E70 X5 clunking in front over bumps fixed

[arkie6]

I bought a used 2012 BMW X5 35d earlier this year and noted a clunking in the front end over sharp bumps in the road. Research indicated the most likely culprit was the urethane foam strut rod support bushings on either side of the upper strut support bearing. See attached screen grab from RealOEM, items #10 and #8.

A quick inspection showed the upper foam bushings to have turned to dust.

I ordered a set of the foam guide supports and watched a bunch of youtube videos on what is needed to change the foam bushings. Changing the upper foam bushing is easy – just remove the nut and washer and swap the foam bushings. The lower foam bushing is more involved. Every video I watched showed the strut being completely removed and spring compressed off the vehicle to change the lower foam guide bushing. I'm posting to state here that this is not required if all you want to do is change the upper and lower foam support bushings, item #8 and #10. If this is your issue, you can fix this for <$20 and about an hours time with basic garage tools.

Here is what I did: 1) Jacked up the front end with a floor jack in the middle until the tires were just off the floor and placed jack stands under the jacking points behind the front wheels, 2) removed a wheel, 3) placed my floor jack with a small block of wood on the lifting pad under the wheel hub carrier assembly, 4) lifted wheel hub assy until the vehicle just barely lifted off the jack stand on that side – this utilized the weight of the vehicle to compress the spring, 5) removed cowling trays to get access to the upper strut rod nut, 6) removed the top strut rod nut (#12) and flat washer (#11) and remainder of foam bushing #10 with an 18mm ratcheting box end wrench and 6mm allen key, 7) with the long end of the allen key remaining in the strut rod, I slowly lowered the jack to let the strut drop down and spring extend – I held the allen key from above to keep the strut aligned in the bearing as the strut rod dropped below the upper strut support bearing (#9) – note to place your jack such that you can easily reach both if working alone like I was. 8) I then used a pry bar between the middle of the strut just below the spring perch and the wheel hub carrier to gently move the strut over about 1/4" and removed the allen key. I was able to get the top of the strut rod about 1/2” below the upper strut support bearing which was just enough room to pull out the remainder of the old foam bushing and slip in the new foam guide bushing #8. 9) I gently raised the floor jack while guiding the strut rod into the upper support bearing with the pry bar maneuvering the strut, 10) once the strut rod was centered inside the upper support bearing, I continued to raise the jack until the vehicle just barely lifted off the jack stand. 11) I then installed the upper foam guide #10, the big flat washer #11, and the nut #12 in reverse order. 12) once the nut was fully tightened, I lowered the jack, reinstalled the tire and wheel, and then moved to the opposite side to complete the job.

[kb43ver]

Lucky you... I have been chasing a similar rattle for months. My rattle occurs only when I drive over small cracks (quick oscillation). Everything feels tight as new.

Refreshed almost everything. Installed H&R lowering springs and Bilstein B4 plus on all 4 corners. Recently, we did both strut mounts as the driver side bushing was decimated! Bare in mind that my X5 2013 35ix as only 152k Km (94,4K miles). Last summer we did both arms on each side, swaybar links, upper tie-rods, springs and B4s. Has anyone as any suggestion apart for re-re torquing all nuts *especially the ones under load?

[ChrisRobin]

@arkie6,
So?? Has your clunking stopped??

I just got this 2010 X5 a couple months ago (96k kms) and now I've developed that dreaded clunking noise on the driver's side going over sharp bumps, or a series of bumps in the road.

Everything looks clean and solid visually, but that clunking is there for sure. I'll be pulling the wheel off tonight and I'll get in there with a pry bar to see if anything has excessive play.

[arkie6]

Originally Posted by ChrisRobin

@arkie6,
So?? Has your clunking stopped??

Yes.

[ChrisRobin]

I double checked my strut mounts... yep, driver's side turned to dust. lol

[ndabunka]

Looks like I might have a similar issue but on the passenger side. Shop wants $1,800 to replace both front struts. Seems overkill if there really is a simply issue like shown above. 2012 X5d with Sport package & 137K miles on it

[cayx5]

Originally Posted by ndabunka

Looks like I might have a similar issue but on the passenger side. Shop wants $1,800 to replace both front struts. Seems overkill if there really is a simply issue like shown above. 2012 X5d with Sport package & 137K miles on it

Had mine done 11/23 for $1300 with my bmw indy. There are 2 or 3 foam pieces in the assembly and they all deteriorate over time. You can only see the top one so if you're paying someone to inspect the others you might as well change out the struts since it will require removal. Also, if you're on original struts at 137k miles they're not performing anywhere near original specs.

[ndabunka]

Originally Posted by cayx5

Had mine done 11/23 for $1300 with my bmw indy. There are 2 or 3 foam pieces in the assembly and they all deteriorate over time. You can only see the top one so if you're paying someone to inspect the others you might as well change out the struts since it will require removal. Also, if you're on original struts at 137k miles they're not performing anywhere near original specs.

Thanks. I found a local ASE certified guy who is changing out the struts, tie rods and control arms for $900 including all parts. He's done the brakes on my Audi S7 previously so I know he is good

[Blown540]

Struts do not have to come off, and changed top and bottom yellow cushions in maybe 1.5 hours and spent $20.00 and no more clunk-and just used my floor jack and eased the strut down enough to get the bottom cushion on-Jim in TN

[jbash87]

Originally Posted by Blown540

Struts do not have to come off, and changed top and bottom yellow cushions in maybe 1.5 hours and spent $20.00 and no more clunk-and just used my floor jack and eased the strut down enough to get the bottom cushion on-Jim in TN

Pics or it didn't happen.

[Mr-fixit]

Originally Posted by Blown540

Struts do not have to come off, and changed top and bottom yellow cushions in maybe 1.5 hours and spent $20.00 and no more clunk-and just used my floor jack and eased the strut down enough to get the bottom cushion on-Jim in TN

Dudes - massive warning if you try the above methodÂ…

Once you undo the top nut that holds the strut into the top bracket whilst itÂ’s in place - be aware that you are opening yourself to the biggest cluster f@!k of an afternoonÂ… I had replaced the cv boot on the driver side and removed the strut to replace these foam bushes. Yes - it was a bit of a job but it needed it badly as the cv boot was shot and the top foam bush was gone completely.

Once reading the above post and in the ultimate - hold my beer - IÂ’ll be back in 10 minutes - I thought IÂ’d just do the top foam bush on the passenger side by undoing the top nut whilst the shocks and springs were still in placeÂ…

The instant that I undid the nut - the strut bolt retracted below the top housing and no amount of loading into the suspension gave me enough load to get the bolt back above the strut housing to add the new foam pad and put the nut back on.

I tried everything from loading the rear of the car to give more pitch on the front - had weight added on the passenger side, tried all sorts of lifting and steering angles to try and get more load and guide the bolt to the right height.
But no goÂ…

So then the fun part of my evening beganÂ…how do you get the strut housing out when you have released the nut that compresses the spring.

ItÂ’s now to about 3 inches longer that is was and thereÂ’s no room to get it out without pulling the front assembly almost completely apart.

So given the immense task ahead - I tried for another hour or to to get the right about of load in the wheel to raise the height of the strut boltÂ…

By this I think I had used bits of the swear words in my vocabulary directed to the above post.

I had a spring compressor that I used to compress the springs whilst upping the wheel well just enough to get the strut and housing - almost 5 hours later.

IÂ’d highly not recommend using the above method unless you have a free weekend to pull everything else off in addition to the 1.5 hours quoted.

[SlowX6M]

I just replaced all 4 struts on my 2012 with a OEM kit from Strut monkey. Highly recommend just buying it - for $1300 it came with complete front struts, fully assembled with springs and all the bushings, complete rear shocks, and rear spring bushings. Makes the whole job so much easier.

If the strut bushings are deteriorated, chances are the shocks are blown. Mine were not leaking when I replaced them, but they were completely blown. We didn't take apart the front struts, but the rear shocks would not return back up when compressed, I assume the fronts wouldn't either.

[jbash87]

Originally Posted by Mr-fixit

Dudes - massive warning if you try the above methodÂ…

Once you undo the top nut that holds the strut into the top bracket whilst itÂ’s in place - be aware that you are opening yourself to the biggest cluster f@!k of an afternoonÂ… I had replaced the cv boot on the driver side and removed the strut to replace these foam bushes. Yes - it was a bit of a job but it needed it badly as the cv boot was shot and the top foam bush was gone completely.

Once reading the above post and in the ultimate - hold my beer - IÂ’ll be back in 10 minutes - I thought IÂ’d just do the top foam bush on the passenger side by undoing the top nut whilst the shocks and springs were still in placeÂ…

The instant that I undid the nut - the strut bolt retracted below the top housing and no amount of loading into the suspension gave me enough load to get the bolt back above the strut housing to add the new foam pad and put the nut back on.

I tried everything from loading the rear of the car to give more pitch on the front - had weight added on the passenger side, tried all sorts of lifting and steering angles to try and get more load and guide the bolt to the right height.
But no goÂ…

So then the fun part of my evening beganÂ…how do you get the strut housing out when you have released the nut that compresses the spring.

ItÂ’s now to about 3 inches longer that is was and thereÂ’s no room to get it out without pulling the front assembly almost completely apart.

So given the immense task ahead - I tried for another hour or to to get the right about of load in the wheel to raise the height of the strut boltÂ…

By this I think I had used bits of the swear words in my vocabulary directed to the above post.

I had a spring compressor that I used to compress the springs whilst upping the wheel well just enough to get the strut and housing - almost 5 hours later.

IÂ’d highly not recommend using the above method unless you have a free weekend to pull everything else off in addition to the 1.5 hours quoted.

Yeah... that's why I asked for pics. This doesn't seem like a feasible solution.