Im at a loss..

[95BMWIC]

As the thread sates, I’m at a loss.

I took my son's 1990 325ix out for a drive last night and noticed a slight vibration and sound coming from what seemed to be the transmission/driveline. A sound accompanied the vibration similar to a wheel bearing growl, but not as pronounced) The vibration/sound was intermittent - but was present both times I drove the car for 80% of the time (I drove 25 minutes and then the car cooled, then I drove it again for 25 minutes). The vibration / sound was alarming enough to make me drive at a max of 55 on the way home.
My son stated he has heard the sounds for a few months (don't ask - he swears he told me about it)

This morning I jacked up the car and put it on jack stands, checked all four wheels and axles for play, sounds, binding etc and could not find anything obviously wrong. I personally have had the front axles out over the course of ownership and replaced boots. I could turn the front driveshaft by hand and all 4 tires would spin. Front suspension is not new but not old - tie rods are new. All the wheel bearings seem fine - no growl or play at all..
I pulled the exhaust and the shield and inspected the driveshaft and didn’t find any obvious issues.. The u joint didn’t have any noticeable play and the guibos looked solid. Rear diff seems fine, rear axles turned normal and had normal play..

I plan on checking fluids next.. but I’m at a loss on what to check next.

I wondering what about the internals - is there a way of checking the internals - could a noise / vibration come from transfer case or transmission? When turning the front driveshaft, it does sound a bit mechanical, but I assume that is normal..

I know this is an ambiguous issue (cause I can't replicate the noise here and I didn’t record it) but any thoughts, or even questions is appreciated...

[e30s50dan]

When you drove it at speed,did you happen to push the clutch in and see if the noise changed

I had close to the same issue with my 01' 325ci and ended up being the clutch..it was in bad shape when I removed it!

Good luck!

[Dirty325ix]

Have you pulled the front driveshaft and checked the splines that go into the transfer case?

Any noise go with that vibtation

[audiquattrot]

When my front diff was running drY, I was getting a Nasty intermittent vibration at highway speeds.

[95BMWIC]

When you drove it at speed,did you happen to push the clutch in and see if the noise changed
I had close to the same issue with my 01' 325ci and ended up being the clutch..it was in bad shape when I removed it!
Good luck!

No I didn't check this specifically - if and when I get it back together I will check.. No other clutch issues to date - no slipping, or smell..

When my front diff was running drY, I was getting a Nasty intermittent vibration at highway speeds.

The front diff was low – about a half of a beer bottle.. the Manual trans was full, the rear diff was full, the transfer case was full…

Have you pulled the front driveshaft and checked the splines that go into the transfer case?

Any noise go with that vibtation

This will be next. Although I have my doubts as I recently (year or two ago) performed the X5 guibo / pin fix and pushed the shaft deeper into the socket..

I have had the front axles out within the last 6 months for boots – I wonder if something is messed up.. Im still at a loss..

[CrazyPrime]

I know you said you checked the wheel bearing but I would check again I had a vibration and a growling/clicking noise. It turned out to be my front driver side wheel bearing it had zero play when trying to move it with the tire on but once I got the tire, brakes off it had very bad in/out play not your typical up and down play.

[95BMWIC]

Have you pulled the front driveshaft and checked the splines that go into the transfer case?

Any noise go with that vibtation

Pulled shaft today - no signs of additional wear (the socket had previous wear - that is why I extended the shaft with the X5 guibo) - Pain in the rear, but at least I could check and repack the grease..

I know you said you checked the wheel bearing but I would check again I had a vibration and a growling/clicking noise. It turned out to be my front driver side wheel bearing it had zero play when trying to move it with the tire on but once I got the tire, brakes off it had very bad in/out play not your typical up and down play.

Wheel bearings are such a pain to diagnos in the beginning as the growl sometimes only happen under load.. (plus with the IX, when turning the wheels you get a bit of noise from the diffs and shafts..) - Though thats prolly my next step..

[95BMWIC]

I know you said you checked the wheel bearing but I would check again I had a vibration and a growling/clicking noise. It turned out to be my front driver side wheel bearing it had zero play when trying to move it with the tire on but once I got the tire, brakes off it had very bad in/out play not your typical up and down play.

I don't have any play in or out or side to side or from what I can tell up and down. Shafts are still in..

[AndrewBird]

Got another set of tires/wheels to throw on? Could have a bad tire somewhere.

[audiquattrot]

^ def worth a shot. over the winter I drove over a post-car accident debris, and immediately got this vibration. Turns out a piece of one of the cars headlights got embedded into the tire.

[nando]

you said you used the X5 guibo up front. did you also use the X5 centering pin? because the E30 centering pin is too short, so the front driveshaft won't be aligned properly into the diff.

[95BMWIC]

you said you used the X5 guibo up front. did you also use the X5 centering pin? because the E30 centering pin is too short, so the front driveshaft won't be aligned properly into the diff.

Yup. I did use the X5 pin. True the other was not deep enough..


I pulled the tires and since I didn't have another set - rotated the front to the rear and vice versa... Drove the car a block down the road and the steering wheel started wiggling violently left to right..

Pull back into the shop and pulled the tirea off to discover no wheel weights on one of the rim... Had the tires balanced and fixed the problem.

[AndrewBird]

Ha. Aren't simple fixes the best?

[95BMWIC]

Ha. Aren't simple fixes the best?

Well sorta.. I spent 2 days checking, pulling, spinning.. Tires are not that old - so visually, nothing suspect.

Hard to fathom that a unbalanced rim could wobble so much to translate a vibration through the drive train.. but it did..

Thanks for all the suggestions!

[AndrewBird]

Well, simple in that all it needed was a wheel balance, not new suspension components.