Suspension Clunk/Creaking from front end

[whoismorggan]

Have had H&R lowering springs on for about two months. I wonder if something came loose?

The sound towards the end of the video is my elbow pressing into the center armrest 😅

[whoismorggan]

Took the wheel off to see if I could pinpoint where it's coming from... Tightened the lower strut pinch bolt but that didn't help. I don't think I have right tools to do much else.

https://youtube.com/shorts/igCXcOyCnqM?feature=share

[lht5059]

I am like 85% to 95% sure your control arms and/or wheel bearings are shot lol... I had exactly the same thing happen and it was a pain in the butt; control arms failure is a known issue, so do some searches in the forum (listed some links at the very bottom for you).

If you put your wheels back on and do the typical wheel-bearing shake test (jack the car up), I'm comfortable in betting it will make a clunking sound and play when you shake it from side to side, but not likely to make the same sound or play as much when you shake it holding top and bottom... In case you are not familiar, there should be zero play (this is different than turning the actual wheels like when you turn left/right). I can't tell you which exact control arm has issues since I did all 4 fronts (there are 2 per side), though, but the bushings are what go bad... No point of replacing the bushing alone as the cost thereof is higher than replacing the whole arm. Wheel bearing-wise, this shake test wasn't indicative for me and the only way I knew was a humming sound around 75mph+ (even down to 60s once in a while) that very slightly changes against the direction the car is steering towards (think changing lane or big highway curve). Bringing this up because the sound could also be indicative of wheel-bearing problems... If you want to go with elimination, I'd rather fix the arms first since those go out early anyway, and see if the sound is still there...

Below is a brief breakdown of how mine happened:
https://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...68&postcount=8

These are some threads on control arms I bookmarked when mine made the same noise:
https://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1832110
https://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1509222

[whoismorggan]

Originally Posted by lht5059

I am like 85% to 95% sure your control arms and/or wheel bearings are shot lol... I had exactly the same thing happen and it was a pain in the butt; control arms failure is a known issue, so do some searches in the forum (listed some links at the very bottom for you).

If you put your wheels back on and do the typical wheel-bearing shake test (jack the car up), I'm comfortable in betting it will make a clunking sound and play when you shake it from side to side, but not likely to make the same sound or play as much when you shake it holding top and bottom... In case you are not familiar, there should be zero play (this is different than turning the actual wheels like when you turn left/right). I can't tell you which exact control arm has issues since I did all 4 fronts (there are 2 per side), though, but the bushings are what go bad... No point of replacing the bushing alone as the cost thereof is higher than replacing the whole arm. Wheel bearing-wise, this shake test wasn't indicative for me and the only way I knew was a humming sound around 75mph+ (even down to 60s once in a while) that very slightly changes against the direction the car is steering towards (think changing lane or big highway curve). Bringing this up because the sound could also be indicative of wheel-bearing problems... If you want to go with elimination, I'd rather fix the arms first since those go out early anyway, and see if the sound is still there...

Below is a brief breakdown of how mine happened:
https://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...38;postcount=8

These are some threads on control arms I bookmarked when mine made the same noise:
https://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1832110
https://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1509222

Thank you so much!! I should've searched the forum better.

It's most likely the lower control arm then, since I don't have any vibration or humming at high speeds.

[parthpatel1]

Originally Posted by hellyesmorgan

Thank you so much!! I should've searched the forum better.

It's most likely the lower control arm then, since I don't have any vibration or humming at high speeds.

Buy both the control arms and replace both on each side while you're at it. From FCP

[whoismorggan]

Originally Posted by parthpatel1

[
Buy both the control arms and replace both on each side while you're at it. From FCP

This is the correct part for the passenger side, correct? https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...863170#fitment

[Maverik259]

Originally Posted by hellyesmorgan

Have had H&R lowering springs on for about two months. I wonder if something came loose?

The sound towards the end of the video is my elbow pressing into the center armrest 😅

Originally Posted by hellyesmorgan

Took the wheel off to see if I could pinpoint where it's coming from... Tightened the lower strut pinch bolt but that didn't help. I don't think I have right tools to do much else.

https://youtube.com/shorts/igCXcOyCnqM?feature=share

100% lower control arm. Search. My diy is here. Buy from FCP euro as it'll happen again if you own long enough. Known poor design on bmw for this heavy car to be "sporty". Bushings can't take the stress.