Front Suspension Rattle/Knock

[Timo02]

Greetings,

On my '71 '02 there is distinct rattle/knock coming from the driver's side(USA)front suspension. This annoying noise is magnified when a passenger is in the car and especially when driving over expansion joints on bridges, "wash board" types of bumps in the road and railroad tracks ect...ect...The car has tii front struts, Bilstien HD's and H&R springs..all fairly new stuff within the past five years. The rest of the car's suspension rides quiet and normal. Please advise as to what this noise could possibly be and how it can be fixed. Thanks in advance and happy '02ing!

Tim

[BLUNT]

strut bearing or possibly the strut collar backing out. or any number of ball joints or tie rod end or sway bar links. best to get under there and look for things

[Timo02]

Thanks for the super quick reply! The upper strut bearings are only three years old...where are those strut collars located that you mentioned?

[2002Targa]

I have the exact same knock happening on my car, even tho my strut bearings are fine. After digging around, I found mine to be the control arm bushings. Mine are the same ones that the car left Germany with. I would bet $100 that my drivers bush will look like this one when I get it out.

3rd from the bottom

http://www.lovingeveryminuteofit.com/bmw2002/september_05.htm

(hope you don't mind me using your page as a reference Lars)

[c.d.iesel]

---== !=D.A.N.G.E.R. !- A.C H T U N G =! ==---

DO NOT DRIVE ANOTHER FOOT UNTILL YOU

LOCATE THE SOURCE OF THE NOISE!

LOOK, AND PUT A WRENCH TO EVERY NUT ,

BOLT ON THE SUSPENSION, STEERING ,

CALIPER MOUNTING BOLTS,

BOTTOM SAFETY WIRED BALL JOINT TO STRUT

BOLTS ! - ALL OF THEM !

report your findings.......................

[BillWilliams]

There is a specific sequence that the washers and spacers need to go in the strut bearings. If one of those washers or spacers is missing or in the wrong order, you will get that annoying rattle.

A few days ago there was a post with a great post showing the proper placement.

[Timo02]

Thanks everyone for the helpful replies.

[Senna27]

I have the exact same problem/noise. Driving down my street which is a tad bumpy, I hear the a rattle which I'm sure is coming from the front end. I had all suspension nuts and bolts checked by two different shops, no difference. I'll try a set of urethane bushings and new strut bearings and see if that does the trick. I'm pretty sure they're original and never been changed in 170,000 miles.

I've got 195/50/15's Bridgestone S03's, tii brakes, Koni shocks, (fronts are adjustable), Eibach springs, Turbo front bar, Dinan adjustable rear bar.

[jonny]

---== !=D.A.N.G.E.R. !- A.C H T U N G =! ==---

DO NOT DRIVE ANOTHER FOOT UNTILL YOU

LOCATE THE SOURCE OF THE NOISE!

LOOK, AND PUT A WRENCH TO EVERY NUT ,

BOLT

BOLTS ! - ALL OF THEM !

report your findings.......................

aaaaAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH...THIS GETS FUNNIER BY THE DAY!!!!11!

"REPORT YOUR FINDINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

[Guest Anonymous]

I wish I had a photo of my results to show....

If I were you I'd listen to CD because your life (and ours) could be at risk. I had a similar noise, checked all the nuts, bolts and everything else only to find nothing.

A few months later I did some major work on the car (subframe torque question). when I pulled apart the front suspension it looked like someone had - well remember in the old days when they used to spray hot tar on dirt roads and then make the chain gang shovel dirt over the tar??? layers of dirt, paint, undercoating, more dirt, etc... BAD NEWS. So i took it to the pressure washer and to my surprise... I FOUND THE NOISE... it was the upper spring perch (13 SPRING POCKET 2 31332450119 $46.04). It had rusted to the point that it was thin and cracking (like how you pop the top of a snapple cap) every time the suspension moved.

ONLY A MATTER OF TIME TILL DISASTER WOULD HIT

So I urge you for your own safety to look into it further. I though that CD was crazy & over cautious but now I know how lucky I was.

[Senna27]

I will have the spring perches inspected as well. I installed a set of tii front struts and brakes and glass beaded and painted them before they went in. That was a few years back. So I'll check that out again. I'm thinking it's bushings. I also get a click if I give the brakes a quick but gentle stab. That could just be the pads moving though.

[Timo02]

(13 SPRING POCKET 2 31332450119 $46.04)

What does "13 SPRING POCKET 2" mean? The other number is for the part?

Once again a big THANKS to everyone for the helpful tips. When I find out what the source of the rattle is I will report back.

All the best,

[Bill_Riblett]

These are basically the "nuts" on the top of the strut tube that hold the shock cartridge in the strut. If they are not sufficiently tight, the shock can move inside the strut and this makes a knocking noise.

[Timo02]

Thanks for this info...this forum seems to be an excellent source of good info for helping to keep the old '02 on the road.

Cheers,