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      03-25-2013, 11:18 PM   #1
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Creaking from front end

Please forgive me, as I am 1. not very mechanically inclined, and 2. brand new to the E85 platform.

I just got my Z4 M Roadster last week. There is some very noticeable creaking coming from somewhere up front. It is most noticeable while driving at low speeds when the body would flex. My first thought was "it's a roadster, it's bound to creak a little" but this seems really excessive.

I realize that this is not much useful info from me, but are there any areas in this platform that are common to cause some the symptoms that I have? Or some more info/feedback that you'd like from me to help diagnose this?
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      03-25-2013, 11:28 PM   #2
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Most likely cause and easiest to fix is are the firewall braces. See this thread.
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      03-26-2013, 10:47 AM   #3
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Thanks. I checked the braces and they seem tight. After I closed my hood, I happened to press down on the driver's side front corner and noticed that there was a little bit of play and that there was a bit of a creaking sound. Not sure if it's the same creaking that I was hearing (I should have had someone press down while I was in the driver's seat!) but I ended up putting a little grease on the driver's side hood latch, which seemed to quiet down the creaking. I'll see if that changes anything, and I'll report back.
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      03-26-2013, 01:55 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by intoflatlines View Post
Thanks. I checked the braces and they seem tight. After I closed my hood, I happened to press down on the driver's side front corner and noticed that there was a little bit of play and that there was a bit of a creaking sound. Not sure if it's the same creaking that I was hearing (I should have had someone press down while I was in the driver's seat!) but I ended up putting a little grease on the driver's side hood latch, which seemed to quiet down the creaking. I'll see if that changes anything, and I'll report back.
The rubber mounts/pins that support the hood up front are prone to failure. There should be a little rubber support on each side of the hood. That should have a spring loaded pin. The pin and spring fail, leaving the hood in a position to bounce around a bit. Check that. It may be causing the hood to shift around causing the sound you're hearing. See this thread.
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      03-26-2013, 04:14 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by intoflatlines View Post
Thanks. I checked the braces and they seem tight. After I closed my hood, I happened to press down on the driver's side front corner and noticed that there was a little bit of play and that there was a bit of a creaking sound. Not sure if it's the same creaking that I was hearing (I should have had someone press down while I was in the driver's seat!) but I ended up putting a little grease on the driver's side hood latch, which seemed to quiet down the creaking. I'll see if that changes anything, and I'll report back.
Finnegan mentioned it, here is the thread for the hood ejectors. One of mine was broken and there's pictures in the thread.

As for your firewall braces, how did you check? More than one person on here (including me) has made the mistake of thinking they're tight without torquing them down. It's not until you get the torque wrench out that you can really see if they're at the correct tightness. This is assuming you have the old "nut" style braces, rather than the updated one-use bolts. So if you haven't taken a torque wrench to it I suggest you do that first.
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      03-26-2013, 05:29 PM   #6
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I've got a torque wrench, but I'm having difficulty finding torque values for the old style nuts, which I believe I do have...

Also, that failed bump stop symptom sounds exactly like what I was feeling at the front driver's side corner of the hood. So I'll definitely check that out. Thanks!

If anyone can point me in the right direction to find torque values for the old style nuts please let me know. I'll probably use some blue Loctite as well.
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      03-26-2013, 06:05 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by intoflatlines View Post
I've got a torque wrench, but I'm having difficulty finding torque values for the old style nuts, which I believe I do have...

Also, that failed bump stop symptom sounds exactly like what I was feeling at the front driver's side corner of the hood. So I'll definitely check that out. Thanks!

If anyone can point me in the right direction to find torque values for the old style nuts please let me know. I'll probably use some blue Loctite as well.
Torque values are in post 11, new and old bolt pics in post 25 of the same thread.
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      03-27-2013, 08:24 AM   #8
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Thank you very much.
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      03-31-2013, 12:15 AM   #9
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Thanks Finnegan and beta!

As suggested, I checked the bolts even though the braces seemed very solid, and sure enough one bolt was a little loose. After tightening it down, the creaking is gone.

Also, I did check the hood bump stops and one is broken. I picked up a new one today and will swap it out soon.

Thanks again, 2 things solved in one thread
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      03-31-2013, 01:47 AM   #10
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Glad it worked out for you!

If you want a more permanent solution to the braces, check out my mod thread for Nord-Locks + anti-seize. So far I haven't had to re-torque them.
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