Last summer I had a creak in my front suspension. The hotter the weather got (90-100+ degrees) the louder the creak. My mechanic changed the lower control arms which fixed the problem. The rubber on the old control arm bushing was ruptured (swelling and sticking out) and causing the noise. Well... the noise is back this summer and driving me nuts. Is this typical of an 80k mile car? Which suspension component would you go after next? Does this point toward an entire front end rebuild? Thanks for your opinions.

01sport

Well it's 100 degrees outside and my creak is turning into a groan. My mechanic has been pretty right on but it would be nice to here from someone who's had the same problem. I love to work on my car but I'm not set up to do suspension work.

I think I might have the same suspension problem on my 2001 E38. When do you hear the noise?

I hear the problem when the car is hot and it gets worse when the weather is hot also worse when driving stop and go and the car gets really hot.
It creaks when going over bumps but is most noticable when the car comes to a stop (the wheels have stopped turning but forward inertia makes the body lunge forward slightly). It is worse when turning while going over bumps. Sometimes you can make it creak when the car is standing still by turning the steering wheel. Thanks for the reply.

So far I've changed the swaybar bushings, swaybar links, upper control arm bushings and lower control arms. Still have the creaking front end, Any ideas?

Sounds exactly just like my creaking issues. It sounds like it is coming from my calipers... my car does it the same when cold though.

Damn it's annoying.

Driving me crazy. (short drive) I've forgot to tell you I changed struts too. I'm due for brakes. I'll ask my mechanic about caliper noise.

By the way, I Love your car.

Just came home with a '96 735 today, creak which is almost as you've all described, has some of all the characteristics.
Thing is, this car had a complete suspension replacement very recently, bilstien shocks all round, all the arms replaced, the works alledgedly, I had a 730 that used to crackle on turning the wheel when going slowly, replacement power steering fluid fixed it, but this is not the same.
I can feel the creak in mine through the wheel, not there all the time, coming to a stop, travelling slowly, sometimes on turning the wheel, sometimes not, will keep you all updated if I can find anything, would appreciate updates from the rest of you too,
thx,
Owen

I still have it, I need to delve into the braking system to see if that is the problem. Thanks, I like the car too and yours!

So far I've changed the swaybar bushings, swaybar links, upper control arm bushings and lower control arms, struts, fender liners, rotors and pads. Still have the creaking problem. Diver's side only. I looked on RealOEM.com and see that above the front strut and coil spring are parts descibed as PLATE, GROMMET,SPRING POCKET/CAGE BEARING, SPRING PAD, SUPPORT, M SPORT SUSPENSION ABSORBER, SPRING PAD LOWER, WASHER GASKET ETC. ETC.
Anyone out there had any experience with these parts wearing out or causing noises? Creaking noise or???

I've heard that the upper bearings can cause problems with noise but shouldn'y affect ridability or safety in any way. I thought that may be my problem but I really only hear it when I am applying the brakes and turning the car (except in rare circumstances).

I'd say replace all of those things and let me know what you find. ;)

Man we need to get to the bottom of this one.I have this problem.I thought i was alone.I even went as far as to change my cats.I though they were making the noise but i was wrong.Mine is getting worse.I use to think it was my arms buti think it has something to do with my calipers because when i changed my rotors it went away for a week and now its returned.Rightside first and now both sides again.Its almost making me want to sell this car and buy an Infiniti or something.Please we need to find the culprit.It means alot to me!!!!

Yeah it seems to be predominantly on the right side... it needs to be solved! I just can't afford to give it to my indy and tell them to "fix it" because I know the bill would be thousands and thousands in "diagnosis" time.

Hi Mungrin,
It would mean a great deal to me as well. Can you tell me more about your creaking suspension noise? My car does it worst after Stop And Go driving. That is, the car is fully heated up and the brakes are hot as well. More high speed driving after stop and go driving then cools the car down and the noise decreases. It creaks going over bumps, coming to stops and going up driveways all worse when wheels are turned. Park the car, get out and rock the front end up and down dosen't seem to recreate the creaking/groaning. This leads me to believe that forward inertia of car when braking or the force pushing the front tires and suspension back when going over a bump is aggravating the problem. Experiment: I wonder if we rolled our cars up to a curb so that the front tires were touching it and lightly accelerated. Would it creak? I have not tried. What have you tried? Do know anything about the parts above the Coil Springs? Have you ever thought that the noise may be coming from the body? I too have thought about selling my car but there is no other car I want.

My problem is only when i go over bumps.Mine get worse when car is warmed up to i think.I dont know much about pars.I need to check my bushings though.I really hate this noise otherwise my car is perfect.

My problem is only when i go over bumps.Mine get worse when car is warmed up to i think.I dont know much about pars.I need to check my bushings though.I really hate this noise otherwise my car is perfect.

I had the same problem before and it's now returned. The last time I replaced my engine mount bushings (?) and it went away, that was about 3 years ago, and it's since returned.

Same symptoms...It's most noticeable when its hot, and gets worse as the heat of the day rises and especially in stop and go traffic. Clunks like crazy when driving slowly over bumps or rough roads and you can feel it in the foot well.

Hi Mungrin,
It would mean a great deal to me as well. Can you tell me more about your creaking suspension noise? My car does it worst after Stop And Go driving. That is, the car is fully heated up and the brakes are hot as well. More high speed driving after stop and go driving then cools the car down and the noise decreases. It creaks going over bumps, coming to stops and going up driveways all worse when wheels are turned. Park the car, get out and rock the front end up and down dosen't seem to recreate the creaking/groaning. This leads me to believe that forward inertia of car when braking or the force pushing the front tires and suspension back when going over a bump is aggravating the problem. Experiment: I wonder if we rolled our cars up to a curb so that the front tires were touching it and lightly accelerated. Would it creak? I have not tried. What have you tried? Do know anything about the parts above the Coil Springs? Have you ever thought that the noise may be coming from the body? I too have thought about selling my car but there is no other car I want.

You have the exact same problem I do. It happens when there is forward inertia as in going down hill or braking. Damn!

It has to be suspension or brakes... there is no possibility of anything else. I too can feel it in the steering wheel.

What about steering? Have you inspected your center link and tie rod ends?

Just had my center link replaced and the tie rods are good (says my Indy). I am taking the car back into them tomorrow and paying for an hour of them messing around to find out.

Its a normal function of the car.

Just crank the stereo and you won't hear it.

But I can feel it...

I have the same problem with my 00 740I Sport. Just had the control arm bushings replaced and the noise is still there. It is driving me Freekin nuts!!!

I had the same problem before and it's now returned. The last time I replaced my engine mount bushings (?) and it went away, that was about 3 years ago, and it's since returned.

ALLRIGHT! Now we're getting somewhere! I've looked up the engine mount bushing on RealOEM.com. Interesting that there is only one mount on the left side. My noise is on the left side. My car is an 2001 and I've had the noise since 2004. Makes sense. Rocking the car by hand does not make the noise. Hitting the brakes could make the engine move. Going over bumps could make it move. Cody3 do you plan on getting a new engine mount?

I think we might be getting close to finding our problem. I am going to start a new thread on engine mounts in an effort to gather more replys and more information. Please don't give up on this thread. I believe we have the same problem and that it can be fixed. After all our cars did not make this noise when they were new.

My Indy removed the paint from the sway bars under the bushings. Then he polished the metal and lubricated the bushing and sway bar. Waiting for a hot day to find out the results.

No joy. :( I'm still creaking. Stop and Go traffic for 20 mins. I't worse when turning left than right. Only 74 degrees out this morning. Think problem might be getting worse. Going to look into motor mounts and upper control arm u joints. Still wondering about the parts above the strut and coil spring.

CENTER LINK! Creaking is GONE. Did tie rods and rear wheel carrier ball joints as well. Front and rear alignment and my car drives like new. I love my car.:) :) :) Thanks for your help guys.

What was the price tag on those repairs?

Wish i could get my car to drive like new.

What was the price tag on those repairs?
Front struts (sport), rear shocks (sport), lower control arms, upper control arm and swaybar bushings and sway bar links about $2400.00. Center link, tie rods, idler arm about $450.00 parts and labor. Rear wheel carrier ball joints about $400.00 parts and about 3.5hrs labor. Front and rear alignment $90.00.
Total (why did you make me do this?) approx $3340.00.
Was it worth it? You bet it was. If I could find a 01 740i sport new on the showroom floor I would buy it in a heartbeat. But now I don't have to.:)

Check the tie-rod to the strut joint. When the brake heats up, or you're stuck in traffic, the female part expands more than the male part, causing the joint to loosen ever so slightly. The tapered joint will start to klunk and creak. Just unscrew the bolt, pull apart, clean surfaces, add a little grease, put back together and tighten bolt GOOD. Takes 5 mins. I had the exact same problems as everybody else, and this took care of it. I hope this helps.....

Glad to hear you found your problem was the center link. Too bad you weren't able to identify it at first and save a ton of loot.

FYI: Even if you replaced a suspension part ( such as traction struts aka upper control arms w/ bushings) if the problem is elsewhere, it could damage the new parts very quickly.

This is what I have learned from lots of online research. So even if you replaced a part X months ago, check it again if your problem came back.

I am about to buy and install new traction struts this week (to fix my 45-55) steering wheel shimmy so I have done several hours of resarch on suspension topics.

My problem still persists and I just recently had the front control arms and center link replaced. I then took the car in and paid for an hour of diagnostic in which they found nothing wrong and "couldn't replicate the noise" which is evident doing exactly what I told them. There are so many things that can go wrong here I am getting overwhelmed. I just don't want to damage anything else as the noise is quite loud.

01sport: Glad you got your issue taken care of. Your noise was coming from the center-link itself?

Hi Greene08,
Boy, I'm glad too. Center Link was suspect. After it was removed you could feel that the driver's side ball joint was dry and was not moving smoothly. Indy said joint its probably a teflon lined joint and lubing was not a long term fix.
However after reading E38F4i's post, the problem could have been the tie rod ball joint. In fact I think it probably was because it is so close to the brakes.
Most of the repairs I made were neccessary.
Struts were making noise. Lower control arm bushing ruptured. Upper control arm bushing were worn. Steering is now tighter. I don't know about the swaybar links. They might have been a wast of dough. From the little I have learned on this forum a front end rebuild at 80k is not out of the ordinary.
Anyway, I'm happy.

Yeah, I am taking my car to a different shop today that might be able to give me a better handle on what is needed. I did the lower control arms, center link and so now it might be the outter tie rods that are giving me grief. My struts are making a little noise but the shocks are fine so doing them now isn't worth it IMO.

You know, it's just a thought, but maybe it IS a worn tie rod joint and that is causing your tire pull as well...

I had the same problem on my 01 740IL. I changed the ?? arms (forgot what proper name is, but they connect the sway bar to the struts with two metal ball joints that fit into a plastic body that that are attached at each end of a metal shaft). This reduced the nose drastically, but the noise was still noticeable.

Then a few weeks ago I changed the wheels (installed new 20 inch style 32s from the original M-Pars) and the noise is gone...

I only experienced the creeking noise when I was just getting off of the freeway after a long stop and go drive. It never happened after my 30 mile drive into the office (when the car was plenty hot). It only happened on stop and go traffic days.

I have no idea what the noise was coming from,, but it did stop when replaceing the ?? arms and wheels.

Man this is crazy! I will see what the shop has to say tomorrow.

same with my 2001 740 i sport. I'm convinced it's the calipers because it's gone if i ride the brakes over rough pavement...

Is your problem heat related? Is it worse in stop and go driving or on a hot day?

just had all loose suspension parts replaced:@70k
center tie rod assembly
left and right tie rod ends
left and right sway bar links
rear upper control arms
struts
shocks

the car is tighter and less clunky.
now to resolve the caliper squeak,
When the brakes were new it was fine.

there must be a weal spring or tensioner of some type that is supposed to take of the slack as the brakes wear???

I thought I was the only one with this problem. Front end creaks after the car heats up, particularly, after stop go driving. There doesn't seem to be a simple diagnosis for this problem. Two mechanics gave separate repair estimates but neither mentioned the center link. As the cost of the front repairs is signficant, I'd love to hear from someone who has successfully cured this gremlin.

I was successful. I had two creaks. Driver's side. Both got worse with heat. One was the lower control arm. (ruptured bushing) and the other was Center link or Tie Rod. If you can recreate creak by bouncing car up and down (be careful not to dent your fender) it might be your Control Arm. If the creak happens when you come to a stop and when turning going over bumps (like going up driveways) try the Center Link and Tie Rod. Good Luck.

Thank you. I appreciate your input. I'll give it a try before I hand my car over to the mechanic for a second opinion.

Greene38 -

where have you taken the car? I have the same problem.
Strictly has yet to find an answer

Just bought an E38 after parting with my E32. I bought it from the mechanic who serviced my old car. He told me of a creaking problem which he said he would sort out if he could identify where it was. He has already done a front suspension rebuild prior to purchase. The car does creak after about an hour's drive (no hot weather here at this time of year!) especially when stopping, going over bumps etc. This thread has been very useful but I would like to ask has any one else replaced the centre link or tie rod and cured the problem? Do you think this is a definitive answer to the problem?

It's most likely the centerlink, the joint where the idler arm attaches to the centerlink starts binding the hotter it gets. The joint sits right below the exhaust on the passenger side with the steering pointed straight ahead.

It was the definitive answer for my creak. Consider changing your tie rods as well as center link. You should have a front end alignment afterwards. As long as your car is going to the alignment shop have your Rear wheel carrier ball joints checked. They tend to go out around the same time as the front suspension and if you change them you will need the rear end alignment checked. What is your mileage. 70K-80K?