hi.
i just bought my first e36(i had two e30's) and i love it. she's a black on black '97 328i 4-door. 5-speed, sport package and about every option i can think of. there's a problem though. when on rougher roads i can hear a dull thump from the right rear accompanied by a rattle. i replaced the shock mount yesterday but that wasn't it. and i remeber reading horror stories about the rear subfame pulling out of the body. can somebody tell me exactly where to look and what to look for.
thanks
aaron
P.S. i just found this board but after looking around a bit im sure youll be hearing from me often.

Welcome to the board.
Could be one of the control arm bushes. One of mine needs replacing and I asked what is the worst case scenario if it broke in the week while I wait for my appointment. Mechanic said that a slight knocking would occur due to the suspension being able to move around a little bit. Hope this helps. If not I am sure someone will have another possible cause. Some of the guys here know too much for it to be healthy!!!

the right rear brake caliper when the did a brake jobe before i bought the car. which is why i didn't hear it on the test drive. i wonder what would have happened if the bolts would have completly fell out. pretty messy.
aaron:alright

Glad you got it sorted. Scary to think what could have happened. Hope you gave whoever did the brakes a good slap.

Good thing you found it before the caliper fell apart. One guy said his M3 rear caliper came off on the track. One bolt had backed out completely and the other was loose. When the caliper hinged outward toward the wheel, it caught and blew the wheel apart. He said he used anti-seize on the bolts, which was a BIG mistake. My brother also made the same mistake and his caliper only scraped the wheel. You should always clean the bolts and apply Loctite red whenever you do brake work. This is for the large caliper bolts, not the slider pin.

JamesM