Clunking sound in steering/suspension
 

Hi all,
My X('04-3.0-122K miles) has developed a "clunking" sound when I do slow speed turns or while braking as I turn. I changed the ball joints and control arm bushings about a year ago, but now there is a distinct sound coming from the front suspension area now. I can "feel" it in the steering wheel as well when it happens. It feels like something is binding or getting hung up a bit while turning/moving, but then quickly slips, binds up, slips, etc. It produces a "clunk" or knock sound each time it happens. It also seems to do it only on uneven surfaces. Any ideas where to start on the trouble-shoot for the prob? Any help or advice would be appreciated! Thanks


Steve

Steve,

That clunking sound could be anything. Check the following.

You said you changed the control arm bushings. Did you change both? With what? If it wasn't regular OE,Meyle, lemforder, Powerflex, then they may be shot.

Check the left and right wing supports. Its the "rod with two ball ends" attached to the strut and the sway bar link. If those haven't been replaced, that could be where the clunk is coming from.

Also when the bushings were replaced and everything was tightened, was it rechecked for torque under load?

:iagree:

I was surprised at how much what "seems" like insignificant play or wear on a sway bar link transmitted to the driver.

Steve,

Keep us posted on where exactly the problem is, cuz I have exactly the same "cluck" sound each time when I turn, mine only happen at left turn.

Thanks,
Lei

Well, add me to the list.

Mine only happens when turning to the right. Absolutely no pop/clunk when turning the wheel to the left.

It's weird...it's almost like it's in the slip ring and something is hanging on the plastic. I think I'm going to jack the vehicle in the air and see if the noise/sensation is still present.
Frankly, I hope it is the sway bar links...that would make the repair very simple and cheap!

FYI, mine is an '02 4.4 Sport with 132k miles.

Hi all,
I just returned from my bud's shop, where I drove over the oil change bay and we listened to the noise from underneath. It definitely is in the area under the metal pan(not in either wheel area), mid-way between the wheels, under the engine. I have to return on tues to take off the pan and pinpoint what is up. Might be a steering column issue or something else. It makes the sound when the car wheels are turned, no matter if not moving or moving slowly. It definitely sounds like something is binding up, then releasing under stress. Gotta do some more investigation, but I'll report back here after figuring it out.


Steve

Thanks for keeping up posted, Steve. Looking forward to hearing back from ya soon.

:thumbup:

RealOEM.com * BMW E53 X5 4.4i STEER.COL.-LOWER JOINT ASSY

I had a similar clunk sound like something was binding whenever I make a left or right turn. No problem/sound when going straight, even on bumps.

I sprayed part #2 steering u-joints with lots of lube (BreakFree) and worked the steering wheel several times. To my surprise...the noise went away and now the steering is smooth and quiet. No more popping/clunking sound.

X has 122K miles on original steering parts.

Hi all,
MrFixIt, thanks for the info. Funny, your X has the exact same mileage as mine with the clunk sound development! Did you have to take off the metal plate protector(part of suspension) to get to the steering assy? I'm going to have my bud take the plate off at his shop and check everything out underneath there. I will buy some of the "Break Free" before going over there to try as well. I knnow I have to change the bolts on the plate when I remove it, as it is part of the susension, I believe. I'll report back after finding the prob. Thx everyone!

Steve

I had a similar problem a clunking sound when turning bmw thought it was the rack but my diligent brother in law a bmw tech found that the bolts on the stiffening plate behind the rack where loose once he tightend those the problem was gone cost 1.50 for blue loctite or bmw solution 2900 for the rack plus labor

I didn't take off the reinforcement plate. Worked it from the top with BMW special tool # P123 :D (aka an 18" long party straw from the grocery store).

Put the spray nozzle attachment into the straw and spray down; turn the steering wheel and spray spray spray. A little messy but it's just CLP. I used BreakFree CLP (clean, lube, and protect) because it's what I have on hand for gun cleaning. I think you can use just about anything that can be sprayed on like Triflow or other lube.

So, so far I've learned 2 possible causes: Double Joint on the Lower Steer Col Assy, or the loose bolts on the stiffening plate behind the rack.

Is it possible that someone is very kind to post some pictures how to get access to them or see them?:thumbup:

Thanks again for all the solutions.

Looks like I am in the exact same boat as everyone else here. Clunking around the 90 degree point either turning right or left from the 12 o'clock position of the steering wheel. Also, restriction in the ease of movement and then it quickly releases and operates normally...until I try to turn again.

Any improvement LeiZ??

What year and model do you have? Some reported this noise to go away after replacing tie rod ends. The play in the ball joint relates to a clunk in the steering.

2001 4.4i (obviously E53)

Yep, same exact situation for me.

I tried spraying the double joint with liquid wrench...seemed to make it worse and then things improved. However, it never really felt right. Several weeks went by and the knocking had returned. Happened to see an Advance Auto Parts store...so, I grabbed a can of white lithium spray. Wasn't sure what would happen, but managed to hit the joint a few times (engine bay was too hot to really reach in all the way to the joint) with the lithium grease. The knocking has finally gone away. The steering no longer has the restriction and release feeling...it's moving smoothly now.

So, I'm planning to revisit with a more thorough spaying while the engine bay is cool as to really get into the joint.

I'm not sure if lithium grease was the way to go or not...I was desperate and felt like a "sticky" kind of lubricant was necessary to hold in the joint.
I've driven roughly 500 miles since the initial spray and it still feels good...a nice fluid flow while turning the wheel. Again, absolutely no more knocking!
Well worth the less than $5 I spent to test lithium spray on the joint! Ha, I figured if it was all wrong to use that grease...it would just force me to order a new double joint and replace it. So, YMMV:thumbup:

Mine does this as well. It's nice to finally know the cause.

Great guys, thanks for the tips. I'll try to hit it with some grease tomorrow and see if that fixes the problem. I'll update you everyone.

Just turn the wheel a bit to expose the entire joint...it helps if you have a helper turn the wheel while you spray!

Hi all,
So, I'm replacing the tie rods on both sides, because I believe that is where the sound(a binding, then release causing the clunk/click) is originating from. Got a set from AutohausAZ and they're being installed today. At my bud's shop, I felt the steering with the wheels OFF both front sides(the car was in the air, on his lift) and the turning was smooth.....When there is stress on the rods with the wheels on and car on ground, I would get the binding. I'll report back about my results.


Steve

Picked up some Lithium grease and used the BMW special tool as described in a previous post (several straws connected together) to spray directly down into the joint. Resistance in the turn immediately cleared up! But...my clicking seems to be more frequent in the turning of the steering wheel. Not to a concerning level, but enough that I am going to look into some other stuff. I think maybe I should look at the tie rods or the stiffening plate bolts behind the rack? What do you guys think?

I also picked up some white lithium (2/$6 Liquid Wrench White Lithium @ Autozone today if anyone is interested...) just now. Turned the wheel a few times and resprayed. Will report back tonight if the results are good! I've had my "click" so long I know exactly how to set it off heh.

Steve,

Be sure to let us know what you find. In my situation, I found that everything cleared up when I got the lithium grease into the double joint. My tie rods are apparently still serviceable since I'm no longer having any issues.
There must be multiple levels of noises, clicks and clunks associated with our truck! :yikes:

Traveler,
Mine didn't clear up IMMEDIATELY...it took a little driving and several turns before the steering was smooth and fluid.
Wish I could be of more assistance...maybe we'll hear from Steve if the new tie rods did the trick for him!

Wow. I drove about 10 miles just now and no clicks whatsoever. Normally I really feel it while taking slow turns such as in a parking lot. None at all now even with me trying. I can't believe this click could be gone so easily...

Ok, drove it around a bit more today and even back up a trailer (lots of turning of the wheel) and clicks are gone. That $3 can of liquid wrench was a good fix...now to change the transmission fluid :-/

Thanks for the help guys!

I also bought some Liquid Wrench white lithium grease after work today, sprayed it a couple times and it smoothed out the tight feeling steering a lot.

Hmmm, can't get multiple quotes working for me on this forum...maybe it's lack of posts?!

Anyway, glad to hear that the lithium grease has been as effective for you guys as it was for me.
As of today, I've now got over 700 miles since I sprayed it and the steering still feels awesome.

Hi all,
****Update****
So, my mech was getting into the tie rod swap job and noticed that the steering rack had quite a bit of play in it(he said it's supposed to be tight). I guess I am in need of a new steering rack to fix the clunking sound coming from the under-engine area now. My X has 127K+ miles. I will prob buy a reman'd rack from ZF, since I can't find ANYONE to rebuild mine or find a rebuild kit for it either.....Where's the bang head icon!


Steve

Hi all,
Ok, so this is where my situation ended up. After finding out that the clunk was coming from a loose steering rack, I went on a hunt to find a place that would rebuild my oem. I find it very dumb/wasteful to just buy another and toss mine into a landfill. I called ZF Steering and spoke to a very nice gentleman there(don't remember his name). He said they had 9 of my type of rebuilt racks in stock and cost was $1300 plus like 29 bucks shipping(no core and they didn't require mine back, nor did they want it!)......A gigantic deal compared to the typical ridiculous quote I got from my BMW dealer for just the part($2,800 bucks). I told him my concern about just wanting my rack rebuilt and he said they honestly didn't do that with cars like my X, since they dealt in very large equip, like buses/trucks/etc. He said "How many X5's do you think are out there that need their racks rebuilt?".......Made total sense and I saw his point immediatley! So, he was very helpful in listening to my request about wanting mine rebuilt. He gave me the names of 2 Co's in U.S that do this(Cardone & ATSCO) and asked where I lived........I live in Vegas and ATSCO is in Phoenix, so he gave me their number. He also gave me the approx price, $600 bucks, it would run to have mine rebuilt(That was really cool of him!). I thanked him and told him I'd be a customer of his if I could not get mine rebuilt afterall. I just want to say a big thank you to the gentleman and to ZF Steering for being such great people and an upstanding biz....It was such a breathe of fresh air to not deal with a slimeball who wants to just rip me off and take my money! Anyway, I called ATSCO and spoke to them concerning getting my rack rebuilt. The gentleman I spoke to there said they did not rebuild for customers off the street and that I had to go through one of their "Authorized dealers/distributors" who had an acct with them. He asked where I lived and gave me a list of all the biz's who could broker this repair for me......One of the biz's was Pep Boys. I hung up with him and called my local Pep Boys. I spoke to the Manager there and explained my situation. I had a steering rack that I wanted to have sent to ATSCO in AZ and get reman'd. All Pep had to do was facilitate the back & forth shipping and they would make a little money on top. The Manager was at a loss, so I told him Pep had a Corp acct with ATSCO, to call and speak to my contact there and he would explain it all to him, then hung up with Pep. The Manager called a few minutes later with the green light and my total price for everything.....$850, including all shipping charges! Not bad, especially looking at the alternative at the STEALER! ;puke; I packaged up my rack myself, took it to Pep and they sent it out to ATSCO for rebuild. I got it back in approx a week, rebuilt, rock-solid and good as new. My mech installed it and now my steering is tight as can be with NO clunks, creaks or anything. My total cost in getting this done was cost to pull out & reinstall my rack plus the $917(Pep cost plus tax) of the rack rebuild and the 10 bucks for the box. I saved literally THOUSANDS from being RIPPED OFF by the Stealer. If anyone wants anymore info or guidance on how to do this, let me know and I will be glad to help out as best I can. :thumbup:

I have the same problem, mine only happens when turning right. I too changed the control arms about a year ago. However mine did not start clunking until I did a front axle job.

I have a feeling that the problem is the stiffener plate bolts. I initially tried to take the plate off to do the axle job, but did it without and never re-torqued the bolts.

Anybody know the stiffener bolt torque spec?

Also my car just passed 100K, so thinking about doing the sway bars and tie rods.

Torque spec is 41/ft# first step, then +90 degrees. Not sure why its specified as a 2 step process, but it is. Best also to move the suspension up and down a few times, then torque to specs.

BTW, I also have just developed a similiar clunk only when going over uneven speed bumps. Could not find anything loose on the tension struts, ball joints or sway bar or links.

Will be going back to recheck these settings on mine. (I did a CV joint boot replace 30k mi ago, had removed and retorqued the stiffner plate, and have 76k on the car now). This just started in the past few weeks.

Interested if this solves the problem on this thread and the slow speed clunk on mine when I get to it this weekend. Any other ideas to diagnose for the clunk are welcome.

Thanks for the info. I will let you know if it works, this clunk has been real annoying.

Sure enough, it was just the stiffener plate bolts. I feel like an idiot for not figuring this out earlier, and for not tightening them originally.

The stiffener plate/sway bar bushing bolts are torque to yield fasteners. These MUST be replaced EVERY time they are removed.

I never removed the stiffening plate. I started too, but decided not to when I saw it was a two wrench job. When I saw the top nut spinning I just stopped and didn't bother to re tighten them. Hopefully they are fine. It was definitely a lesson learned.

Might be inner CV's. Also the check play in the forward arm linkage on both sides. These tend to go around your mileage if you haven't changed them. You can remove them and press new suspension bushing on both ends instead of replacing the entire arm.

Thanks for this solution.

I had the same Noise and clunking only happening upon turnuing corners and intermittently... 2 different mechanics failed to solve the problem and had changed balljoints, cv joints etc etc. One even suggested i was too fussy and should just turn my radio up! needless to say i didnt go back to him. I went to a new guy and when i suggested the stiffener plate bolts, hey presto, no more knocking..

Many thanks again

Wayne

Wanted to add to the list of places you can get a rack rebuild. I used RackDoctor in South Carolina. $300 plus $200 core. I've had it 18 months now with no more problems. Mine wasn't clunking- it was leaking fluid.

Did you just tighten the bolts or put new bolts in?

He just tightened and loctited, but I understand they should be replaced.....
Its been 4 weeks now and no more noises. Should it come back, I will have him replace...it was hard enough getting him to trust me to take the advice I had got on here re what the problem was..

ps, it was clunking whilst turning so bad, that even i was convinced it was a cv joint...

then sometimes it would just make one loud clunk on left hand corners, sometimes only on right hand corners...

god seems like everyones got this noise. I have too and initially my front bushes were shot so replaced every arm and bush on the front and rear as im a bit of an anorak when it comes to maintenance then I noticed I still have this knocking. I have lived with it for a few months now as my car was in my works workshop literally every lunch break for like a week at one point and my colleague's take the piss saying its in the air more times than it actually drives so going to leave it for a while before I get it back in the workshop. does anyone have the part number for the stiffener plate bolts?

I had a full front end of bars and bushes and arms put in and the clunk only appeared after this...

One time while trying to diagnose I drove for an hour and a half in circles and figures of 8 with my mechanic and sods law there wasnt a squeak from it, but when i dropped him off and drove home, as i reversed into my driveway, it came back....evnen tighten the bolts and see the difference.......

Where is the stiffening plate located? Pictures would help tremendously. I have been living with the clunking noise for a few months now. It's very annoying. I have already replaced the front control arms, and bushings thanks for the help

I had replaced my upper control arms about 35k ago. I used Febi parts. Just replaced again because the ball joint was bad. Use lemofored this time. The uppers were one of my first BMW DIY and I was still learning.

The stiffening plate is the big square metal plate under the transmission. Tighten all the bolts, if you changed sway bar bushing that is most likely where the clunk is coming from. Hard to tighten, but it needs to be real tight. Look for the torque setting somewhere. Also you may need new bolts. I believe the bolts on it are single use only, once tightened they are stretched.

I have a bit of like clunk now, probably just need new bolts.

If I recall the spec, those are 2 stage fasteners, 45 ft lbs then 90 degrees.

Hi Everyone.

I have this issue now, as expected, I have changed everything, Track arm, control arm, CV joints arb links and bushes... the works. So I will have a go at tightening these bolts and see what happens. Also, I might be missing a washer on my ARB link I was in a rush to install those so I will go and add a new one of those.

This is a loud 'Clunk'. On my X5 it happens mostly when you brake at low speeds and are turning. Start/stop in traffic will clunk, not every time tho. I can feel it through the brake pedal and the steering wheel.

I will give you an update if this fixes the clunk noise.

So the bolts to tighten on the metal protection/strengthening plate are just spinning. Turning them does not tighten or loosen them. Am I being stupid? Do I need to get a wrench on the other side of the plate to release the bolt? I just thought they unscrew from the sub frame?

There's a nut on the backside. Box end wrench will fit in there...

Cheers David, I will get my hands the other side and get that done, cheers.

Let us know the results.....

Thanks guys, right. Update... Not a huge amount of room on the other side of that metal plate and its heavy! I took all the bolts completely out just to have a good look underneath before I then tightened everything back up. I used the old bolts, I have the TTT bolts on order from BMW and top nuts... soon as they come in I will fit them. So its stopped the knocking. I have a torque wrench. torqued them to the correct setting then gave it another quarter turn. Then another quarter turn to be safe ;). I did it at the weekend and have only covered about 30 miles since, but it has been totally silent. Only time will tell if it comes back again. WARNING... the metal plate is heavy.... I put a bottle jack and a piece of 4x2 and then lowered it off. I would estimate 5kgs but I am sure someone on here knows the exact weight. I would say as I was on my back under the car with only one hand free, if it came loose when I was undoing the bolts it would hurt a lot. So careful.

Glad you tightened them up. Replacing those bolts is a question of debate here. The fact that no BMW dealer stocks them, from the ~6 I've contacted shows me the service departments aren't replacing them every time they work on an X. If they did replace them every time, they would keep a bunch in stock. Price is crazy expensive from the dealer now. I suspect properly tightening the ones you have is all you need.

Have the same clunking noise on my '06 4.8is when I go over uneven surfaces, straight ahead or turning. I've had the self leveling suspension serviced multiple times so I'm guessing the stiffener plate may not have been bolted/torqued to spec. I really hope this is the answer as the clunking is driving me nuts.

Does anyone have pics of the plate and bolts they can share? Would be great to know what I'm looking for so I can give it a shot before resorting to mechanic. Thanks in advance.

EDIT - is this it? Picture of page 310-2 from Bentley manual

That is IT!

Bolts, nuts and washers are approx $27 total from Dealer sources. Some on the forum have used grade 8 bolts, nuts and washers with success. Biggest issues are around correct torque (clamping power) at the mounting points to stop any shifting.

The OE bolts as mentioned are torque to spec, then 90 degrees, and use once. Many posters and dealer techs do not do so without any posted consequences. If you too do so you are on your own......

Thanks StephenVA! I'll take a look over the next couple days to see if that's the problem (fingers crossed). Will post up what I find.

These bolts work fine on reuse its not mentioned that they need to be replaced. Tighten them up and just move on.

Definitely going to go the reuse route first. FYI the Bentley does say that bolts are single use but based on prior posts seems many folks have reused.

As a rule of thumb, any bolt that is spec'ed to tightened to a torque value, then an angle (e.g. 56Nm + 90 Deg.) is a single-use bolt - the bolt stretch is part of the calculated tension.

Another rule of thumb is you can often get away with not using new bolts in such applications. :D

Yeap, as StephenVA says, those are the bolts and you can reuse apparently. I am a guy that thinks once a metal bolt is stretched, its weaker than it needs to be and if I am honest I was a bit forceful with the removal of these bolts so they where pretty buggered. I have fitted new ones and they are much easier as I haven't taken all the edges off the bolts and nice and easy to tighten to correct torque.

Good luck, hope it solves the problem.

Unfortunately for me it appears the problem is not the bolts holding the reinforcement plate :( . All bolts tight and no obvious signs that they had been removed in past so I left them alone - also no indications of wear or movement around any of the bolts. Steering seems fine - smooth, vehicle tracks straight and tires wearing evenly. I'll have to have the suspension inspected unless anyone has any other ideas?

Perhaps sway bar links loose/worn. As a matter of fact if they serviced the front airbags/struts they would have had to remove/detach the swaybar links. I ve seen these items clunk on a front suspension especially if they were not tightened back up correctly.

I've re-used mine quite a few times. I didn't tighten them to 45ft-lb either. I just go straight to 100ft-lb and call it a day. Never had an issue.

For those who tightened them, did it wheels on ground or car lifted wheels hanging?
I have the same clonking, but the bolts seems as tight as possible.
Read somewhere that you should loose the bolts a bit to allow the metal plate to replace itself, then tighten back.