Front End Clunk Sound

[c362137]

'92 325IS

I have this clunking sound sometimes (not always) coming from my front end (I think the right side only) when I hit the brakes hard or go over rough bumps. I just bought the car and the brakes where replace by the guy just before I bought it.

I have replaced the struts, strut mounts, and LCA's and it still does it.

I don't think it's the wheel bearings since I don't get any periodic noise at all and no noise in cornering.

I've been reading some links and now I'm wondering if it could be the anti rattle clips missing, but from the links I'm reading, I'm not sure the sound I'm getting is the same as what they are describing.

[sigep]

'92 325IS
I have a 2004 330i ZHP.....and I also hear a clunk coming form the front end. My seems to be coming form the left strut area. I hear it when I also go over a bump. Is this common?


I have this clunking sound sometimes (not always) coming from my front end (I think the right side only) when I hit the brakes hard or go over rough bumps. I just bought the car and the brakes where replace by the guy just before I bought it.

I have replaced the struts, strut mounts, and LCA's and it still does it.

I don't think it's the wheel bearings since I don't get any periodic noise at all and no noise in cornering.

I've been reading some links and now I'm wondering if it could be the anti rattle clips missing, but from the links I'm reading, I'm not sure the sound I'm getting is the same as what they are describing.

[Orient330iNYC]

'92 325IS

I have this clunking sound sometimes (not always) coming from my front end (I think the right side only) when I hit the brakes hard or go over rough bumps. I just bought the car and the brakes where replace by the guy just before I bought it.

I have replaced the struts, strut mounts, and LCA's and it still does it.

I don't think it's the wheel bearings since I don't get any periodic noise at all and no noise in cornering.

I've been reading some links and now I'm wondering if it could be the anti rattle clips missing, but from the links I'm reading, I'm not sure the sound I'm getting is the same as what they are describing.

when my antirattle clips were loose, i had a noise that resembled a hosed LCA/ ball joint noise. i pulled the inboard pads and spread the ears of the antirattle spring and that fixed it.

the heavy, sticky antisqueal works too-- its pretty much glues the pad to both the caliper and the piston with a thick rubbery glue. a mess to apply, but works well.
i used CRC antisqueal.

[c362137]

Thats what mine sounds like (a LCA ball joint bad), that's why I changed them! (Not to mention the rubber boots where shot).

I didn't have time last night to pull the wheel and look at it. Do I have to take the caliper off to fix the rattle clip? Are there clips on both sides of the caliper?

Thanks,
Danny

[shawdog]

Someone posted:

" I have a 2004 330i ZHP.....and I also hear a clunk coming form the front end. My seems to be coming form the left strut area. I hear it when I also go over a bump. Is this common?"

I have a 2004 330xi which developed a "clunk" when going over small dips and gradually became more obvious even when driving at high speed on sweeping curves on good mountain highways. I heard it quite early -- probably at less than 2000 miles, maybe even earlier -- and finally took it in to the dealer at 6000 miles when it was obvious it was happening more and more often.

The dealer replaced BOTH front sway bar links and it's fine now. However, the reason I
even found this forum was that I got curious if this was some kind of endemic problem in
this BMW model, so I searched the Web looking for references to a "clunk". Obviously, it's
happening to other folks.

My concern is that if this needed to be replaced at 6000 miles, is it going to keep
happening every 6000 miles? For the first four years, it'll be covered under warranty of course. But I hate to think what it will cost me out-of-pocket when the warranty runs out.

It may be that I do much more mountain driving then an average 330 driver -- I own a
little place near Big Bear (just 90 minutes away from LA) and I drive up there every 7-10 days. So my 330 is probably getting a LOT more high-speed mountain-road experience than the average and my car might be suffering "early victimhood" as a result.