Bad Shock

[m3f_romh_9db5ad5d95]

Hey guys.



I'm having some put down some money on my M3 now. I just replaced the RTAB's because they had gotten so bad that in 1 week, the inside of my tires were completely eaten up. I guess the rear toe went totally off. Anyway, had that replaced. I would have done it myself, but I didn;t get the removal tool.



Now I'm having this serious chatter, clasping, rattling etc.... noise in the rear driver's side shock area. I replaced my RSM's thinking it was that. It wasn't. It had gotten real bad since exactly 1 week ago when I heard it. I examined the rear shock tower, and there are no cracks.

My BMW mechanic friend, says that when the shock goes bad, it aslo makes that noise. So today, I'm going to buy a new shock. Its $100 at the dealership. The car also feels extremely floaty whenever it hits a bump or goes over uneven road.

My question is, would a bad rear shock cause this? Could the RSM's been so worn out, that they caused the shock to tear inside? The good thing is that I dont; see any shock tower damage which i hear can cost thousands to weld again.



Thanks.



Or could it have been that the RTAB on that side is loose and the work that I had done?

[m3f_Sirius_880bd69485]

If you're going to replace one.. you might as well do both to even them out.

[m3f_romh_9db5ad5d95]

yeah, i agree. Its just that i'm not 100% sure that its the shock. DO you think it it could be from what I described? I mean, the noise goes hand in hand with ondulations and bumps on the roads. And I can eliminate a cracked tower or bad RSM.

[m3f_Sirius_880bd69485]

It's probably the shock, since you have elminated the other causes. Unless you have something else going on elsewhere in your suspension. Unlikely though.

[m3f_romh_9db5ad5d95]

It's probably the shock, since you have elminated the other causes. Unless you have something else going on elsewhere in your suspension. Unlikely though.





Yeah. BMW mechanic said that in 10 years that he's been there, he has never replace a shock. Well, i told him that mine is the 1st one.

[m3f_romh_9db5ad5d95]

But the interesting thing is that in this forum, I read that shocks go bad at 50k miles

[m3f_Tpb31_67f747186d]

funny thing is that my rear passenger side shock is doing the same thing. Making a squeeking chattering noise. I eliminated all other causes including bad shock tower, bad wheel bearing, bad LSD since I couldn't figure out where the noise was coming from amongst other random things, except the easy/obvious one, a bad shock. Now I am in the process of saving money and ordering the stuff...already got the springs and the RSM's just waiting for my check to clear to get my Koni's. Then I am going to get my RTAB's well actually all my bushings done. My fiance can't complain about the new suspension spending since it NEEDS to be replaced now. Sorry to hijack the thread. Good luck to you...

[m3f_romh_9db5ad5d95]

funny thing is that my rear passenger side shock is doing the same thing. Making a squeeking chattering noise. I eliminated all other causes including bad shock tower, bad wheel bearing, bad LSD since I couldn't figure out where the noise was coming from amongst other random things, except the easy/obvious one, a bad shock. Now I am in the process of saving money and ordering the stuff...already got the springs and the RSM's just waiting for my check to clear to get my Koni's. Then I am going to get my RTAB's well actually all my bushings done. My fiance can't complain about the new suspension spending since it NEEDS to be replaced now. Sorry to hijack the thread. Good luck to you...





Good luck, sounds like a good setup with the Konis.

[m3f_Tpb31_67f747186d]

I hope so, I am trying to buy some from a member here, so hopefully I can get my check to clear before he sells them...if not I guess I'll have to pay full price.

[m3f_badgtho_2cb87af10e]

I was reading through the service records that came with my car.. at around 75k both rear shock mounts/guides were "torn from body" and replaced. I had to tighten one that was loose and causing a chattering.

[m3f_romh_9db5ad5d95]

ok, let me give you guys the solution to my rattling / clunking noise in the back. I jacked it up again, and I noticed that a plate that goes under the RTAB's was sticking out considerably. There are 3 bolts that hold that into place. Those 3 bolts are the ones that need to be loosened and tightened in order to do the alignment (toe adjustment). Exactly one week ago, i took it to the dealership for an alignment. Turns out that the guy probably forgot to retighten those screws. One was missing, and the other 2 were real loose.



What can I do? Complain? Maybe get refund for alignment. I missed 1 day of work, and I obviously need to get it re-aligned again.

[m3f_badgtho_2cb87af10e]

I would go back and raise hell.. thats a safety issue.

[m3f_romh_9db5ad5d95]

Its a big safety issue. I drive on the highway daily (60 miles). Every day, it was getting progressively worse. The car was going from side to side even at 20 mph in every little road bump. That's when I couldn;t drive it any more. Anyway, at least I don;t have to spend any more money on it for now.