Bmw 330I M Sport. E93

[davidanthony]

I have a knocking coming from the rear offside area which is not suspension related. It is suggested it could be the retractable roof mechanism. Any thoughts please?

[TWR]

What makes you think it's the Roof Mechanism? is it noticed when you work the Roof Button? has the back wheels been off the car? it does sound a rear wheel bearing, who said was not related? If you can jack the rear of the car up a couple of """" off the ground grab the wheel a 12>>>6 is there movement?

[davidanthony]

Thanks TWR. NO the wheels have not been off the car but have just been tracked. Same before and after. The tracking guy heard this nose on test drive and suggested it could be the roof mechanism. Must admit I don't know why he did not further investigate. If I go over the likes of a speed bump with the offside front wheel the noise appears at nearside rear area almost as if some sort of chassis twisting is going on. A mystery !

[Zacs-Master]

Sounds like a wheel bearing to me.

[TWR]

Hi Dave, I have just seen your reply, if you are able jack the front up, you need to do this by the jacking point under the N/S, I place a piece of wood on the jack top when I do it to spread the load, with the wheels off the ground hold the wheel at 12>>>>6 and move outward, is there play? check the tyre tread, have you picked up a bolt in the tyre. the Mech for the car is a combination of bars on the N/S >>Off/ S, try & see if there's play in them, myself I doubt it will be this as it would affect the workings of the Roof itself, did he check the Torsion bar? these cars are prone to rubber wear, they are not that bad to do & not expensive, you may find what I'm about to say stupid but here goes, is there something loose under the passenger seat like a tin that's rolling about? the reason I say this, a friend of mine years ago could hear something knocking coming from the N/S it turned out to be a tin of peas under the seat ( True Tale) Has the back seat been lifted fir any reason? these can be a sod if not put back correctly.

[TWR]

To add, has the coil springs been checked? it's a quick and simple job, get your torch & look in the direction of the Coil Suspension Springs, I've had these go, I have now a feeling that;s the cause of your problem as I've had this myself, if that's the case, change the 2 N/S + Off / S, they are a pig to do & you need a Spring compressor, to get them out a straight forward, if unsure DO NOT TRY, the Spring can CAUSE YOU DAMAGE.

[davidanthony]

Many thanks TWR for your useful suggestions, will go through them. Would not attempt the spring job tho' !

[TWR]

Hi Dave, should the problem be the Springs, you can get a good set off ebay, just go onto the site type in your cars details & it will show you the springs, the job should take 6hrs, costs around in total £300.