit in Boston). I hear a lot of little pops and bumps, very faint and I probably wouldn't hear them if i wasnt listening, plus i noticed that a nissan pathfinder took a rotary much tighter then I was able to today.

I am going to put my 20's on later today, and I wonder what to look for when I'm in there. I have close to 77k on my car, and have replaced both front CV joints and sway bars within the past 20K.

Could I need new shock absorbers? Can anyone tell me what I should be looking for?? Am I being too particular? AHHH all i see now is $$$$$ flying out the window !!

[jst2878]

you prob need new struts. a slight clunking noise will be heard and your car will have a lot of oversteer pertaining to which side has the bad strut. Get both fronts

[vinuneuro]

Clunking is usually swaybar endlinks. Bad shocks/struts won't really make any sounds. Just get under there and see what feels loose.

[RPX5]

Thanks guys. I went by an indy shop today after work. We took spin, highway, then a bumpy parking lot. He thought it all felt fine. Threw it on the lift, still didn't see a problem. He has been working on BMW's since 83, and spends his days working only on BMWs. Just met him and he seems very honest and knowledgeable. I'm pretty excited, I think I met a new friend!

[Boston X5 4.4]

Originally Posted by RPX5

AAH!! So I had a friend in the car over the weekend, he has an 03 4.6, and is pretty car savvy. He hit a huge pot hole and had his whole front end replaced by the city of Boston, including suspension. !!

Kudos - no mean feat

Swaybar would have been my first guess too - any clunking when braking, going over small bumps like ramps? If so, could be thrust rod bushings.
Anyway, a good indy would be able to check that out.

BTW, what indy shop did you use?

[RPX5]

Originally Posted by Boston X5 4.4

Kudos - no mean feat

Swaybar would have been my first guess too - any clunking when braking, going over small bumps like ramps? If so, could be thrust rod bushings.
Anyway, a good indy would be able to check that out.

BTW, what indy shop did you use?

Place on RT. 1 in Peabody, Loui's BMW. I'm dropping my car off on Monday for basic maintenance (plugs, pads/rotors), and I'll have him take another look at my suspension. I've been driving it and it still just doesn't sound/feel right to me.

I had my sway bars and CV joints replaced at around 55K, do you think those parts need to be replaced again? It's only been about 20K miles since then. I'll mention the thrust rod bushings, hopefully it isn't expensive, and hopefully I won't need to replace my front shock absorbers.. that would be $$$$$$.

If you call Loui's BMW in Peabody, ask for MO, not the owner, but great guy who has been working on BMW's since 83. Very honest and great insight.

[Boston X5 4.4]

Originally Posted by RPX5

Place on RT. 1 in Peabody, Loui's BMW. I'm dropping my car off on Monday for basic maintenance (plugs, pads/rotors), and I'll have him take another look at my suspension. I've been driving it and it still just doesn't sound/feel right to me.

I had my sway bars and CV joints replaced at around 55K, do you think those parts need to be replaced again? It's only been about 20K miles since then. I'll mention the thrust rod bushings, hopefully it isn't expensive, and hopefully I won't need to replace my front shock absorbers.. that would be $$$$$$.

If you call Loui's BMW in Peabody, ask for MO, not the owner, but great guy who has been working on BMW's since 83. Very honest and great insight.

There should definitely not be any need to replace sway bars, CV joints etc. after just 20K.
Some decent pics here taken from Bimmerfest for thrust rod etc. These are for a 540i but you will get the general idea. Probably some pics on this site too.

DIY Article - How to Replace the Thrust Arms on your E39 540i - 56k No! - bimmerfest - BMW Forums

Once your mechanic gets under there he will be able to tell what is loose.

good luck and let us know how it works out for you.

[RPX5]

Originally Posted by Boston X5 4.4

There should definitely not be any need to replace sway bars, CV joints etc. after just 20K.
Some decent pics here taken from Bimmerfest for thrust rod etc. These are for a 540i but you will get the general idea. Probably some pics on this site too.

DIY Article - How to Replace the Thrust Arms on your E39 540i - 56k No! - bimmerfest - BMW Forums

Once your mechanic gets under there he will be able to tell what is loose.

good luck and let us know how it works out for you.

Hey thanks, I picked her up today, and it seems like the popping sound is the notorious loose rear hatch. Anyone have a DIY to tighten that? The mechanic didnt touch it. He just swapped my spark plugs and installed my brakes. Also found some other issues, such as worn out, leaky hoses at the rear of my engine and a beat up oil separator and gasket. I guess just normal wear, but he showed it all to me and it looks pretty bad. He said it isn't too bad, just normal wear, cheap parts, but lots of time to fix. Do you think $80/hr is too much to pay for labor at an Indy?

[Boston X5 4.4]

Originally Posted by RPX5

Hey thanks, I picked her up today, and it seems like the popping sound is the notorious loose rear hatch. Anyone have a DIY to tighten that? The mechanic didnt touch it. He just swapped my spark plugs and installed my brakes. Also found some other issues, such as worn out, leaky hoses at the rear of my engine and a beat up oil separator and gasket. I guess just normal wear, but he showed it all to me and it looks pretty bad. He said it isn't too bad, just normal wear, cheap parts, but lots of time to fix. Do you think $80/hr is too much to pay for labor at an Indy?

Good news that it was just the hatch.
If you do a search for tailgate or hatch rattle you will get all kinds of DIY fixes that worked for some folk - adjusting the rubber stops, putting felt around the hatch itself etc. You could try some of these and see if they work.

As far as what the mechanic showed you...leaky hoses are common wear and tear (crappy quality) and oil separators take a beating in the cold winters here especially with short trips where it doesn't get warm enough to burn off any water vapour .....so they seem like legit problems.

Can't comment really on indy prices - seems OK for Boston. If it is a mechanic/shop that you trust that is more important IMHO. Here are some Indy shops around Boston area - not touting any of these but you could give them a call for a comp.

- GPS (German Performance Service) in Alewife
- Autobahn East / AutoEngineering in Lexington
- Schneller in Newbury
- West Quincy Motors in Quincy
- 3-D Auto Works in Hudson N.H
- BPG (Bavarian Performance Group) in Stoneham

Plenty of indy shops around here - seem to be more Beeamahs than cabs in Bawstahn sometimes. By the way, you are brave driving on 20's.

[RPX5]

Originally Posted by Boston X5 4.4

Plenty of indy shops around here - seem to be more Beeamahs than cabs in Bawstahn sometimes. By the way, you are brave driving on 20's.

LOL thanks for the information, I'll definitely be calling around for comparisons. The guys today, from Loui's BMW are great, very nice guys, but it's my first encounter with an indy since my warranty is up and I'd like to see what the going rate is. As for more beemah's than cabs, i'm not too sure about that... you drive down tremont street lately? or storrow? I just put my 20's back on with some new tires and I have become very alert, I'm on pothole lookout 24/7. There's some meet on the tires though, it isnt to bad. That's why I worried about my suspension, but thank god things are okay... I have lots of maintenance to get through in the next month or so, I don't want to add suspension components to the list... not yet anyway. I have a new found goal to run this car up to 200k, granted lots of maintenance to stay on top of, but I think it will be so worth it in the long run. I think it will be the only way to truly get my money's worth, plus, I love the car. I toyed with the idea of getting an e70, and I didn't like the deals they were offering, I looked at the audi Q5, eh, its nice, but not my like the e53. The only car i would trade up into is an 06 4.8, but i wouldn't want to repeat myself with all the repairs and upgrades i had made with my car over the past 4 years. so, long story short, I'll keep my car, keep it like new(ish) and run it to 200k.

So, you drivin to CT next month?