Hello all...
I'm a first time BMW owner and this is my first post.
Recently I purchased a 2002 525i with the M54 engine, a 5 speed, and an M5 kit. It has 103K miles and looks and runs great. It has a new clutch, tires and brakes. During the test drive everything worked perfectly. Delivery of the car after the sale was a nightmare but that's a story for another day.
This car is a magnificent piece of machinery and I just love it. However, after driving it for a few months, I noticed one day that under acceleration I get a loud low frequency vibration from the rear of the car that you can feel in the seat and also in the shifter. It actually feels like something is banging on the rear floor pan.
The vibration and noise just gets more violent unless you let off the gas, after which it simply goes away. Needless to say I've been driving around very "gently."
My father took a look at the car for me and found the left rear wheel had about 1/4 inch of play. It turns out ( in his words) the rear wishbone between the sub frame and the top of the wheel carrier is shot at the ball joint where it connects to the wheel carrier. All of the play can be seen here when you move the wheel hub.
He is still checking the right side for other possible problems but so far we know the drive train seems very tight with no apparent play or noise in the drive shaft U-joints or the axle CV joints.
We'll begin the replacement process for the wishbone as soon as it arrives but I was wondering if this is a common problem and if this is indeed the source of the vibration.
Any insight from you experience owners would be appreciated. I will keep the thread going with our progress over the holiday.
Thanks in advance for your comments!!
Adam
I'm a first time BMW owner and this is my first post.
Recently I purchased a 2002 525i with the M54 engine, a 5 speed, and an M5 kit. It has 103K miles and looks and runs great. It has a new clutch, tires and brakes. During the test drive everything worked perfectly. Delivery of the car after the sale was a nightmare but that's a story for another day.
This car is a magnificent piece of machinery and I just love it. However, after driving it for a few months, I noticed one day that under acceleration I get a loud low frequency vibration from the rear of the car that you can feel in the seat and also in the shifter. It actually feels like something is banging on the rear floor pan.
The vibration and noise just gets more violent unless you let off the gas, after which it simply goes away. Needless to say I've been driving around very "gently."
My father took a look at the car for me and found the left rear wheel had about 1/4 inch of play. It turns out ( in his words) the rear wishbone between the sub frame and the top of the wheel carrier is shot at the ball joint where it connects to the wheel carrier. All of the play can be seen here when you move the wheel hub.
He is still checking the right side for other possible problems but so far we know the drive train seems very tight with no apparent play or noise in the drive shaft U-joints or the axle CV joints.
We'll begin the replacement process for the wishbone as soon as it arrives but I was wondering if this is a common problem and if this is indeed the source of the vibration.
Any insight from you experience owners would be appreciated. I will keep the thread going with our progress over the holiday.
Thanks in advance for your comments!!
Adam
