My X creaks a bit....? Update Weasel?
 

We live off an uneven alley while slowly rolling the rear suspension creaks a little. I can make it happen if I push down on it. Noticeable when going back up. Not terribly annoying, but wondered if it is normal or what to check in to.

shocks?

Also check the center mounts of the sway bar... as the rubber ages it can let the bar creak through it. BMW does not want them to be greased, (as the rubber is not designed for grease)but I could suggest removing and cleaning/greasing them (just the inner part the bar goes through obviously) for diagnosis sake with a smear of vaseline/petroleum jelly.

Otherwise it could be the shock tops or any of the ball sockets of the control arms, lower ball joint etc.

Also check your control arm bushing.

Thanks Folks

I took my car in to the dealer to have the squeaking checked.

Tech put it on a lift and came back to me and said it needed a rear upper control arm. That it did not have any play in it but was starting to wear. Hence the noise.

I asked they try to put it through my extended warranty. The service advisor called it in and it was declined. they said they would give me a discount and do it for $450.00 and to give it some thought, not critical.

After a day or so I got to thinking about it and pulled out my warranty. I have a warranty administerd by Fidelity, They also provide Hyundai's warranty which is pretty good I believe. My dealer is also a Hyundai dealer and it was the best warranty at time of purchase to get.

I have the best coverage they offer.

It clearly lists rear suspension upper control arm and bushings as a covered component.

So I call back, this time I speak to the service manager of the whole auto group, mind you I have known him 25+ years as My brother has been general manager of the whole deal for over 30 years.

The warranty administrater called the rep direct, and went over the situation.

He said it is a wear and tear item and would normaly need to be replaced at my mileage. 70,000. Is this true?

The rep called my brother and my brother called me. They, (the warranty company) say they will make an exception, since I am Tony's brother and do the repair, but it will be the last time they do an unautorized repair. In other words I can call in a favor, but only one time.

So I guess I don't want to take advantage of a so called huge favor for a $450 repair, if in fact it is a standard maintenance item. Something more catastrophic may happen in the future.

But why then do they list the upper control arm as a covered component. It is the stamped wish bone around $300 or so.

Any thoughts?

Can it be greased for now? The car drives fine just an annoying squeak.

Sorry for the long post.

Great story! Learned a bit.

Not quite sure about the warranty stuff, but the squeak sound happened to mine several weeks ago after a heavy rain. It was in the front end. But it just disappeared 2 weeks later, I did nothing. Now I'm guessing there's a good chance your control arm bushing is worn and needs to be replaced. But both online, and ask a tech to put them on. (Don't know whether it'll void your warranty......)

Could be the distinction between a worn part and a part failure. If the control arm cracked it would be covered. If the bushing is worn then it's maintenance.

It isn't common for a control arm to cause a squeak in the rear axle, but I wouldn't count it out... I'm guessing the tech(s) narrowed it down to there via actual diagnosis (or at least hope), but if the problem is in the non-greasable ball joint of the arm, you could try getting a grease needle from the parts store and inject some in there to see if it helps before spending the $450.

Eh, that's a double edged sword... if the control arm is bent or cracked they would say it is from impact damage and decline. I'd be curious as to what defects they say are covored. The bushings on those rear upper control arms are solid, so 19 times of 20 the problem is with the ball joint end of it, which is what you would think is covered.

Thanks Weasel, My bro is trying to get it covered without the so called drop dead final favor.

Next time you are in Buffalo I'll take you to the Anchor Bar for some wings!

This may sound silly, but it happened to me. My indie told me to try this: while in park, pull the parking brake up as hard as you can. Leave it there for a minute, then release it. It worked. Don't get me wrong, the other posts on this are very good advise, but before you spend a lot of money, give the $0 thing a quick try.

I am no mechanic, and don't really know anything about cars, But can I get some pics or personal pics of where is should be greasy, or what should i be looking for. THanks

I will try this, see what happens

There isn't anywhere you should see grease, just places it should be... and those places are sealed. Pretty much the ball joints at the ends of control arms are a metal ball and socket style joint that pivots, and the grease inside the joint is sealed in by a rubber boot. If/when the grease leaks out/drys up the joint is left unlubricated and the joint will wear and creak. It usually takes a mechanic with decent suspension knowledge/experience to isolate where the suspect noises are coming from, and the aforementioned grease needle to inject grease into the otherwise non serviceable joint which can quiet the squeak, but not reverse the wear.

As others have said though, this is just one of many places that can cause a squeak and/or rattle in the suspension.

this happened to me this past winter around feb. due to the weather...
i hated the sound of the squeaking...it sounded like a 1961 ford pickup then a 2002 BMW
Ill post some pictures for you 2mero where u need to grease it at ( 2 metal rubbing against each other making that noise).. it took me 2 hours to find the noise and it took me 5 minutes to resolve the issue.. its been 5 months now with now problem again ( knock on wood plz)

:iagree:

Thanks, if you can post the pictures that will be great. Thanks

i notice my x does squeak occasionally..sometimes i only hear it with the windows down so mostly i leave it up to save myself from the embarrasment. my dads been meaning to change the shocks and suspensions for awhile..maybe thats why. hopefully whatever you're doing to prevent the squeaks work.

ok where is the red circle is where u need to unbolt it and grease it really well, u might need a tube and pump it in and all around, the sqeeking is coming from there due to the metal part rubbing each other ... make sure where u got the black circle u got something to support it from under so it doesn't come apart when u unbolting it...

sorry for the late reply i was outta town

The left side of the part he circled in red is the lower ball joint (yes it is sideways). That is one of the key suspects as it wears over the years, but is a bitch to press out/in the new one. (clearance issues)

I've been getting this creaking too - recently noticed it going through a drive-through McDonalds and can reproduce by moving the back of the car up/down (putting weight on the tailgate).

Still under BMW extended warranty so will book it in. I've had several 'self level susp inact.' messages in the past but they have just fobbed me off saying the computer shows no faults logged.

I had the same creak -- took it to an Indy -- and it definitely was the rear upper control arm. I bought the parts (Febi Bilstein) from pelican and had both sides installed -- total cost $120 parts and $120 labor.

Now, no more creak, car feels much better driving (maybe my imagination) and I can tell the excessive camber on the affected (right) side is now MUCH reduced.

I have an '01 3.0 with 109,000 miles and I bet this is a major wear item that should be looked at/replaced on these cars. My car is totally typical in the way it is used -- just driven carefully, never abused, never taken off-road.

The OEM rear upper control arms are $352 each, and $50-60 by Febi-Bilstein. Pretty much a no-brainer for me -- plus, these parts are made in Turkey and Febi is a German company.

Yeah, the rear upper control arms and lower ball joints are the main wear items in the rear axle... and it does make a noticeable difference when worn. Odds are these are the culprits for the excessive rear camber many people are seeing on this forum.

I had my car re-aligned yesterday, and confirmed that the replacement upper control arms fixed the camber issue. My rear end actually had too much positive camber from a prior alignment and this was dialed out -- now the car is completely within spec on both sides.

So, I think this is the answer for a lot of people having the camber issue -- even if you don't have the squeak, worn upper control arms are likely to be the reason for your camber issues.

Have the same noise out of the rear left , is there any spray lubricant that can be used in there? Wd-40??

Mark can you send me a direct link to the page. Thanks

I took the advise from another member in another thread.....I sprayed penetrating oil all over the joints, no more creaking sounds.
He also advised not to use WD-40, only Penetrating Oil.

My Z creaks a bit...?
 

I know I'm late to this post, I am experiencing something similar. I replaced the front LL control arm May 2010 because I had a wicked shimmy on high speed braking. It started again a bit more than two weeks ago. Knowing I had replaced the lower arms on both sides I figured it must be the uppers. Yesterday I took it to my Indy and he said the LL front control arm was bad - rubber boot was torn and there was no grease. I bought the parts at the dealer (time constraint) and replaced the control arm again last night (so daughter could drive up to DE).

He also told me the front control arm bushes were going bad (cracked and dry). I have an '02 3.0i with 152,000 miles. So my answer to part of your original question is that I don't think it's "normal wear and tear" at 70,000 miles as I am only now beginning the replacements of suspension parts.

That said, I thought I saw a post a while back for a "make shift" press when replacing the bushes. I am not going to buy that specialty tool for what will surely be the only time in my life I will do this kind of repair. If I do it.

Does anybody recall a post about a bush replacement where such a tool is unavailable???

Any one in the New York City area, who has some free time and maybe take my car for a spin, and advise on next steps, or maybe help me out. I am far from knowing how to work on car. and if i take to either indy or dealer they charge just to look at it...