Clanking noise from rear drivers side

[Hebrewdiver]

My story…2004 z4 with sports suspension was having problems with top not opening or closing so I did the relocation to trunk. While doing so I had to reach all over rear or drivers side. After putting everything back together and finding out I had a leak on passenger side roof hydraulic cylinder. Will put that off until later when I get my nerves up to remove roof. When driving the car afterwards I started hearing a clunking noise coming from the driver side wheel well. I went back in and tied all wires and cables together thinking they maybe hitting against wall. I even put rags around wires but still had the noise especially when hitting bumps. I then decided to change the shocks and bump stops which had gonna bad. The old shocks were definitely bad wouldn’t come back up when compressed. Installed then test drive and still the noise again when hitting bumps and swaying in rear when turning corner. So now I’m thinking springs, so I removed the tire to look if the springs were broken. They were not and looked pretty good. Before I change the springs can the springs be bad without being broken? The car hadn’t been driven in 8 years and has 89k miles. Any ideas and/or suggestions will be appreciated.

 

[enuff_zed]

Check the drop link to the anti troll bsr (sway bar?) isn’t snapped

 

[Zedebee]

anti troll bsr

Translation = anti roll bar

 

[enuff_zed]

anti troll bsr

Translation = anti roll bar

It was early

 

[Hebrewdiver]

Good evening and thanks for the reply. Where is the anti roll bar and drop link located? Could reaching behind the driver side seat to remove the roof lift motor have knocked something loose? When driving and hitting a bump I get a noise that sounds like something hitting the quarter panel. I was turning the corner and hit a bump the rear gave an awful wobble. Thanks for the reply greatly appreciated.

 

[enuff_zed]

The bar runs across the rear of the car between the wheels. On each end is a short link which then passes through a hole in the lower suspension arm and bolts to it.

 

[Hebrewdiver]

Thank @enuff_zed, what exactly am I looking for on the sway bar as far as damage to the sway bar? What about the bushings could they be causing the issue? Will a defective sway bar, bushing, and or link cause the clunking? How difficult is the repair for a diy? Thanks

 

[Bella212]

I'm not a specialist, but it seems like the issue might lie with the springs. Even if they aren't visibly broken, they can lose their elasticity after years of disuse. Try checking for signs of rust or weakening in the springs. It might also be worth looking at the shock mounts.
Additionally, if the noise persists, pay attention to other suspension components like bearings or ball joints. Sometimes even small details can cause big problems. Let us know what you find!
https.przestronnie.pl

 

[enuff_zed]

Item 6 on the first diagram is the droplink. You can see how it pushes on to the end of the sway bar.
The other end of it passes through the lower arm from below and bolts to the brackets I've circled in red.
You are checking to see if the droplink has snapped.

 

[Hebrewdiver]

Thanks guys just getting back in town. I’m going to get started first thing tomorrow morning. I’ll take pictures and let y’all know what I find.

 

[Hebrewdiver]

Thanks guys just getting back in town. I’m going to get started first thing tomorrow morning. I’ll take pictures and let y’all know what I find.

 

[Hebrewdiver]

Hello everyone I’m back…today I jacked up the car and na put it on jacks but only on the driver’s side because that’s where the noise is coming from. Inspected the spring and didn’t see any sign of a break nor was there a lot of rust present. I look at the link at the sway bar and didn’t see any signs of breakage. I looked at the newly installed shock and it looked fine the old shock was completely shot. I thought that was the cause of the noise originally. But I reuse the Mount and other parts from old shock. I did add a reinforcement plate to the top of the Mount when it comes through the wheel well. How can I check the spring if it’s not broken or should I just replace it and hope for the best?

 

[bigwinn]

I’d get a friend to stand on the sill with the car on the ground and get them to jump up and down

If you are at the location you can then have a good go at locating the sound

I’m going to bet the mount is your issue

 

[Scooba_Steve]

You're going to get a lot of guesswork online, and probably even in person.

When I had a rear knock I couldn't find it so left it until MOT (annual roadworthiness check) and they identified it assumingly with a pry bar. Rear lower bushing, part 3 which I upgraded to the ball joint type (part 2) as this is the fitment for the M's.

 

[Hebrewdiver]

Okay I’m back and thanks again for the help. After jacking the car back up and putting on stands. I looked at both sides. Shocks mounted good, no brakes in links or springs, everything looked good. So now I’m looking at everything and ran across 3 bolts that were barely in their location and not bolted tight. After tightening them the knock was gone. Attaching a few pics and maybe someone can tell me the name of the part.

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[enuff_zed]

That’s the rear trailing arm bush housing.
Did you get a wheel alignment done? Looks like they forgot to tighten them up afterwards.
Good chance n oh w that the alignment will be wrong again so maybe get that checked.