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      03-27-2012, 10:50 AM   #1
Prodigy_1978
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......Z4 trouble, and seems like big trouble.

Well where do I start............BMW Z4, 2004, 2.2 108K on the clock.

For the past few years I have been experiencing the dreaded clunk that seems to be coming from the rear of the car when changing gear. Every garage I had taken the car to couldn't hear it or if they did, said nothing to worry about, must be me.been driving me nuts everybody thinking it’s me.

The noise has now progressed and seems to coming through the gear box as well. The clunking can be heard when changing gear especially from 1st to 2nd, but now the noise has progressed into third.

The care is an absolute B***h to drive. After finding a local mechanic who specialises in performance cars I decided to book it for him to take a look. The 1st observation he couldn't find anything, slight slipping on the clutch, maybe the diff oil and gearbox oil need changing, but all the bushes are completely tight. Bang goes my diff bush theory there then.

After a week I decided to drop it down to him again, as he could not hear the noise properly the 1st time. He could hear the noise the second time and advised I book it in for an overhaul. Just picked the car up from the workshop today, as he had the car for most of the day and I have been given the following report............

As the car has had some bodywork done (before my time) on the front wing, and rear bumper (there’s some orange peel on the doors as well but thought nothing of it), he has concluded that the car has been in a bit of a smash shall we say. The drive line has an incredible amount of slack which seem to be coming from both the output shaft on the gearbox, along the prop shaft and down to the diff, allowing him to come up with the assumption there was an impact smash causing tension/compression on the drive line.. His opinion. Need a reconditioned gearbox, diff and propshaft........... WTF

Does this sound legit??? Am I looking at a ridiculous amount of money to get this fixed or would I be better off taking it a gearbox specialist etc and see what they have to say????

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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      03-27-2012, 11:25 AM   #2
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Get a second - and third - opinion. Replacing every moving part in the drivetrain has a great chance of fixing the problem, but so would replacing the car. Both are very expensive approaches - get someone who knows drivelines to properly diagnose the issue.
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      03-27-2012, 11:31 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WestCDA View Post
Get a second - and third - opinion. Replacing every moving part in the drivetrain has a great chance of fixing the problem, but so would replacing the car. Both are very expensive approaches - get someone who knows drivelines to properly diagnose the issue.


The OP says the bushes are fine, but this could easily be the guibo, transmission mounts, or a host of other things other than excessive driveline slop (slop is common in most cars, including BMW M and non-M cars, and to be expected to some degree). I'd be looking at parts that wear since the car is 10 years old. The "story" about a "a bit of smash" etc. sure sounds like, well, a story, designed to extract large sums from your wallet.

Like WestCDA said, get some more opinions, and Google/search a bit on your symptoms to see what others have experienced (symptoms) and done (fixes).
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      03-27-2012, 01:22 PM   #4
Prodigy_1978
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Would BMW themselves be a possibility? They will charge through the nose £90 per hour...........and that's a discount!

1 garage previously suggested the input shaft on the gear box????
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      03-27-2012, 01:35 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Prodigy_1978 View Post
Would BMW themselves be a possibility? They will charge through the nose £90 per hour...........and that's a discount!

1 garage previously suggested the input shaft on the gear box????
Might be. Better idea: find a local car club, BMW car club, or more local forums to find a credible/reliable/honest indie shop. Your best bet in this case is a well-recommended shop, and the trick, as always of course, is finding that shop.
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      03-27-2012, 02:51 PM   #6
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It's too bad you are in Wales, because I have a diff I would sell you should you decide to go that route. Good luck!
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      03-27-2012, 03:08 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Finnegan
Quote:
Originally Posted by Prodigy_1978 View Post
Would BMW themselves be a possibility? They will charge through the nose £90 per hour...........and that's a discount!

1 garage previously suggested the input shaft on the gear box????
Might be. Better idea: find a local car club, BMW car club, or more local forums to find a credible/reliable/honest indie shop. Your best bet in this case is a well-recommended shop, and the trick, as always of course, is finding that shop.
May have to look at that route. Maybe it's just me but could the drive line be tightened up?
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      03-27-2012, 03:10 PM   #8
Prodigy_1978
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Post and packing could be interesting lol. May keep you in mind on that one however!
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      03-27-2012, 05:23 PM   #9
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Did you have the rear subframe inspected? If the car was rear ended, the rear subframe may have cracked. Clunking could happen when the amount of stress changes when you change gears.
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      03-27-2012, 10:13 PM   #10
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Prodigy,

A "bit of a smash" would presumably damage driveline components at that time, rather than years later. Still, there's obviously something wrong, and it sounds like it's getting worse.

If you can get the car up on a lift, you might be able to hear any clunks coming from the differential by turning the rear wheels backward and forward. Holding a large screwdriver with the blade to the differential and the handle to your ear can amplify the sounds quite effectively.

If there's no noise from the differential or rear axles or driveshaft, then you could try starting the car (on the lift) and running carefully through the gears while listening to the transmission and looking for movement in the rear subframe, motor and transmission mounts, and so forth. (That takes two people, obviously...)

Replacing the entire drivetrain doesn't seem like a wise idea, unless you found a terrific deal on a complete used one. Even then, the labor costs would be far greater than the cost of a good diagnosis.

Good luck, and let us know what you ultimately find.

Rick F.
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      03-29-2012, 10:43 AM   #11
Prodigy_1978
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Will do. I am waiting to book the car into BMW for an hour so they can take a look. No decent indys near by so may have to bite the bullet. I have come across a company not too far away that rebuild gearboxes, will be looking at £600.... buy hey ho if needs must.

Just encountered a new noise.... when the clutch is let out there semms to be whinning noise, but once pressed the noise dissapears, could this be the input drive bearing? could this be linked to the clunking and many many other problems that I seem to be having.

I suppose I wont really know until I have had a second opinion (Hopefully BMW don't try and sting me for 3HRS labour at £90.

I will be in touch!
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      03-29-2012, 11:33 AM   #12
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As previously stated, check your guibo. It's common for those to cause clunking when switching gear as they age.
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      04-04-2012, 02:13 AM   #13
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i've got very similar issues, no loss in drivability though. Let us know whatt you find
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