Help with noise/vibration

[daveM45]

2007 M45 with about 65K on it.

About a year ago I started getting road noise and a vibration that can be felt through the floor pan which seemed to come from left front. When cornering there is audible thumping with more vibration through the frame - but no steering wheel shake. The hub doesn't seem abnormally hot. Nothing appeared worn or loose in the suspension. I replaced the warped rotors, rotated tires but no change. I had the dealer look at it. They blamed the tires claiming all four were cupped and found nothing wrong with the front end other then the alignment being on the edge of tolerances (which was fixed with alignment). The noise has gradually worsened. I finally replaced the tires today and there is no improvement at all. When I last changed the oil I noticed that just spinning the tire by hand makes a metallic rattle that seems to come from the hub.

I'm suspecting a wheel bearing but have never heard of one that is just a little bit bad. In my experience they quickly degrade until they're red hot and obviously shot.

I hesitate to blow another trip to the dealer after my last experience. Anyone have any thoughts on cause? Any history of bearing issues on these?

Thanks!

[daveM45]

Seems to common issue on the G forum and I found a great write up from asavage a couple of years ago with pics on the repair. The price for the hub isn't much more then the dealer chargers for a road test so I'm going to give it a try.

[daveM45]

Not many responses but for what its worth...

Called dealer and found the hub was still under warranty. Everything went smooth. Dealer had loaner car waiting, promptly replaced it under warranty and had it clean and ready for pickup in a day. Great job. Noise is resolved.

[DeanM45]

Interesting, so was it one or both hubs they replaced?
And yes, I'm too lazy to look---what prices were you finding for the hub? Replacement looks simple enough if and when the need arises.

[GenericM35]

It's really really beneficial when people like you continue to update their post even when no one responds. Sure, no one might have needed this information now, but in the future, someone might have this exact same issue. Too often, I've found posts from a long time ago with the issue I'm facing, but the OP never updates what they did to resolve it. Just wanted to say thanks for putting in the effort!

[daveM45]

Part from Infinity was around $180.

It was just the left hub. For a long time I (and others of my age) had trouble pinpointing which one as the noise seemed to just come up from the floor. Some healthy teenage ears first thought it coming from left. I was almost 10K into it before I could finally hear something just spinning the wheel.

The bad news is that I had replaced the tires with the primacy mxv4's thinking the ps2 might be the cause. What a downgrade in handling. Now I'm engaging traction control by accident, not design. Its not even fun, I feel like I'm abusing them.

[geedub808]

hmm, I also have road vibes and noise, front left.
I had an assesment done at a our local mechanic shop and they said it was because i have 22's the brakes were trying to over compensate for the load. PFFT, not!
I'm currently looking into new rotors, seeingthis has been a common problem for several of different cars i've owned.
I've rotated my tires and replaced 2 and still no change.
after reading this post I'll be seriously looking into doing the hub replacement as well.
@dave45 did replacing the hub fix the noise? I'm dying to know!
thanks

[The00Dustin]

More importantly, did it fix the vibration? I've been dealing with the noise for tens of thousands of miles (possibly even 100K, I don't remember when it started, but the dealership blamed tires back when it was under warranty, and new tires didn't fix it). The noise is not that bad, but I need new tires again, and if that might be the cause of my vibration and could cause premature tire wear, then now is the time to fix it.

[daveM45]

sorry if I wasn't clear. Yes, noise and vibration were both resolved with the new hub.

I went through the same steps as geedub808, first replaced rotors (they needed done anyway), then tires, then finally the hub.

[geedub808]

thanks Dave!!!

[splix]

check out "ebay rotors" here in the M forums. I got a full set of drill/sloted rotors with ceramic pads for like $130, and they are great. A bunch of us on here are using them.

[geedub808]

Found out that my particular problem is due to my rim and tire combo. I'm running 22's and with 22's the suspension reacts differently, resulting in the tires cupping. i rotated my rims and tires the noise lessened but i think the risudual effects of the cupping have taken its toll on the front end, hopefully the cupping only caused uneven wear on the rotors and thats it.
I'll be changing out my rotors in due time. thanks for the suggestion splix