FIXED: Metallic rattle vibe at idle and during accel..
 

Hey just an FYI for those who have yet to track down and fix the annoying rattle coming from the rear at low speeds.

For reference, this is a 2008 X5 3.0si

We always had a rattle back there, dealer just looked the other way and said it was considered a normal-condition for the E70 chassis. Hmm. Really.

So yesterday I tracked the problem down to the oval/rectangular exhaust tip(s). They're loosely pressure fitted onto the pipe, then tack welded - small tack top and bottom. When the top tack weld broke free recently, the rattle became a lot worse.

It's actually a fairly easy fix.

Left and right exhaust exit tubes can be removed by loosening the clamp that holds them onto the exhaust. I had to drop the 2 rear exhaust hangers in order to get the clearance to actually pop the tubes off.

Once off, the problem was clear, and so was the solution. Took a 1/8" drill bit, drilled a through-hole into the tack weld, and then threaded in a small stainless screw to keep things tight. A short screw works best, so its a little less noticeable when looking into the tip from the back of the car.

Now, THAT fix only addressed the serious rattle, there was still a subtle tinny tink, buzzy kind of sound when tapping on it. I had a tube off-brand metal filler laying around, and so I used a popsicle stick to work a little bit into the gaps from the backside. Bolted everything back together, and let the tips cure for 24 hours. Worked a treat. Car sounds as tight as a drum. :thumbup:

This stuff's probably better than what I used, but the idea is the same:
3 1/2 Oz. Tube Liquid Metal Filler - Permatex (25909)

Best of luck!

Dan Keller
08 E70 X5 3.0si
96 E36 M3

Great share! My wife's x5 has a very similar sound going on and I've not had time to track it down. My guess was a heat shield (recently fixed on her old car)


Sent from my awrPhone using Tapatalk

:iagree:

Time. Man I hear you. I work from home, 2 small kids, a stay-at-home wife with busy schedule, her X5, my Dakota 4x4 and an E36 M3 (which requires nearly the same maintenance as the wife). It's a flippin zoo around here.

There USED to be time and money to maintain our vehicles... I swear it.

Dan