E91 - noise from rear
Discussion
Hi guys,
Our E91 325i has started to make a droaning/humming noise somewhere (we think) from the rear of the car.
Doesn't change with engine revs, only with road speed - and is most noticeable from about 30MPH up to 70MPH (where it is still noticeable, but starts to "blend" in with the aerodynamic noise the car makes at motorway speeds).
Still makes the noise if you coast with the clutch down, and doesn't seem to change when you brake or turn a corner.
Just a constant droaning/humming noise, the frequency of which increases with speed.
What I've checked so far - general tyre condition (front and rear) no abnormal wear, tyres have plenty of life still (all less than 10k miles old). It had a 4 wheel alignment check/adjustment carried out last year. After a long journey, the brakes and wheels are still hardly even warm to touch - so probably not a sticking calliper.
What would be your first port of call to get it diagnosed? I was thinking the first thing might be to get wheels balanced? But just wondered if someone has had anything similar?
Steve.
Our E91 325i has started to make a droaning/humming noise somewhere (we think) from the rear of the car.
Doesn't change with engine revs, only with road speed - and is most noticeable from about 30MPH up to 70MPH (where it is still noticeable, but starts to "blend" in with the aerodynamic noise the car makes at motorway speeds).
Still makes the noise if you coast with the clutch down, and doesn't seem to change when you brake or turn a corner.
Just a constant droaning/humming noise, the frequency of which increases with speed.
What I've checked so far - general tyre condition (front and rear) no abnormal wear, tyres have plenty of life still (all less than 10k miles old). It had a 4 wheel alignment check/adjustment carried out last year. After a long journey, the brakes and wheels are still hardly even warm to touch - so probably not a sticking calliper.
What would be your first port of call to get it diagnosed? I was thinking the first thing might be to get wheels balanced? But just wondered if someone has had anything similar?
Steve.
Thanks guys... It's not a metallic sound, more like a lowish frequency thrum thrum thrum noise that increases in speed (the pace of the thrumming, if that makes sense!) with road speed.
I think I'll ask my mechanic to look at it before trying the local tyre place.
Is changing a rear wheel bearing on an E9x something you can do on the driveway?
I think I'll ask my mechanic to look at it before trying the local tyre place.
Is changing a rear wheel bearing on an E9x something you can do on the driveway?
Wheel bearing.
To answer your question, that depends on your driveway and the tools you have. BMW are NOT owner friendly when looking at wheel bearing replacement.
You will have to try and extract the hub without damaging it, after pushing out (without damage)the driveshaft, then remove the circlip and press out (or use a special puller) to remove the bearing. You then need to press in the new bearing and install the circlip.
You will probably fing the inner bearing race stuck on the hub which then needs cutting off of gringing and chiselling off. The hub then has to be pressed into the carrier with the bearing before refitting the driveshaft.
Plenty in that lot to go horribly wrong.
To answer your question, that depends on your driveway and the tools you have. BMW are NOT owner friendly when looking at wheel bearing replacement.
You will have to try and extract the hub without damaging it, after pushing out (without damage)the driveshaft, then remove the circlip and press out (or use a special puller) to remove the bearing. You then need to press in the new bearing and install the circlip.
You will probably fing the inner bearing race stuck on the hub which then needs cutting off of gringing and chiselling off. The hub then has to be pressed into the carrier with the bearing before refitting the driveshaft.
Plenty in that lot to go horribly wrong.
8Tech said:
To answer your question, that depends on your driveway and the tools you have. BMW are NOT owner friendly when looking at wheel bearing replacement.
You will have to try and extract the hub without damaging it, after pushing out (without damage)the driveshaft, then remove the circlip and press out (or use a special puller) to remove the bearing. You then need to press in the new bearing and install the circlip.
You will probably fing the inner bearing race stuck on the hub which then needs cutting off of gringing and chiselling off. The hub then has to be pressed into the carrier with the bearing before refitting the driveshaft.
Plenty in that lot to go horribly wrong.
Thanks. You will have to try and extract the hub without damaging it, after pushing out (without damage)the driveshaft, then remove the circlip and press out (or use a special puller) to remove the bearing. You then need to press in the new bearing and install the circlip.
You will probably fing the inner bearing race stuck on the hub which then needs cutting off of gringing and chiselling off. The hub then has to be pressed into the carrier with the bearing before refitting the driveshaft.
Plenty in that lot to go horribly wrong.
Not planning to do it myself - way beyond my abilities - but for convenience sake, we tend to use a (very good) mobile mechanic to service/work on the car. Just seeing how feasible it is for him to fix it on our driveway (with his van full of tools). If he can't do it on our driveway, we then have the horror of needing to find a garage to do it
MattOz said:
Could be a wheel bearing, but could also be the tyres. Can you try another set of tyres to rule that out?
Nope, just the one set - I could try swapping front to rear, but I'm not even sure the car came with a jack (having runflats) Maybe a trip to the local tyre place might not be such a bad idea. The car has covered less than 70k miles, so it might be a bit early for bearing failure? (although not impossible I guess)
OK, so my wife took the car in to National Tyre first thing this morning, who had a test drive, took the wheels off and gave it a good check over and said its definitely not tyre/wheel related, and in their opinion its almost certainly the driver's side rear wheel bearing - didn't charge us anything either.
The wife spent the morning phoning around getting quotes. Some smaller places won't touch it because "you need specialist tools", and almost everyone else hasn't bothered to phone back with a price - even the main dealer (although that should be no surprise I guess).
So the best so far we've got is £295 inc. VAT, parts and labour.
Anyone have any experience of Kartechnic in Poole, Dorset? They have a green mark in my book already for promptly calling back with a price Never used them before, but they're supposed to be BMW specialists and seemed to know what they were talking about.
The wife spent the morning phoning around getting quotes. Some smaller places won't touch it because "you need specialist tools", and almost everyone else hasn't bothered to phone back with a price - even the main dealer (although that should be no surprise I guess).
So the best so far we've got is £295 inc. VAT, parts and labour.
Anyone have any experience of Kartechnic in Poole, Dorset? They have a green mark in my book already for promptly calling back with a price
Never used them before, but they're supposed to be BMW specialists and seemed to know what they were talking about.Don't discount the tyres causing the grumbling...
Had something similar on my e91 m-sport. I was sure it was the wheel bearing given the type and volume of noise but was cured when new rear rubber was fitted.
In my experience the rear tyres seem to cause excessive noise and the fronts tramlining when partially worn (even with 4-5mm of tread)
Had something similar on my e91 m-sport. I was sure it was the wheel bearing given the type and volume of noise but was cured when new rear rubber was fitted.
In my experience the rear tyres seem to cause excessive noise and the fronts tramlining when partially worn (even with 4-5mm of tread)
Ruxpin said:
Don't discount the tyres causing the grumbling...
Had something similar on my e91 m-sport. I was sure it was the wheel bearing given the type and volume of noise but was cured when new rear rubber was fitted.
In my experience the rear tyres seem to cause excessive noise and the fronts tramlining when partially worn (even with 4-5mm of tread)
Thanks, we've experienced tyre noise before... and although the sound is similar, it is louder (and more frequent - happens on every road surface). Also, all the tyres on the car are less than 10k miles old (probably more like 5k miles and don't seem worn at all to me).Had something similar on my e91 m-sport. I was sure it was the wheel bearing given the type and volume of noise but was cured when new rear rubber was fitted.
In my experience the rear tyres seem to cause excessive noise and the fronts tramlining when partially worn (even with 4-5mm of tread)
Latest scary one... one of the BMW specialists called back to say they've seen a fair few 1 and 3 series in with worn out diffs - cost is between £800 and £1000 just for the part. So it looks like some further diagnosis is needed before committing to changing a wheel bearing.
Now beginning to think I should have kept my E46
stevesuk said:
OK, so my wife took the car in to National Tyre first thing this morning, who had a test drive, took the wheels off and gave it a good check over and said its definitely not tyre/wheel related, and in their opinion its almost certainly the driver's side rear wheel bearing - didn't charge us anything either.
The wife spent the morning phoning around getting quotes. Some smaller places won't touch it because "you need specialist tools", and almost everyone else hasn't bothered to phone back with a price - even the main dealer (although that should be no surprise I guess).
So the best so far we've got is £295 inc. VAT, parts and labour.
Anyone have any experience of Kartechnic in Poole, Dorset? They have a green mark in my book already for promptly calling back with a price Never used them before, but they're supposed to be BMW specialists and seemed to know what they were talking about.
Steve, aware this is an old thread but I am experiencing same problems as you had back in 2015. I have a 3 series tourer (2013) 320d with 18inch alloys and run flats. The same noise was occurring rear left as you describe and local garage replaced discs and pads saying they were heavily rusted out. I saw them after replacement and they were in bad shape.....trouble is the noise is still there. What was the outcome on yours? ToddThe wife spent the morning phoning around getting quotes. Some smaller places won't touch it because "you need specialist tools", and almost everyone else hasn't bothered to phone back with a price - even the main dealer (although that should be no surprise I guess).
So the best so far we've got is £295 inc. VAT, parts and labour.
Anyone have any experience of Kartechnic in Poole, Dorset? They have a green mark in my book already for promptly calling back with a price
Never used them before, but they're supposed to be BMW specialists and seemed to know what they were talking about.Toddspur said:
Steve, aware this is an old thread but I am experiencing same problems as you had back in 2015. I have a 3 series tourer (2013) 320d with 18inch alloys and run flats. The same noise was occurring rear left as you describe and local garage replaced discs and pads saying they were heavily rusted out. I saw them after replacement and they were in bad shape.....trouble is the noise is still there. What was the outcome on yours? Todd
It was definitely the wheel bearing - had it replaced, and all good since.Gassing Station | BMW General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff