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Thread: Intermittent Rumble at highway speed

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Minneapolis, MN
    Posts
    577

    Default Intermittent Rumble at highway speed

    Well, I plan on trying the water injection thing this weekend to get rid of this increasingly annoying piniging in my M50. But in the meantime, I have a new problem to attend to: On the freeway, the 525i has recently developed a low rumble, as though I were driving over a freshly grated road or rougher surface. I drive over these surfaces daily and know they are generally pretty smooth. The rumble usually takes place at 65-70mph and lasts about 10-15 seconds. It's only happened 3 times. First time it occured, I thought either they had done some work on the road or I had developed a flat, but the car handled the same--no pulling to one side or anything like that. I tried taking the car out of gear and letting the engine drop to idle; the rumble went away the first time, but not the most recent time. I don't know if this is a suspension, bearing, or tire issue. Could it be the guibo or center baring? Last time I checked that area, all looked fine.

    Also, the parking brake seems weaker in the past couple weeks. I plan on adjusting it this weekend, but wonder if there is a correllation between this and the rumble.....perhaps it catching or engaging when it's not supposed to.

    Any thoughts? I can't be the only one who has experienced something like this.

    Thanks in advance,
    BennyM

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Minneapolis, MN
    Posts
    577

    Default nobody? Was it just my imagination?

    i swear I gave more than enough information here. please give me some ideas or some things to check.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Wellington,New Zealand
    Posts
    3,868

    Default is it random or

    does it happen at the same spots on the freeway???I swear that the e 34 is at the same time the sweetest riding yet the most fussy for road surface ;
    I am never in any doubt about the surface I am driving on and at certani places around my region my car rumbles and whines and vibrates at a particular frequency,all reactions to some idiosyncracy of the road surface.I am sure that my relatively light wheels and stiff sidewall 235/45/17,sbridgestone potenzas have a lot to do with it.
    Gone but not forgotten

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Posts
    571

    Default

    Yeah, I agree with the road surface thing... I get the most amazing whole-car vibration at a certain stretch of road near my house, yet don't feel a thing in the other three cars I drive on it occasionally.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Mauritius
    Posts
    93

    Default

    Same thing here with my 540i. Road surface seems to be good but the whole cr shakes ! while on other cars you dont get any vibrartion.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Northern Europe
    Posts
    191

    Default

    When I have my sunroof open I get a rumbling/humming sound too. When I shut the sunroof the sound disappears. This is both with my wide summer tyres and my "normal" winter tyres.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Minneapolis, MN
    Posts
    577

    Default appears so.

    It happened for the 4th time today on a very new stretch of freeway that I've driven every week since september. This rumble was also accompanied by a shimmy. But sometimes I get the shimmy without the rumble....I think. Unlike the thrust arm shimmy, this shimmy takes place more in the seat than the steering wheel. My thoughts are rear suspension or brakes....however, I find it interesting that I too have the Bridgestone Potenzas, perhaps they play some role in this. Again, the rumble/shimmy lasts for maybe 10-15 seconds and usually takes place when I''m traveling around 70mph.


    Does that help with any diagnosis?

    BennyM

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Wellington,New Zealand
    Posts
    3,868

    Default mine is definetly road surface related

    it happens at a particular set of traffic lights,a particular bridge,a particular stretch of road.
    Gone but not forgotten

  9. #9
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Melbourne (Australia)
    Posts
    61

    Default

    I'd generally agree with road surface but I'd also raise to possibility of a tyre failure? I have had 2 tyres fail at speed.

    Delamination or similar may first show at speed for a defective tyre due to the increased stress and temperatures involved.

    The instances can become more frequent and at lower speeds as the problem gets worse.
    Reid (530iA)


  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Wisconsin
    Posts
    239

    Default

    Benny, Did you ever resolve this issue? I'm getting it too (of course) and am at a loss to the source. I bit the bullet about 30K ago and had a mechanic inspect the driveshaft while he replaced the guibo and center bearing. I asked that he make sure the u joint was OK, and he gave it a clean bill.

    Nevertheless, every once in awhile I get this rumble from the rear of the car, usually with slightly positive throttle. I've never heard the rumble while accelerating aggressively, or at less than 40 mph. Most of the time it comes on at highway speed, like 65 mph or higher. I've had the car for 115K miles and it's been present for most of that time. It feels kind of resonant, like tires on a rumble strip.

    I worried awhile that it was the torque converter clutch going bad, but like I said, it's been an issue for more than 100K miles. I've read forum threads for years in search of an answer. Maybe you have too. I've replaced pitman arms, trans and engine mounts.

    Lately I've felt a little more vibration, and I occasionally feel the rumble at a lower level but for a more extended stretch. It's the kind of thing most people wouldn't notice, but after having an ear tuned to the sound, I sense a change. Maybe a control arm bushing has ovaled? Exhaust system has shifted? the exhaust donuts are pretty fresh.

    The next step, I suppose, is to pull the rear subframe and replace all the bushings, including the beer cans. The other option is to live with it. The car is coming up on 200 K and has always felt safe and fully stable on the road.

    Anyway, it's been a little slow around here, I thought I'd revive this topic and see if some fresh insights have emerged.

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