CV Joint Problem ???

[ungcj]

Need some advice. My 2001 X5 4.4 has a bumpy ride at about 30 mph. You can't feel the bumpy ride when going more than 40 or 45 mph. It seems worse on the passenger side. There are 97,000 miles on the car. It feels like a rim is bent, but I don't think a rim is bent. Could this be a bad CV joint? How do you check? Thanks for any input. CJ

[Tomaz]

I doubt it's a CV (constant velocity) joint. CV joints are hidden inside of their protective rubber flex boots. They rarely fail unless a ripped boot allows contamination. You might try swapping wheels, including your spare, to isolate a bent or out of balance wheel. Good luck

[msammy]

It doesn't sound like a CV joint problem, but you never know. When my CV joint started to fail, it sounded like a click-click-click or a scrape-scrape-scrape sound when turning the wheel while under acceleration. In my case, it was turning left since it was the left outer CV joint. For you, try accelerating hard while turning right to see if the sound gets worse. Either way, follow the link below to see what a torn outer CV joint boot looks like. Look under your car and check your CV boots for tears. Especially look for spilled grease on the inside of your wheels. If you find LOTS of grease, chances are, you find a torn CV boot. When the joint really decided to fail (after 2K+ miles), the car had a constant rumbling sound at 30 MPH and up, but not a bouncy ride as you describe. So, I hope this helps, check it out and post us on what you find!!!

http://www.xoutpost.com/x5-e53-forum/...-see-pics.html

[ungcj]

Thanks for the returns....this helps. I looked at the boots and they aren't torn so it is probably a tire or a wheel. It just seems wierd that it doesn't get worse the faster you go. It seems like you could feel it more the faster you go.....so I will do some swapping and balancing...thanks CJ

[jst2878]

you might have some lugnuts loose on a rim....could be a bad hub-bearing.. Or you might need a wheel blance done to the wheels. Problem should be solved with one of these.