Popping sound front left wheel
 

When going over a bump. I don't have access to a jack currently but it sounds like a control arm bushing. Do these cars have those?

Thanks for any ideas you all may have.

May be that the sway bar is detached, or the rubbers bushes might be perished. Thats what caused by metal knocking sound from the front wheels on my E70


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes, there are control arm bushes, aka thrust arm bushings.

There are also sway bar ends that would be a better guess.

But there could be a half-dozen things that 'cause a popping noise over a slow speed bump...you need to get it up in the air, Jack won't do it- the whole axle needs to be unladen to really be able to flex the bushes...with one wheel down the sway bar will load the lifted side.

Thanks guys. I guess the X will be going to the shop.

how to tell a bad control/thrust arm?

pics would help here. X is in the air.

thanks

Have the Indy put it up on the lift and take a look. Thrust bushings will show evidence of cracking. I just had mine replaced because of front end knocking. Everything is quiet now. No control arm issues evident.

The bushings look fine in my X so we're going with tightening the shock tower and see if that quiets her down.

I'll post back up after my girls get back from vacation.

Thanks a bunch guys.

1. Ask BEFORE you are under the car. ;)

2. Virtually impossible to provide definitive explanations and diagnoses via posts. I'm not going to dig up pictures, diagrams...and add arrows and instructions on what to flex and what to inspect. Sry.

3. There are multiple "arms" on the X5 front suspension. BMW uses various names for these parts. Beware that using this term - both what others have done, what you look up, and what shops tell you- can be a source of confusion.

4. Bushings in the suspension can go 'bad', and they still LOOK reasonably good from visual inspection. It can be very hard to ID a bad bush. You need an experienced eye. Expecting to see frayed rubber, enlarged holes and floppy parts is not realistic- unless it has been 40k miles of rattling. Looking at the degree of flex, signs of cracking or leaks are all you can do.

5. Diagnosis is best done by people with prior experience - knowing what parts are likely to fail, how current symptoms match past will help. The two top faiulres on the X5 are sway bushes and lower control arm aka thrust arm aka tension strut bushes.

GL

I know it is common British usage, but I read that with Edd China's voice in my head. :cool:

^ Like the way I use both terms? ;)