Gas Tank Creak?

[discoelk]

Hmm. I lubed my sway bar bushings as a first step but that made no difference so I don't believe that was the issue. More investigation needed I suppose.

[bmwfnatic]

I would recommend to check the foam padding on the fuel tank, there are 4 foam rectangles on the top of the fuel tank and some more on the front that act like a buffer between the tank and the underside of the car, these pads are held in with some adhesive that isn’t too strong and like to fall off or migrate to the wrong spot where they no longer do anything.

This can cause noise as the tank will be contacting the underside in that location, and can also cause heavy corrosion because the tank will quickly wear off the paint from the underside exposing the bare metal to the elements.

There should be some indents and outlines to indicate where the pads should be, if not look at images on google.

[discoelk]

Update for other people searching the Internet.

My creak ended up being a tiny piece of weld slag stuck between the subframe riser and the unibody reinforcement plate. The piece was really small, less than 1/8in diameter. I was able to slide the PBM bushing out and knock it off then paint the small area. Creak is gone. The aluminum bushing had a small indentation where it was being worn. Weird problem but glad it's fixed.