metalic grinding sound on passenger side

e24nut · Post by **e24nut** » Fri Apr 24, 2015 3:58 am

Hi

i have noticed a grinding sound on my 89 e24. it does not sound serious like a stuffed bearing but more like a brake disc or other rotating part touching sheet metal. cant see anything obvious. brake shoes are good - just had the fronts refurbed new discs calipers refurbed etc car stops and rolls fine.

any suggestions welcome

e24nut

olympia57 · Post by **olympia57** » Fri Apr 24, 2015 7:58 am

Jack it up , wheel off , remove pads and rotate wheel to see and "feel " if bearing is rough . Check wheel bearing float and tighten if required .
If bearing is rough you could try re packing with fresh grease , failing that replace as they are not expensive and easy to do.
If none above then check run out of new disc . Is there an excess of brake dust on that wheel ? If so you may have a sticking piston . Not sure what year of car you have so unsure what caliper you have as early E24's have four piston calipers .
Do a spanner check on all fixings that would have been disturbed when recent work done .
Check no foreign matter trapped between disc and backing plate or plate is bent .
Good luck
Don

Pod · Post by **Pod** » Fri Apr 24, 2015 11:14 am

Maybe just a small stone trapped between the disc and backing plate.

Brucey · Post by **Brucey** » Fri Apr 24, 2015 11:49 am

olympia57 wrote:Jack it up , wheel off , remove pads and rotate wheel to see and "feel " if bearing is rough . Check wheel bearing float and tighten if required .
If bearing is rough you could try re packing with fresh grease , failing that replace as they are not expensive and easy to do....

true enough for pre 5/82 cars but those built after that are different. The bearings are not adjustable.

cheers

e24nut · Post by **e24nut** » Tue Apr 28, 2015 8:54 am

Thanks All i should update my profile my e24 is 4/89 build date

replies most appreciated.

will let you know how i go

e24nut · Post by **e24nut** » Tue Apr 28, 2015 8:56 am

it sounds like a backing plate or something rubbing. i just had my discs and calipers done about 4 months ago. it isn't the horrible grinding sound that a collapsed of near collapsed bearing gives.

cheers

GripGreg · Post by **GripGreg** » Wed Apr 29, 2015 9:56 pm

I had the same general noise. It was thought to be my r/f backing plate.
It only made noise in a left turn but, it was actually a wheel bearing.
Just FYi,,,,Greg

PS: Yes, you should update your profile!

e24nut · Post by **e24nut** » Thu May 07, 2015 6:43 am

had the wheels of my e24 today and unfortunately no stones caught in the disk guards - my best guess is that it is a wheel bearing

thanks for your help/advice

e24nut · Post by **e24nut** » Thu May 07, 2015 6:43 am

had the wheels of my e24 today and unfortunately no stones caught in the disk guards - my best guess is that it is a wheel bearing

thanks for your help/advice

Pod · Post by **Pod** » Thu May 07, 2015 9:15 am

e24nut wrote:had the wheels of my e24 today and unfortunately no stones caught in the disk guards - my best guess is that it is a wheel bearing
thanks for your help/advice

Better bite the bullet and get it done then! Good luck and let us know how you get on?

e24nut · Post by **e24nut** » Sat May 16, 2015 2:14 am

well decided to bite the bullet and take it to my (expensive) bmw mechanic. he did his mechanics apprenticeship on e24's and e28's says he never heard anything like it. didn't want to change the wheel bearing as he did not want to charge me AUD 700 for replacement and find that it was OK. suggested i let it fail first.

Brucey · Post by **Brucey** » Sat May 16, 2015 6:34 am

well the other thing you should do is to remove the brake disc and examine the shields around the ABS sensor etc. It is quite possible that there is something trapped in there which will make a foul noise.

This is made all the more likely by the fact that the ABS sensor has a strong magnet inside it. I do not recommend actually removing the ABS sensor unless it will obviously move easily (they usually don't move easily and can break if force is used).

The other thing you can do is strip the front hub and examine it. You can do this without too much difficulty; if the bearing is OK then it can all go back together and if it isn't... well you've lost nothing really.

cheers