1995 325is question 2
 

I get a rattling sound on the left side underneath the car when I'm driving
over rough road. It sounds like something is loose in the suspension. Any
help with this one?

> I get a rattling sound on the left side underneath the car when I'm
driving
> over rough road. It sounds like something is loose in the suspension.
Any
> help with this one?

Check your tyres for scrapes that correspond to the wheel arches. If your
suspension is shot, and it's the tyres scraping, it should be clearly
obvious - you may have lined gouges in your tyres or even missing tread
blocks.

Had a similar problem when I hit a dog, front bumper pushed back just far
enough to scrape when going over speed humps and rough road.

Sledgehammer fixed the problem, bumper bar back in correct position.

You may want to take it to a panelbeater if the problem is bodywork and not
suspension-related, mine is a 1980 733i that I don't hold all that much
respect for ;) cheap daily driver that I'm not afraid to leave parked on the
street or at the train station while I'm at work.

Try taking it to a run of the mill suspension place, they should be able to
do a cheap ten-minute test to see how bad the suspension is, and give you
advice from there.

-mark

"RyMal" > wrote in message
et...
>I get a rattling sound on the left side underneath the car when I'm driving
>over rough road. It sounds like something is loose in the suspension. Any
>help with this one?

Check the exhaust bracket on the gearbox - I had a rattling noise on my 94
320i and once I'd got under it found that the bracket had completely rusted
through. Removing it cured the rattling noise, will put a new one on when I
pick it up from the dealers.

Dan

"RyMal" > wrote in message
et...
> I get a rattling sound on the left side underneath the car when I'm
driving
> over rough road. It sounds like something is loose in the suspension.
Any
> help with this one?

What sort of rattle? If it's a raspy sort of high frequency rattle, it
might just be a heat sheild around the exhaust somewhere, check those. If
it's more of a deeper, more thumpy sounding rattle, it could be shocks,
shock mounts, ball joints, bushings, or a handful of other suspension parts,
and a mechanic would be the best bet to diagnose it.

I once had a rattle, asked around, and had about 4 possible causes. My
mechanic said it was shocks, I barely believed him, but let him go ahead.
He was spot on.

-Russ.

Spack wrote:
> "RyMal" > wrote in message
> et...
>> I get a rattling sound on the left side underneath the car when I'm
>> driving over rough road. It sounds like something is loose in the
>> suspension. Any help with this one?
>
> Check the exhaust bracket on the gearbox - I had a rattling noise on
> my 94 320i and once I'd got under it found that the bracket had
> completely rusted through. Removing it cured the rattling noise, will
> put a new one on when I pick it up from the dealers.

Ditto on the bracket here. My '95's bracket rusted and what was left of the
clamp was rattling only under certain circumstances, accelerating while
turning one direction (I forget which) etc.

I have yet to replace mine, though I suppose that I should eventually...

-Fred W

It is the raspy high frequency rattle. I think I had this problem a long
time ago and had it fixed and it was some sort of boot that was loose. Does
this ring a bell?

"Somebody" > wrote in message
...
>
> "RyMal" > wrote in message
> et...
>> I get a rattling sound on the left side underneath the car when I'm
> driving
>> over rough road. It sounds like something is loose in the suspension.
> Any
>> help with this one?
>
> What sort of rattle? If it's a raspy sort of high frequency rattle, it
> might just be a heat sheild around the exhaust somewhere, check those. If
> it's more of a deeper, more thumpy sounding rattle, it could be shocks,
> shock mounts, ball joints, bushings, or a handful of other suspension
> parts,
> and a mechanic would be the best bet to diagnose it.
>
> I once had a rattle, asked around, and had about 4 possible causes. My
> mechanic said it was shocks, I barely believed him, but let him go ahead.
> He was spot on.
>
> -Russ.
>
>

The rubber bushings on the suspension parts are worn out. These are
reasonably straight forward for a shadetree mechanic. They can be a bitch to
replace due to corrosion and stuff like that, but the mechanics of replacing
them is easy to understand.




"RyMal" > wrote in message
et...
> I get a rattling sound on the left side underneath the car when I'm
driving
> over rough road. It sounds like something is loose in the suspension.
Any
> help with this one?
>
>

"RyMal" > wrote in message
et...
> It is the raspy high frequency rattle. I think I had this problem a long
> time ago and had it fixed and it was some sort of boot that was loose.
> Does this ring a bell?
>

That does not sound like suspension to me. Try looking at the exhaust
brackets at was suggested...

-Fred W

"RyMal" > wrote in message
et...
> It is the raspy high frequency rattle. I think I had this problem a long
> time ago and had it fixed and it was some sort of boot that was loose.
Does
> this ring a bell?
>


I can't help but wonder if you are describing the same problem in two
different posts. I wonder if the thumping you feel in the shifter lever is
the source for this sound.

I think you need to get the car up on a lift and inspect the couplings
throughout the drivetrain. While you are under there, you can look to see if
the exhaust heat shielding is coming loose.








> "Somebody" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > "RyMal" > wrote in message
> > et...
> >> I get a rattling sound on the left side underneath the car when I'm
> > driving
> >> over rough road. It sounds like something is loose in the suspension.
> > Any
> >> help with this one?
> >
> > What sort of rattle? If it's a raspy sort of high frequency rattle, it
> > might just be a heat sheild around the exhaust somewhere, check those.
If
> > it's more of a deeper, more thumpy sounding rattle, it could be shocks,
> > shock mounts, ball joints, bushings, or a handful of other suspension
> > parts,
> > and a mechanic would be the best bet to diagnose it.
> >
> > I once had a rattle, asked around, and had about 4 possible causes. My
> > mechanic said it was shocks, I barely believed him, but let him go
ahead.
> > He was spot on.
> >
> > -Russ.
> >
> >
>
>

"Jeff Strickland" > wrote in message
>
> I think you need to get the car up on a lift and inspect the couplings
> throughout the drivetrain. While you are under there, you can look to see if
> the exhaust heat shielding is coming loose.
>
>
>

On mine the exhaust bracket had rusted away and would "tinkle" but
also the heat shields are notorious for coming loose.