E39 front suspension groan/squeak
Discussion
Over the last few weeks I've been getting a squeak from the front suspension that only happens when driving slowly, in a straight line and either over a speed hump or divots in the road surface, as an example. It needs to be a fairly severe hump/divot for it to happen, so a decent amount of compression.
At speed; nothing...
It's a groan; on the compression of going over said humps/divots, on the upwards & downwards movement and feels/sounds to be more OS than NS
ALL the suspension has been checked; there's no play in any of it, at all. ARB bushes are poly bushes and brand new; they've been sprayed with lithium grease to see if that sorted the noise, no affect. Top mounts are as new; zero issues...
So wondering if it could be one of the shocks...?
Has anyone had an issue like this before on their E39? Any thoughts/suggestions?
Cheers
At speed; nothing...
It's a groan; on the compression of going over said humps/divots, on the upwards & downwards movement and feels/sounds to be more OS than NS
ALL the suspension has been checked; there's no play in any of it, at all. ARB bushes are poly bushes and brand new; they've been sprayed with lithium grease to see if that sorted the noise, no affect. Top mounts are as new; zero issues...
So wondering if it could be one of the shocks...?
Has anyone had an issue like this before on their E39? Any thoughts/suggestions?
Cheers
g3org3y said:
I had similar on my E46...checked over the whole front suspension with no obvious culprit.
Ended up spraying PlusGas on the bonnet latch as it looked a bit rusty/grotty - next time I drove the car, sound was gone!
Hmmm... Deffo not that unfortunately. The bonnet latch and all that gubbins is well greased and working as it should...Ended up spraying PlusGas on the bonnet latch as it looked a bit rusty/grotty - next time I drove the car, sound was gone!
Wish it were that simple haha
Touring442 said:
Spray some WD40 into the dampers, where the chrome rods go in. If the noise goes, it's the damper.
No need to replace it if still lowish mileage, just give it some lube (but not loads) now and then. E39 struts last about 150k.
Cheers; shocks were all new April/May 2019 ands have covered around 6k miles! I'd hope it's not that, but they're not too expensive to replace thankfully No need to replace it if still lowish mileage, just give it some lube (but not loads) now and then. E39 struts last about 150k.
It's lashing it down here & is meant to most of next week too; but will get it on axle stands and give it another once over and will drop some WD onto the shock and see if it makes a difference
My neighbour from about 20 years ago drove an oldish e38. I noticed him as the car was not in keeping with his house or other houses. Mostly people around there drove new shiny cars. This was not so I'm beginning to question if I have my maths right as they only started production in 1995 right. That would make it only 6 years old. OK so perhaps it was more like 16 years ago and that would make the car 10 years old. Anyway it squeaked as it drove by. Maybe that's why I thought it was old. This was also low speed as we lived in a cul de sac so he would be approaching his house at slow speed. Definitely bump or suspension movement related. It can only be a shock or bush or pivot. There isn't anything else right. Could the engine mounts be moving and groaning. What else moves.
ATM said:
My neighbour from about 20 years ago drove an oldish e38. I noticed him as the car was not in keeping with his house or other houses. Mostly people around there drove new shiny cars. This was not so I'm beginning to question if I have my maths right as they only started production in 1995 right. That would make it only 6 years old. OK so perhaps it was more like 16 years ago and that would make the car 10 years old. Anyway it squeaked as it drove by. Maybe that's why I thought it was old. This was also low speed as we lived in a cul de sac so he would be approaching his house at slow speed. Definitely bump or suspension movement related. It can only be a shock or bush or pivot. There isn't anything else right. Could the engine mounts be moving and groaning. What else moves.
It's deffo OS front; nowhere else... Sometimes it does it, sometimes it doesn't... Quite annoying 
i seem to have a similar squeek, also on the OSF. Strangely i can only recreate it on the horrendous speed bumps in my work car park (yellow and black plastic jobbies that are quite steep and short). Up in the air and on the ramps there is no noise. My shocks are also fairly new but i'm putting it down to that, everything else seems pretty solid. Will give the WD40 a go though just to rule it out.
Deano_BMW said:
i seem to have a similar squeek, also on the OSF. Strangely i can only recreate it on the horrendous speed bumps in my work car park (yellow and black plastic jobbies that are quite steep and short). Up in the air and on the ramps there is no noise. My shocks are also fairly new but i'm putting it down to that, everything else seems pretty solid. Will give the WD40 a go though just to rule it out.
That's exactly when I get it; they're like trying to drive over K2 
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