E36 318is Rear Suspension Noise Over Bumps (Flat Tire Noise)

[mixsingh]

Hi guys i'm really :yikes: cus my girlfriend took my beloved e36 318is for a drive the other day and SMACKED my 19" split rim deep dish alloys into the kerb, with great force might i add, takin out chunks of my alloys on the drivers side!!!

before this happened there was a slight clunking noise coming from the rear right wheel area when going over bumps, normally louder with a car full of people.

since the kerbing, this noise has turned into a loud noise as if a flat tyre is hitting a bump when the wheel goes over any small pottholes in the road. also sometimes when driving slowly i can hear a little squeak from the same area.

ive tried pushing down on the boot lid to try and simulate the noise but i cant hear anything.

could this be the strut mountings? i hear this is common. or is it the bearings or bushes? how hard is it to change these parts? i am a bit of a diy enthusiast and am looking to replace the parts myself. PLEASE HELP :cry:

[mixsingh]

I'm a newbie by the way - just checkin to see if this post comes up cus im bored at work hoping to read a reply :(

[Dudesky_E36]

RSM's (rear shock mounts) would be the prime suspect here. Jack up the rear right side, look in the wheel well, and inspect the area where the shock connects to the body. You'll probably be able to wiggle the shock piston around if it's really bad. If you wanna see it from inside the trunk, you have to remove the speaker, then the carpet lining. Hopefully you haven't yet torn up the chassis; that would end up being more than a DYI. Do a search on this forum for rear shock mounts for more info. Good luck :)

[mixsingh]

thanks so much for the reply. i'm gonne check it out and see how its looking.

[mixsingh]

so i had a look at the rear shock mount, and it looks as though it isnt so bad. no play in the shock piston. but i did notice something NEW. when i push down on the trunk now i can hear the squeak louder now, could it be the shock piston itself? when i look at the rear left side of the car it seems slightly higher than the right rear side. do these shocks ever collapse? could it be the spring squeaking? im confused:dunno:

[lesl2]

Without a load it always appears that the left side is higher than the right. I agree with Dudesky that you might have a bad RSM. Did you actually remove the carpet and look at the top of the shock to verify that the mount was fine? Sometimes, you have to press pretty hard on the boot. I would take it off completely and inspect the bushing for cracks. You stated that the noise was a clunking sound. Now it's a squeak? You're going to just have to get into the boot while someone drives over potholes to isolate the sound. Squeaks can come from many areas. The last squeak I had was from the muffler hanger.

[mixsingh]

the dull clunking is still there but the squeak is getting louder. when i stripped the carpet to check the RSM from the top it didnt look bad at all. i'll try and take pics tomorrow and post them if that would help. maybe i'm being too generous judging the condition of the RSM. this squeak is definately coming from the suspension because i can hear it from the suspension. it squeaks to the countours of the road and almost sounds like gas escaping, almost like a whistly squeak.

[mixsingh]

my baby

[mixsingh]

FINALLY SORTED IT!!!!! i changed the RSM even thought they weren't too bad to start with, which obviously didnt help the noise and squeak at all. But then i read somewhere that the trailing arm bushes can squeak before they go, so i thought i'd have a look at it. It was coming out from the arm about 3/4 of an inch. Used a screw driver to force it back in, noise went temporarily but came back. Checked again and it had moved out again. So i spent a couple of hours taking it out and changed it, and VOILA, no clunking and no squeaking! i Bought one for just ***163;8+VAT from the BMW garage!!! Bargain! Thanks for your help guys!