Rattling...? That cant be good...

[drkblu318ti]

Everytime i go over a bump even a small one. I hear a rattling coming from the rear right of my car. Its definatly not anywhere inside the car its something exteritor or undernearth. Its not my exhaust.... I took it to a mechanic to hear it and he said it was something to do with the exhaust and if he tried to fix it, it woudl just rattle differnetly .... Didnt have much time to chat so i jsut got fed up with him and left..... What could it be?

[Ed montocchio]

Hi, how many miles have you done? This screams of rear shock mounts. These are notorious parts that go on these BMW’s. They are not expensive. Make sure you replace both sides.

I have just had this noise – drove me mad – car very smooth after the replacement.

If you really want to make sure it is the shock mounts – remove the side panels in the boot – place your hand on the shock mount and bounce your weight on the open boot ledge – there must be ZERO movement. You cannot visually see if this part is defective.

Ed

[Ed montocchio]

If you want to do this yourself look at : http://www.logun.org/shockmnts.htm

This is for the E36 - I don't see why you would have to touch the speakers or tail light covers - so start from item 7!

[maherbaz]

I had a bad rattle for a while that I couldn't find, I was just missing an anti-rattle clip on one of my front brakes. Check and see if all your calipers have the clip on them, its a cheap part.

[rendoll911]

tighten the ebrake cable

i had the same thing

[drkblu318ti]

Thanks for all the help... I am going to check the shock mounts and the brake cable..... I had already checked the brake thing... i had read about htat one and seems all fine.
I myself have done about 5,000. The car has 95,000 on it.

Thanks ....
Any more advice is always appreciated

[Ed montocchio]

Hi, if you do find it is the rear shock mounts - make sure you replace the paper gaskets and four crush nuts.

Tip: I locked myself in the trunck (boot in SA?) and had someone drive the car. I immediately notice the noise coming from the right hand shock mount. It is a strange thing because the rattle sounds like in is coming from the wheel and transferring itself to the shock mount. What I suspect is there is a bush that separates from the rubber mount so any impact noise from the wheel is not dampened. I take no responsibility for the person locked in the trunck! Ed

[96cali]

Just had my RSM's replaced yesterday after months of clunk clunk clunk over bumps at low/med speed. Holy cow feels like a new car! Even Brett Anderson at Koalamotorsport couldn't feel they were bad, he just knew it from the sound. Replaced with e46 M3 shock mounts which are a different design and should last longer. Mine is a '96 w/ 67k miles on the original RSM's (till yesterday).

[Ed montocchio]

Good point - you must get the latest part as these mounts are being improved all the time. If your car has done 95k, changing the RSM will give her a much quieter ride!