[Cirrus82]

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.

 

[Cirrus82]

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?

 

[Cirrus82]

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.

 

[Cirrus82]

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!

 

[Cirrus82]

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 👍

 

[Cirrus82]

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.

 

[Cirrus82]

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.

 

[Cirrus82]

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.

 

[Cirrus82]

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.

 

[Cirrus82]

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

 

[Cirrus82]

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.

 

[Cirrus82]

So, semi success, but not from the soundwave stuff which nearly made me vomit 😂

After taking the wheel off again, removing the wheel arch liner and not finding anything loose I found a video online of someone fixing their noises via lubricating all the ball joints and bushings with silicone spray. It's only a temporary fix if it worked but would highlight that the noise is not a tapping but an intermittent creaking.

Finally I managed to recreate the noise on demand by swerving the car left and right, unloading and loading the chassis further compounding the idea it's bushings or creaking roof.

Anyway to cut a boring story short I tried it out and it's only bloody worked. Absolutely dowsed the rubber bushings and spring seats, subframe mounts, etc in silicone, drove for about 5 to 10 minutes and it's stopped the noise. Made a video - it sounds more like creaking here than tapping because of the swerving to make it happen all the time. Before this it was just the odd tap tap noise, but elongated it sounds like a creak.

Now I'll need to figure out which bushing or rubber component is knackered but for now at least, no bloody noise.

 

[Cirrus82]

I'll end up doing them all, I can tell! It's either that or a match to it 🤣