Rear mounting?

Post Mon Mar 06, 2006 11:04 am

A local garage I take my 325 cab to [as recommended by a BMW Car Club member] has told me I need new rear suspension mountings, as the current ones have collapsed [I'm sure he used that word?]. Does that make sense? I get a kind of squeaking knocking sound coming from the back of my car and the worn rear mounting are causing this...I been told.

The garage also said getting these replaced [at a cost of Ãƒ”šÃ‚£170ish inc fitting] may sort the fact my car drifts to the left and you need to steer a few degrees to the right in order to drive straight? The tracking etc has been checked and is within tolerance.

All that sound like its a job I better get sorted asap? I drive 40 miles a day and the garage said book it in when I can - not, don't drive your car you gonna brake it!!!

Post Mon Mar 06, 2006 12:13 pm

They could be talking about the rear shock mounts which do give up.

Might be worth replacing them with E46 M3 Cab items as these are stiffer and are meant to last longer than the E30 ones.

Post Mon Mar 06, 2006 12:32 pm

The noise does indeed sound like it could be the rear shock mounts. Price is way off though. Easy to swap yourself & either e46 cab ones, or the 'uprated' (probably the same thing!) ones from GSF etc are a good idea like JMC said.

Can't see how it'd affect your steering though, unless I guess one side was much worse than the other

Post Mon Mar 06, 2006 2:22 pm

I'll check with them to see if they mean the rear shock mounts. What sort of price was you thinking? I guess a lot of that Ãƒ”šÃ‚£170 is labour?

With regards to the steering - something about the rear wheels lining up? Though I thought the fact I gotta steer a little to the right in order to go straight would have more to do with the front wheels?

You know where I could get some E46 M3 shock mounts?

Cheers for the help guys

Post Mon Mar 06, 2006 2:36 pm

BUG4LIFE wrote:I'll check with them to see if they mean the rear shock mounts. What sort of price was you thinking? I guess a lot of that Ãƒ”šÃ‚£170 is labour?

With regards to the steering - something about the rear wheels lining up? Though I thought the fact I gotta steer a little to the right in order to go straight would have more to do with the front wheels?

You know where I could get some E46 M3 shock mounts?

Cheers for the help guys

Shock mounts don't have any effect on the location of the rear wheels, so either they're talking about something else entirely, or they're just wrong! E46 (don't think you need m3) shock mounts have to come from the dealer I think - ECP & GSF didn't list em when I got mine. The 'uprated' E30 cab ones from ECP are about a tenner each, & an hour max to fit them yourself. So Ãƒ”šÃ‚£170's crazy.

Could be spring pads that they're on about (not something that usually needs doing though) - that's slightly more difficult to do yourself, but still cheap 'n easy in the grand scheme of things.

Having thought about it, my bet would be on them meaning the rear subframe bushes - Ãƒ”šÃ‚£170's still not cheap for them, but it's not a terrible price. I've not found them to consistantly alter the steering in one direction but I guess it's possible. They certainly make a big difference if they need doing...

Post Mon Mar 06, 2006 3:10 pm

I'm guessing I haven't got the correct name for what needs replacing, so I shall find out from them and get back to you all!

On a different note; my little yellow/amber warning light has come on on my dash, telling me I need an oil service. Now changing the oil and filter aint a big job and I got a mate who said he will do it for me [I've done almost 6k miles in the car since I bought it 6 months ago - and Andy at WLN said change the oil every 6k miles, so the timing right], but what do you do about re-setting the service lights etc so all the warnings come up at the right time in the future?

Post Mon Mar 06, 2006 3:14 pm

BUG4LIFE wrote:I'm guessing I haven't got the correct name for what needs replacing, so I shall find out from them and get back to you all!

On a different note; my little yellow/amber warning light has come on on my dash, telling me I need an oil service. Now changing the oil and filter aint a big job and I got a mate who said he will do it for me [I've done almost 6k miles in the car since I bought it 6 months ago - and Andy at WLN said change the oil every 6k miles, so the timing right], but what do you do about re-setting the service lights etc so all the warnings come up at the right time in the future?

Subframe mounts definately get my bet!

I'd check your shock mounts too though - they do die & make that annoying squeaking noise...

Resetting the service lights is easy too, either with a bit of wire, or with a reset tool if you're really worried about cocking it up / want to waste Ãƒ”šÃ‚£15 on ebay / know someone who's got one.

http://www.bmwe30.net/cgi-bin/datacgi/d ... Section=02

Post Mon Mar 06, 2006 4:13 pm

If it is the rear shock mounts, then its the RSMs from the E46 M3 or any E46 Cab thats needed. The saloon/coupe E46s have different mounts again and the M3/Cab ones are stronger/stiffer.

I seem to remember a price of about Ãƒ”šÃ‚£20 each for the E46 RSMs, but I cant find the thread with it in.

Post Thu Mar 09, 2006 11:21 am

Haven't called the garage yet, to double check what needs replacing - but I just come across this http://www.c3bmw.co.uk/StockItem.asp?ca ... m=unassign

Do you reckon these could be what they are on about? Sorry to be extremely stupid, but what does 'excessive lateral movement when worn' mean - as in, how would that effect the car when being driven?

If I was right about it cost being Ãƒ”šÃ‚£160+ for the parts and work - in no way could the garage mean the standard items at Ãƒ”šÃ‚£13.51 each? Even the upgraded pair at Ãƒ”šÃ‚£63.45 would mean over Ãƒ”šÃ‚£100 in labour [the website's are for an E30 M3, though how different would my 325 cab's be?]

Post Thu Mar 09, 2006 12:04 pm

That's the puppies !, Ãƒ”šÃ‚£100+ in labour is about right as they are a bit of an arse to get to.

Unless they have the special tool for doing the they'll pretty much have to remove the whole rear axle and press the old ones out and new ones in.

The inner part of the bush has a tendency to corrode to the mounting bolt and can take a lot of getting out.

Cheers,

Iain T

Post Thu Mar 09, 2006 12:11 pm

Yup - subframe bushes are expensive to get done, but it's the one job I still happily forked out for! Ãƒ”šÃ‚£80 labour for me was worth it... Went with the standard BMW bushes on recommendation.

Post Thu Mar 09, 2006 1:00 pm

Cheers guys.

What about the 'excessive lateral movement when worn'? Just wondering what I should look out for when driving, cos then I'll know for sure they need replacing.

Post Thu Mar 09, 2006 1:22 pm

Basically, the back end will feel like it's all over the place - you'll have no confidence in corners etc... Potentially they'll make a 'klunk' noise when setting off too.

You don't realise (well I didn't anyway!) how bad it was until it's been fixed

Post Thu Mar 09, 2006 3:15 pm

Each time I pull away I do get a knocking, klunking noise coming from the back, must be it?

With regards to the back end feeling like its all over the place - this is my first RWD car so I'm still getting used to it. Like you said, I'll probley realise how bad it was when they been fixed?

Better get it booked in then? - more bloody money