Not been to Asda and got a rogue gnome hiding in there by any chance.
bump.

 

Aha thanks Alan, I'd be happy if that was the solution at this point 😂

I'm wondering if the shock in that corner has failed and the top nut is rattling around when the car loads up and unloads on it. The 3 top mount nuts were tight but I'd have to remove the strut to check the rest. Looks a bit grot compared to the other side... Sytner want £120 to look at it.

 

You could be on to something there it does look a bit tired.

 

It looks as if the shroud is not being held central around the shocker body which is a sure sign the bumpstops are shot. I did mine this year cheap and easy fix, new shrouds and bump stops £20 ish plus about 2 hours on my time to change both sides.

 

Thanks Storksey, it sounds very probable that you're right. It's been in BMW for almost 3 days now (had the airbag recall done too) and having rung three times this morning they can't tell me whether it's ready or not ... Not impressive is it.

Should you be able to waggle the shroud around very easily or should it be fixed in place?

 

The shroud will move a little, if you waggle it about. But when the bump stops are new they are very solid, as they age the become more like sponge, so much so the nearside one on my car broken up allowing the shroud to fall down to the bottom of the damper.

Whilst the offside shroud was hanging on it was not too far behind failing in much the same way. The kit is cheap and comes with bump stops and shrouds, so we'll worth doing.

 

Thanks very much, by the look of how it's leaning to one side I guess that suggests it's deteriorated and collapsing. It was very easy to waggle around and I nearly decided to put some sponge in there to see if that solved the issue.

Will be interesting to see what BMW come back with, whenever that might be.

The car is under 12 month warranty after buying it from Central Lotus ending in April so it would be ideal to sort this now.

 

If it is leaning to one side mate that would not be caused by the bump stops it sounds like you may have spring issue on the lowered side, or possibly a failed damper.

If it is under warranty insisting on it being fixed, 3 days is a joke the air bag is a 40 minute fix, I had mine done a couple months ago. It's was completed while I sat and drunk coffee, I hardly managed two coffees it was that quick. 😀

 

Apologies, to clarify the shroud is not centralised so it looks as if the bump stop is deteriorating unevenly, not the car itself leaning.

I'm gonna have to ring again for the 4th time today. Earlier they simply did not know if it was done or not which is peculiar behavior... just ask!

 

It does but the bump stop is only held in place by friction so it will not affect the level of the car if that makes sense mate.

 

Well Sytner BMW had it for almost a week and didn't figure anything out despite hearing it clearly and loudly. They wanted over £500 to continue investigation which basically involved what I told them I'd already done - stripping the rear interior out. Also didn't seem interested in investigating the suspension because they said they had visually inspected it...

So in the end I've told them I'll collect the car as it seems they're going nowhere and at £260 per hour that's more than a bloody lawyer. All they're talked about was how convertible roofs are difficult to diagnose, the communication has been woeful over the week. Often they didn't know what the status of the car was and no call backs were received.

Moving on I'll look up the parts for the bump stops that you recommended, Storksey 👍

 

Firstly I am pretty sure the bump stops require replacing, but I am not convinced that is the whole story as you say the car is leaning to one side.

Are you going change the bump stops yourself? If you are then you will have the opportunity to check out the damper connections to the wheel arch as well, as somthing is causing the car to lean.

I agree with you no way would a I pay Sytner BMW £500 for two hours work, my guess is they have not even looked at it. I personally now use a BMW certified independent, much cheaper and I believe what he tells me. The guy I use is in Lincoln and I'm happy to provide his details.

Finally this link should help you with a supplier for the bump stops.

https://www.autodoc.co.uk/spares-search?keyword=Rear+suspension+bump+stop

 

Thanks bud, just to clarify (my fault) the car itself is not leaning, just the bump stop shroud. Thanks for the link as well, are there any other parts you would suggest to replace while doing this job?

I'm disappointed with BMW but it was necessary to take the car to them for warranty cover. I've always used MercServe in Nottingham for previous cars but this being a BMW there doesn't seem to he a clear independent garage to choose in the same area. In fact some of these local so called bimmer specialists have terrible reviews.

 

I too would be disserpointred with Sytner BMW mate, if its the branch near the Ferrari dealership I once bought a 635D Convertible from them, they did not impress me either, but it was a company car so not too fussed at the time!

If you are doing the bump stops n shrouds yourself the pay particular attention to the strut top mounts, as Wear in these would cause problems. They cost circa £25 each from AutoDoc.

The independent I use at Lincoln is only about 40 miles from Nottingham but I guess that depends where in Nottingham you are based.

 

That's the one. They don't have the best rep despite the Google reviews - you go next door into Grey Paul Ferrari Maserati though and they're lovely. Having said that the big Merc garage near Experian were no better, gone are the days of BK Thomas with good customer service. It's all freshly graduated University students flirting with each other 😂

I'm SE Nottingham so Lincoln isn't the worst option.

Thanks for the top mount info too, I'll order those although I'm tempted to replace the shocks while they're all out. There's a few options for replacement but I'd assume Febi Bilstein would be OEM, or maybe even Monroe. I'll do some research.

 

It's all freshly graduated University students flirting with each other 😂 PMSL I do get that mind set 100%

I know the Sytner branch, whilst they delivered as promised I did get the feeling they were somewhat indifferent and given what we had just spent I was not impressed, needless to say all servicing was undertaken at BMW York which I had used for years.

What sort of milage has your car done?

Mine had about 48K when the bump stops failed, but I only found out when I took the wheels off to clean them. Yes *nal I know lol

So I'd have to say they failed due to old age, rather than milage.

Not sure who is OEM supplier is but for what is worth this a picture of one of my rear shocks.

 

Thanks for the picture, that's a great help.

Mines a 2016 on just over 67k now, unless the BMW tech was ragging it around Nottingham for the weekend 😅

It'll be interesting to take it all out now that ideas are running out, so if it's not the dust cover, the bump stop or the top nut loose then god knows what else to do. I'll ring Lotus in the New Year and see if they're willing to look at it seeing as I've only had it 8 months. Looking to book it into PCW when he has availability for the exhaust chop and mod, I wouldn't be surprised if he figured it out at the same time rather than BMW.

 

Your welcome glad the picture helped.

I am looking forward to the next step and the final solution to this one mate.

 

Thanks bud. I've ordered Bilstein B4s for the rear, new Febi top mounts and dust cover kits too. I might well carry on to the front with the same B4s and then fit Eibach Pro springs all round too along with a few other suspension refresh parts.

Just keen to get that rear right off and see if it's the culprit.

These were only £70 a piece off eBay.

 

That sounds a very positive move mate, looking forward to hearing how your car drives when all the work is complete.

 

Well, the new B4s, top mounts and dust covers are in. The car feels better to the point that I'll get on with the fronts next and consider some Eibach springs.

The rear right was definitely shot. I don't know how to upload a video here so I've stuck it on YouTube as a short -

You can see a lot of corrosion on the offending shock and the top nut was hard work to release. Sadly though, the tapping noise from inside the car is still as loud as ever.

This is the only solution I've found to drowning out the noise :ears: thank God for chav mode

 

Sorry to hear the tapping has not gone away, but well worth replacing that shocker was shot

 

I have got used to the noise in the dash on our 320d.
Stripped as much as i can but little use now in my left hand restricts me with some jobs and my m8 with a garage will do most work for me but just laughs at that one.
Put up with it now for 7 years lol.

 

Definitely glad the shock is replaced, seems a little less floaty but I'm anything but qualified to know any better.

Still not ready to give up on the tapping noise yet and after another Google session I've seen this video, which ironically is in an Fx series BMW as well. It's essentially using sound frequencies to induce the vibration via a device called Picoscope.

Not sure it'll work with mine as it sounds like whatever is making the tapping is too large, but I'll firstly give it a go with an app through the speakers from my phone.

 

Interesting, although I am not clear how this directs you to the offending fault.

But I will be Interested to hear how you get on with it.

 

As above.