insightbrewery

Hey guys, I just did some work on my buddy's 2005 545i and there are a few problems. I just replaced front hub assemblies and front brakes (rotors, pads, wear sensor).

Before the work, there was a rhythmic noise that increased in frequency with vehicle speed. That noise is still there after the work. If you press on the brakes, the noise goes away, so I'm inclined to think that a caliper is wonky. What do you guys think? I checked front brakes after driving around for a while (25 miles mostly highway) and they were not any hotter than I'd expect.

I also thought maybe I put the pads in wrong: I bent the clips on the inner pad to get it to go in easier, but it held flush against the piston and would not pop out. Still worried that the pad may be making contact with the rotor while driving, but could not tell from just looking.

Next up, the car has had no heat since he bought it. I followed the Pelican guide on testing the heater valve...at both max cold and max heat, voltage (KOEO) between brown (ground) and either of the other two wires is 4.1V. How should I proceed from here?

Thanks!

frchdragon

Any vibrations at all?
Could it be tires related?
When you jack the car up, and spin the tires by hand, do you hear the noise?
What speed do you star hearing the noise?

A caliper dragging would heat up the rotor and the rim, you can touch the rim after a long drive and see if one is hotter than another.
The piston on a dragging caliper is usually harder to push back also.
Did you clean and lubed the caliper slider pins?

insightbrewery

There is vibration, but it's separate from this and happens between 65-80 MPH. Think I figured that one out, both forward control arm bushings are shot...arms twist about an inch in either direction.

Tires seem good...owner is replacing one of them (passenger rear) soon. If I let go of the gas, the noise is still there. Pressing the brakes lightly (pedal down about 4-5mm, could just be the pedal play), it's still there...once the brakes noticeably start to slow down the car it disappears. That makes me thing it's not related to tires/

When I spin the tires I don't hear the noise (used to be noisy before I replaced the hub assemblies). Noise is noticeable at about 15 MPH, and frequency goes up with speed.

I did check the rim to see if it was hotter (I think the noise is coming from the passenger front), and nothing was out of place. I'll double check on Tuesday (I'm doing all four control arms then).

You know, both pistons were harder to push back than I anticipated, but I chalked that up to my tool not being seated properly (I have the Lisle pad spreader tool and I was pushing at an angle). I did lube up the slide pins.

DanielFD

you shouldn't lube the slide pins. They are not metal on metal contact like other cars. They are metal on rubber. in case of brake noises take a look at this DIY. Its a great write up about how to do brakes on the car, but more importantly exactly what parts of the brakes need grease and a good cleaning to get rid of noises.

DIY: BMW 650i / 645Ci / E63 / E64 Brake Pad and Rotors - Bimmerfest - BMW Forums

frchdragon

BMW states not to lube them... and there is a lot of discussion on the web about lube / no lube.
I always put a dab of grease on all my BMWs since for ever. Never had any complaints about brakes or noises.
To each its own I guess.

DanielFD

Pretty sure a little dab wont hurt, unlike my car's previous owner who decided to literally dip them top to bottom in grease. Cleaned them up pretty good but i'm sure there is still some grease in the caliper, no sounds whatsoever. so +1 just don't overdo the grease if you feel like you need to grease them.

insightbrewery

Hey guys, I just wanted to update. I replaced both lower control arms and both tension struts on the front, and the noise is gone. Both tension struts blew their hydraulic bushings, and the control arms were just rolling around completely separated from the bushings.

Still have no idea about the heater valve voltage, so any ideas there would be appreciated.

DanielFD

No idea on the heater valve voltage. Though I can tell you I bet every e60 owner will replace that part eventually, part number has changed a couple of times so it is a weak part. When mine went out it took out my auxilary water pump, replaced the pump thinking it was the issue but that didn't solve my problem. replaced the heater valve and got my heat back. I tested it looking at realtime water temperature values on ISTA/D, no coolant was being circulated inside the cabin, hence why i changed it.

insightbrewery

Been a while, so thought I'd update this thread with a solution.

I cleaned all the grounds I could get my hands on, and the voltage started reading according to spec (the Pelican Parts article on testing the valve). Still no heat, so I replaced the heater valve with a new one from eBay, and now the heat is back!

Also swapped out the coolant tank (the level sensor was busted and always threw a warning.

Now I just need to solve the warm-start hunting issue, secondary air problem (keeping it from smogging), and reset the passenger restraint system errors after installing the seat occupancy sensor bypass (took too long, now it's stored deep and I need INPA). I'll start a new thread for these.

Thanks fellas.