2011 535ix CV Click - Boot or Joint?
 

Hey all -

My wife has a 535ix with about 106k miles on it. Recently we started getting a click from the passenger side front wheel. Put it up on a jack, rotated the wheel and found it to be a torn CV boot and it clicked as I rotated it. This has been going on about a month or so.

So when I drive straight forward with the gas pressed, it does not make the sound. As soon as I release the gas pedal at all, it makes a clicking sound. Even the lightest of gas pedal pressure makes the sound go away. Like feather light pressure removes the sound. When I turn, I also notice the click, but only by sound and not by feel through the steering wheel.

So obviously the CV boot needs to be repaired. Do you think the CV joint is also bad at this point? I've had the best luck in the past replacing the whole driveshaft on cars rather than fussing with getting the new CV joint on the removed driveshaft.

If your opinion is that the driveshaft needs to be replaced, any opinions on where to buy such an animal? Rockauto/partsgeek or stick with OEM?

I will be replacing this myself. I am very mechanical and have ample garage space and proper tools. I'm a euro nut, so these jobs don't scare me as much as they probably should.

Thanks for the advice. I added a pic for views.
MattO

From my experience with cars (not the BMW) It is worth it to replace the whole unit vs worrying about repairing the boot. In a lot of cars just to replace the boot you have to basically take the whole thing apart. If you got enough sand and crap inside the CV joint it'll fail anyways even after fixing the boot. I'm not sure if the E60 costs a ton, but on a lot of other cars it's" $15-35 for a new boot and grease, and a mess.. vs $90-$120 for pop in and pop out, and a brand new joint...

From what I'm saying, does that sound like a bad CV Joint?

I had the same issue on my 2011 535i XDrive: BMW replaced both half shafts - covered by extended warranty (yay!)

yes, sounds like CV joint. If boot is torn, strongly recommend you just make it easy and replace the whole axle. Replacing boots and dealing with the grease, etc. sucks, and is worth a few bucks to avoid. Especially when you have to remove the axle anyway. Plus, CV is almost assuredly going to fail soon anyway, due to contamination.


Doh, just noticed how old this thread is lol - hopefully OP got it figure out.