DeHaas

Hi Guys,

I?m the first owner of a E61, 525 D with 150.000km from new. Since a few weeks the BMW makes some strange cracking noises in the front when I drive on bumpy roads. (Especially when the engine is cold en the weather is dry). The garage replaced all the rubbers in the front-train but nothing helped.

The rattle is getting worser every day. I think maybe the windscreen is lose or broken in section below the windsreen wispers.
Is there anyone who had the same problems. Looking forward to your reaction because I need to take the BMW on holidays in two weeks time.

Thanks in advance.
Jurriaan

v_therussian

hard to tell what kind of noises they are exactly, but you can definitely test the suspension and rule out most things there if you have a place to put the car up on a lift - just lift it and rattle the wheels on either side in every possible direction.

It is possible you have a faulty windshield, but I doubt it would've lasted this long without giving you more signs of fault.

Anzafin

Are you sure it's not the door seals that make this noise?

DeHaas

Thanks guys for the replies.
The car has already been on a lift. Mechanically there was no problem with the suspension or front train.

And no, we already had a problem with the door seals. That noise is totally different and solved with silicon spray.

Could it be something in the dashboard that makes these noises?

Phantom Mark

It could be, how about engine mount rubbers or transmission mounts maybe ?

Or maybe the strut braces up front loose ?

530DMSport

If the noise sounds like its coming from the centre of your dashboard where it meets the windscreen, check that your strut brace bolts are tight. I had a similar "creaking" noise and it turned out that one of the bolts had come loose. There are two torx bolts where the strut meets the bulkhead.

Ricracing

On the E60/61 the whole aluminum front is welded and bolted to the "firewall".

This matter was discussed by the auto magazines in '03 and there was some doubts
how the construction would last in the long run.

The matter doesn't get easier with the new engines and trans, they are bolted by magnesium bolts.
They cannot be opened, they crack when doing so and are not cheap to replace.

I really do hope, this is not the problem in your case.

"The 2004 BMW 5 Series is mixture of aluminum and steel. The front end from the firewall forward is aluminum with the passenger compartment and rear section constructed from steel. BMW has developed and offers a training program on the only recommended procedures for the replacement of the aluminum front end structural parts. There are 3 rules for repair of the 2004 & later 5 Series BMW and they must be followed to the letter. 1. There is no pulling on the front structure. 2. There is no heat including welding on the front structure."

Quote from http://www.pdf-word.net/automotive-guide-b...e60-repair.html