E46 330d Sport - small movement/slack under braking

[Wozza]

Hiya,

Have a BMW 330d Sport Auto. Its an 04 facelift model with 65,000 miles.

Very pleased with the car so far - feels very solid and drived wonderfully on the whole.

The only issue I have found to date is that if I tap the brakes quite quickly (ie don't ease them on) there feels like a tiny bit of slack/movement from the front of the car. Feels like it could be brake pads shifting or front suspension bushes with a tiny bit of slack.

If I apply the brakes smoothly, there is no issue at all. If I brake smoothly but very firmly there are no issues.

No other noises or clonks from the front. No bearing noises. No problem or noises from the suspension when a wheel drops in pot holes or anything - all seems very solid and straight.

Any idea what is likely / obvious cause of this or anything that is prone to replacement at 5+ years and 65,000 miles. Just want to pre-arm myself with a little knowledge before being told I need to replace my whole front suspension....


Separately, anyone know of a good independant BMW specialist in Surrey?

Many thanks for any ideas,


Marc

[john_p]

Very likely to be the front control arm bushing or front control arms themselves. Not a terrible DIY job, £60 for the bushing pair and £200 for the arms. Probably an hour apiece for a garage to do.

May well fail the MOT like that, so budget accordingly!

[Wozza]

Thanks for your help John.


Marc

[Jespin]

Yeah definitely the bottom arm rear bushes, had them replaced twice in 35,000 miles when I had my 330d. As already said, not too bad a job but they will fail MOT if the tester's awake so get them done. Try and buy genuine bushes as I put pattern ones the first time and they didn't last too well.

[Wozza]

Thanks again chaps.

Although the lower bushes hadn't fallen apart, there was a fair amount of movement in them.

Replaced them with new powerflex bushes today and everything feels so much tighter and sharp again.

Cheers!