before spending on your suspension. have you ever gotten your subframe checked for cracks?

 

IIRC, the previous owner (original) had it inspected. It is a 2002, so chances are very slim of subframe cracking, right? It seems that it was mostly cars from before 2002 that were affected. I will try to inspect it tomorrow, but any other ideas?

Thanks

 

which is what leads me to believe that these bushings/balljoints are the only thing it could be....

You've got it. I concur!

 

I would check your rear springs, could be broken at the bottom and off the saddles. Best way is to pull a wheel and take a good look. Good luck!

 

The rear springs were replaced maybe 30k ago. I'll check them anyway tho, thanks

Other ideas?

 

bump, anyone else?

 

Its the balljoint/bushing.

I have 4 sitting at home, you can replace the top and bottom with the ball joint part that goes in the upper section. Its the same size

However, I haven't had a chance to install or prob wont until spring. Let us know how the install goes!

 

I pulled the rear wheels off and looked at everything again. There is no play that I can feel in any of the balljoints/bushings, and I can't replicate the noise by wiggling any suspension components. However, if I move the halfshafts in and out along their axes, I am able to create the clunk/knock noise... It sounds very much like the one I hear in the car.

From what I've read, the half shafts are supposed to be able to move in and out some..... are they supposed to clunk though?

 

Your ball joints are tight in the back? What's the mileage of the car?

I also, can't move my wheels around if I lift them to check for play. But when the car is on the ground I can grab the control arm and see it wiggle.

It could also be the subframe bushings.. there is about 6-7 of them.

Try opening your truck and bouncing the rear end up/down and see if you can hear the clunk.

 

I had the same issue after replacing the shocks in the rear. Turned out the spring wasn't seated properly and was causing the same knocking sound. Once it was properly re-seated, it went away. But, if no work has been done on the rear, it's hard to imagine they would un-seat themselves unless one has broken.

 

i would check things like the rear shock mounts and the rubber grommet in the strap that holds the gas tank up. the rubber grommet surrounds the bolts that holds the strap in and if the grommet wears away it makes noises on dips and angles.

 

rear shock mounts look/sound fine. It sounds like the noise is coming from lower down. I can recreate the noise when pushing on the rear quarter, so I don't think it could be the grommet that you're talking about, right? I'll check anyway though, thanks for the suggestion.

 

http://vidmg.photobucket.com/albums/v221/drummr6/Mobile Uploads/VID_20141208_095943_zpsi9e3zm4r.mp4

Video I took, hopefully this helps

and yes I know my interior is dirty as hell, will get cleaned after finals

 

bump

 

Sounds like ball joints in the rear and subframe bushings

 

on my 323ci it was rear trailing arm bushing. The rubber bushing part was out of his metal jacket. because of this the rear trailing arm Did contacts with body structure! which made lot of metal to metal noise on low speed over bumps, holes etc! Check your rtabs!

 

The RTABs are good, I replaced them with the polyurethane bushings. I might just go ahead and replace the balljoints and bushings on the control arms since no one can tell me a way of actually testing/checking them. Thanks for the help though

 

Have you replaced your rear shocks? If so check to make sure you didnt put the plate back on upside down part # 6 below.

http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=EV53&mospid=47725&btnr=33_0841&hg=33&fg=45

Did work with a buddy and we made this mistake. Makes a similar noise to what you're describing. For whatever reason the noise did not happen right away either, started about 2 weeks after the job. After flipping them to the correct orientation, noise went away.

Edit: You can check this part by just looking through the wheel well, so its an easy check.

 

good suggestion, just went out and verified, and it is in the correct orientation. Got excited and thought maybe it'd be this easy fix lol

 

to test bushings one should jack rear of the car and give a good two hand slack on the wheel 3 to 9 hours and maybe 6 to 12 hours! mine is rock solid no move! And iIam 2 meter tall and more than 100 kg weight! This is how I know mine are still good!