09 E60 rear grinding noise.

bigtimecharlie

I've have a grinding noise for the last 10 days (I suspected rear wheel bearings) and took it to an indy, he said he has never changed a wheel bearing as they are stronger than required.

We then went for a quick spin, he suspects that the issue is with the differential. He will be checking the car next week so what will/could he be checking? He wants to rule out any differential issue first.

listermint

Could be differential but tbh its quite young for that to be an issue unless of course its had a hard life.

What engine is it ? if its the 520D id be suprised if the diff was giving issue unless as i said its had a hard life.

Turning left or right in a slow motion tight turning circle left and right should enhance the sound if its the diff.

Similar to E46 and E90 Service notes here

SUBJECT
Grinding Noise from the Differential during Slow Cornering

MODEL
E90, E92 and E93 M3 from start of production

SITUATION
A grinding noise may be heard coming from the differential during slow cornering. This noise is best heard during tight cornering situations; for example, while parallel parking, driving in a tight circle, etc.

CAUSE
When the rear wheel speed differential varies during tight cornering, a slip stick effect is created on the lining and steel discs incorporated in the differential locking clutch, causing the grinding noise. This noise typically goes away as the locking clutch discs in the differential are broken in.
The break-in time varies depending on driving habits; for example, tighter cornering (working the locking clutch) means that it takes less time to break in the locking clutch discs.

CORRECTION
If a customer complaint is verified as described above on the E46 M3; E60 M5; E63 and E64 M6; or on the E90, E92 and E93 M3 vehicles, the differential oil should be replaced with a specially formulated differential oil, BMW part number 83 22 2 282 583.
PROCEDURE
1. Drain the differential oil. Refer to the appropriate model repair instruction in TIS:
Main Group 33 / Subgroup 10 / RA 0011259.
2. Refill the differential with special differential oil as shown in the illustration below.
Differential fill capacity = 1.2 liters (1.3 quarts).
3. Road test the vehicle.
With the vehicle at operating temperature, drive in tight circles (20 circles in each direction), allowing the special oil to coat the locking clutch discs.
The grinding noise will decrease when the locking clutch discs are sufficiently coated. Some slight noises may still be heard after driving in tight circles. Advise the customer that it will be necessary to drive the vehicle up to 600 miles before all noises are eliminated.
Note: Vehicles that have had the differential oil converted to this special oil should continue to use this oil whenever a service requiring the differential oil replacement is indicated.

It more than likely is a wheel bearing, having 1 mechanic never having changed one is not indicative of no issue. Wheel bearings do go.

dev100

listermint wrote:

Could be differential but tbh its quite young for that to be an issue unless of course its had a hard life. What engine is it ? if its the 520D id be suprised if the diff was giving issue unless as i said its had a hard life.

Girl in work has 07 320 auto . It doesn't get a hard life . She was told her diff is gone 1K ....

listermint

dev100 wrote: »

Girl in work has 07 320 auto . It doesn't get a hard life . She was told her diff is gone 1K ....

people say alot of things, a noisy diff can have recommend oil put in it to slicking up the plates again.

Ive found alot of mechanics dont have a breeze when it comes to LSD on bmws.

I had my M3 refurbished properly complete strip down and rebuild.

A 320 Auto should not have a diff thats 'gone'

dev100

listermint wrote:

A 320 Auto should not have a diff thats 'gone'

I know you would think there's not even a 100 K on the clock !!! I reckon it was a Monday morning or a Friday afternoon car , it's had more breakdowns than a little and not cheap fixes either . I personally wouldn't pay it I'd be looking at other cheaper fixes.

My mate had a 04 320 D and bloody thing was bullet proof hard life driving over rough roads and there's about 250 or 300K miles on clock . He sold her on and it's still going strong locally . Only problems he had were keeping tires on it it and window regs constantly breaking

bigtimecharlie

After a few more days on the road, I'm convinced it's wheel bearings. Then on Saturday I got a tyre pressure warning. Stopped and checked , no flat so re calibrated.

Could this be related to the wheel bearing? Not out today so I will be checking tyre pressures tomorrow.