Rattle from under car - 03 e39 530d - any ideas?

[gavinbailey]

Hi - I have an 03 e39 530d Touring Manual that has developed a rattle from underneath the car somewhere - sounds like a loose exhaust clamp however the vehicle has been up on a ramp and checked over and I can find nothing obvious. You can't hear it with the windows up and only hear it when the windows are down and the car is going over bumps in the road.

I've read other posts which suggest stones caught behind the brake backplates however this doesn't seem to be the problem. The local garage seem to think it may be the n/s/f suspension leg however I won't want to start a wild goose chase replacing parts to try and chase the problem down.

Has ayone else had a similar problem as the rattle is driving me nuts.......

[CarZee]

Have you run over any babies recently?

I've had this a couple of times.

[gavinbailey]

Definately no babies - I would have noticed. So did you manage to resolve the rattle or did it just go away? The suspense is killing me......

[phumy]

The suspense is killing us too, we just cant wait for someone to come along with exactly the correct answer, the only way you will know if it is the correct answer is to get under the car and check again. I was you i would get under it again now with a rubber mallet and try to replicate the "going over bumps" bit. Otherwise you will never know

[gavinbailey]

Thanks - this is the one thing I haven't done yet however I was hoping that it was a problem that someone had experienced before. I'll post back when/if I find a solution so that it might e of some help to others.....

[gavinbailey]

Well - an update on this. The car has just spent a few days at a respected local specialist as I couldn't track down the sound with a rubber mallet and the local garage also failed to locate the culprit.

After checking the tie rod bushes, replacing both front shocks (which needed replacing although MoTable), installing new oem front pads (as those fitted were a poor fit and could have induced the rattle), and running the car minus undershields, front bumper and any removable trim we still couldn't locate the source of the rattle.

All in all very frustrating which is why (after spending a fair amount of time myself), I initially asked for advice here. The specialists view after spending 6 hours labour on the ramp, driving around with head out the window etc is that it's not a safety issue, just bl**dy annoying! The 'usual suspects' - i.e. anti-roll bar bushes, tie-bars etc are all ok). If anyone does have any further suggestions I'd be very grateful. It may be that someone somewhere has experienced something similar..............

Thanks in advance...

[bramley]

gavinbailey said:

I've read other posts which suggest stones caught behind the brake backplates however this doesn't seem to be the problem.

I was going to suggest this: http://www.bmwland.co.uk/talker/viewtopic.php?t=29... but it sounds like you're ruled that out.

[dcb]

phumy said:

The suspense is killing us too, we just cant wait for someone to come along with exactly the correct answer, the only way you will know if it is the correct answer is to get under the car and check again. I was you i would get under it again now with a rubber mallet and try to replicate the "going over bumps" bit. Otherwise you will never know

+1

Trying using four sets of ears and driving slowly over bumps
to refine exactly where the bump is.

Front / Rear / near petrol tank / near exhaust / near wheel etc

Then get under the car (after it has cooled down) and touch every
bit of metal under there.

I have known the exhaust heat shield to rattle about a bit.

[gavinbailey]

Thanks DCB - appreciate all the help but note my comment was made following the rather purile post below which offered no useful suggestions whatsoever.

I'm am however grafetul for he suggestions from other posters however I admit that I did suffer a sense of humour failure given that I'm a new father (not that he was to know). Will keep looking but have a feeling this one's going to elude me.......

CarZee said:

Have you run over any babies recently?

I've had this a couple of times.

[keztec]

have you had any joy finding the source of the rattle yet,i also have this on my e39 and its driving me nuts

[coltonbob]

Does your handbrake pulll up really high before engaging? Had something very similar on my E46 coupe, turned out that one of the handbrake shoes had come loose and was rattling around behind the rear discs! Got the rear discs replaced and new hanbrake shoes fitted which cured the problem.

Worth a check...

[Jazoli]

Are you doubly sure it isn't a stone trapped in the top part of the heat shield behind the disc? I had the wheel off a couple of times trying to trace the rattle, then looked on the forums and fixed it in 20 mins, have you checked yourself? Wheel off, remove caliper carrier (2 bolts) and disc (1 screw), the offending culprit in my case was a 2mm x 3mm stone, I was amazed how much racket it was making

Edited by Jazoli on Sunday 4th October 15:24

[redrum1965]

Hi just read your comments, for the second time i have today experienced the terrible screaching noise of a small 5mm stone stuck around the front disc area. it sounds like the complete front brake assembly is about to fall off. After checking my oil which was a bit low i thought it was the engine about to seize, so topped that up. the sound continued and i ended up jacking the front wheel and turning it slowly. to my amazement a small 5mm road chipping fell out and bobs your uncle noise gone, and total relief as my heart beat settled to its normal running pace. Can anyone tell me if this is a common occurance on the on the e39?

[Fox-]

redrum1965 said:

Hi just read your comments, for the second time i have today experienced the terrible screaching noise of a small 5mm stone stuck around the front disc area. it sounds like the complete front brake assembly is about to fall off. After checking my oil which was a bit low i thought it was the engine about to seize, so topped that up. the sound continued and i ended up jacking the front wheel and turning it slowly. to my amazement a small 5mm road chipping fell out and bobs your uncle noise gone, and total relief as my heart beat settled to its normal running pace. Can anyone tell me if this is a common occurance on the on the e39?

Yes, very. I had the same problem a few years ago - awful, horrible screeching noise, I limped to the side of the road and called the RAC.

How embarrased was I when he tapped the brake caliper and out came a stone..