Newbie with a few questions

[Thesisqokid]

Hi all new to the forum and a couple of months ago purchased a 2.0d 2006 x3. I have noticed the front prop was removed at some point, i have had an intermitant coolant leak coming from somwhere by the oil filter housing. I have the horrible cow bell noise from the prop and the one thats getting me the most is when i am at low speed if i turn the steering wheel lets say from 9 to 3, at 10 and 2 i get a clunk under my left foot by the foot rest can anyone shine some light on this for me please
Many thanks
Nick

[X5Sport]

Hello and

Assuming the prop is still there, you need to get underneath and check both universal joints for play. If there is any then it really should be replaced. A broken front prop is scary and can be terminal if it drops and digs in! A few X5/X6 owners needed new engines after an issue with the 2010/11 model year. There’s no recall that I know of in the X3 for front prop, only the X5/X6 for that short period.

Sounds like you need to get the car in the air and check everything is tight on the steering, front suspension, track control arms, lower wishbones and that the rubber bushes haven’t failed.

If you know a local Indy to you that knows BMWs they’ll have a look and will be a lot cheaper than BMW themselves.

Coolant leak could be from the oil/water heat exchanger/cooler.

X3’s are sensitive to tyres, especially where the tyre sizes are different front/rear (staggered setup). You are highly recommended to use BMW approved tyres (they have a ‘*’ on the sidewall) and less than 2mm tread difference between any tyres. Incorrect tyres or not sticking to the tread limits can and has destroyed the transfer box or front diff. This isn’t unique to BMW AWD but many new owners are unaware and unscrupulous sellers keep Schtum!

[Thesisqokid]

Hi mate thanks for the reply, the front prop has been removed and wasnt put back. I am taking it into a mates garage in the morning to check over ball joints bushes etc. I thought it could be the oil cooler leaking i bought a gasket for the filter housong and the day it arrived the leak stopped, that was a couple of weeks ago but this morning needed topping up but again bin fine since. I have done a bit of reading about the tyres and noticed there is 2 different brands on the rear axle, is there anything cheaper than dunlop sports not to sound like a tight arse but a 3 month old baby is my priority but if have to spend then so be.

[X5Sport]

Umm, OK there’s really is no easy way to put this.

If the front prop is missing that implies the transfer box has failed and needs rebuilding. The reason it failed is very often found to be the wrong tyres. Sadly we’ve seen it too many times on here. It’s usually a plastic part in the transfer box itself.

The better news is that it’s fixable (although BMW will just want to change the unit without bothering to repair) with a little knowledge and some tools. The parts aren’t expensive. Your friendly garage may well be able to do it for you. Is there something blocking the propshaft hole in the transfer box & at the diff? If not you’re going to lose the oil from both. You don’t want to go there! Replacement diffs are hard to find and expensive.

I’m amazed it even has an MOT with half the transmission missing - the MOT manual isn’t 100% clear but it might be classed as a ‘Major’ defect.

These cars are ‘luxury’ and have associated running costs. The only ‘approved’ tyres will be premium brands (Dunlop, Michelin, Bridgestone, Hankook, Continental). As a few of us have found, having just one tyre go bad can mean changing the whole set. Happened on my X6 and cost me almost £900 to sort out simply because of tread depth limits. That car has 20” wheels so tyres are a wee bit pricier!

If you have a square set up (same sizes all round) then the ‘*’ marking is less important as long as all four tyres are the same and the tread depth remains within 2mm of each other wheel.

Any chance of getting your money back?

[Thesisqokid]

Right ok, well i will get around to sorting that then, it drive atm just rear wheel drive, i dont mind tackling a job myself time is the only issue with me. It looks like someone has put a rubber glove over the out shaft of the transfer box for the front. As for front istself there is the part where 3 bolts attatch to, i assume a guibo goes on here correct me if im wrong.

It was mot'd before i bought it and think it was a case of who you know not what you know as rear wiper is terrible and rear washer was only providing screen wash to the inside of the boot i sorted this by simply connecting the hose back together.

On the front the outsides are wearing so hopefully a check over can give an insight to what needs changing at the front end to stop this. It is a square set up on 235/50/18s so im tempted to try a cheaper brand all round especially being only 2 wheel drive atm as tyres will need doing 1st tbh

[lezmtaylor]

Bloody hell !!! get your money back, or go to trading standards, surely this car should not be in the road. I am pretty sure that a roadside police stop would have the car confiscated.

Lez

[sapphireblack]

MOTS and who you know is a very grey area. It's a while ago now, I bought an older model Subaru Forester with a one week old ticket. The front subframe had holes you could get all four fingers into, the wrong size front discs, and although not an MOT issue both front doors has seized window motors. It was cheap but relying on an MOT can be costly.
BTW. Do stick around, so many join, ask, resolve a problem, then bugger off.

[Thesisqokid]

Bloody hell !!! get your money back, or go to trading standards, surely this car should not be in the road. I am pretty sure that a roadside police stop would have the car confiscated.

Lez

Was a private sale with all undertrays fitted so hard to spot some things, overall im happy with it just will b happier when issues are sorted, i know your never going to get a perfect 2nd hand car so was happy to do a bit of work, its only 118k on a 55 plate

[Thesisqokid]

MOTS and who you know is a very grey area. It's a while ago now, I bought an older model Subaru Forester with a one week old ticket. The front subframe had holes you could get all four fingers into, the wrong size front discs, and although not an MOT issue both front doors has seized window motors. It was cheap but relying on an MOT can be costly.
BTW. Do stick around, so many join, ask, resolve a problem, then bugger off.

Exactly i can get an mot just slapped on a car but i would rather know if there was issues tbh, i had an issue few months ago with a dealership i bought the missus a tiguan it had a fresh mot put on it with no advisories, but i said there was issues they told me its normal so i got it to my mates so could use the ramps and the rear drop links were shot should of failed they were that bad so i threatened them with the dvsa and what do you know every issue soon resolved. Il be here to stay mate you cant beat knowledge and banter

[X5Sport]

You might want to have a look at RealOEM on line. It’s a copy of the BMW Parts database used by dealers. Put the last 7 of your VIN into ‘Serial Number’ and it will bring up your variant. The diagrams may help you compare to what you can see it there and what’s missing.

That will give you part numbers to go looking for at sites such as Carparts4less (on line version of Eurocarparts) that will help you source replacements anywhere but a main dealer - and cheaper. Don’t be tempted to go too cheap with parts though. Some aren’t made very well!

Outside edge tyre wear is common on all xDrive cars and it’s recommended to have a 4-wheel alignment done once your tyres are sorted. A lot of folks here have had it done using Hunter kit (laser 4-wheel alignment tool). Pretty cheap too. I had it done a couple of years back. BMW we’re known for letting cars off the line that were just within limit rather than in the sweetspot in the centre of the green range.

I can’t promise images for everything but this may help:

EB810B62-14C2-476B-B30D-6F3973F8FB7B.jpeg (89.73 KiB) Viewed 10446 times

You MUST replace all the ZNS bolts (from BMW) and ask your local BMW dealer to confirm torque setting and angle. They are tightened to a torque and then a specific angle. Only designed to be used once!. There are several torque settings in the source I have and it’s not clear what the right one is. Once everything is fitted then transfer box (assuming it is also OK which sounds doubtful) will need resetting electronically (it’s what is referred to as the ‘additional work’ on the image above. It’s normally done with BMW software, but there are other tools that can help. Again your mate might have what’s needed.

[Thesisqokid]

I will have a nose now thank you very much. I have been using auto doc takes a while to arrive but parts are cheaper than euro car parts. 4 wheel alignment sounds a good idea i will get it done.

I will look into the specifics of the zns bolt as i work in fasteners and fixings, pretty sure we have started supplying bmw bits and bobs for ev's as for torque specifics my dad is an mot tech so might be able to pull it up off the computer in work. Im sure i will find someone who can help with the electronic reset.
Thanks for your help its very much appretiated

[Thesisqokid]

So quick update, had the motor on the shaker bushes ball joints seem fine, however there was a awful clack coming from the gearbox which i suspect is the clack im getting under my foot

[Alan Gunn]

The shaker din't show a bottom ball joint on mine.
It was bad when we lifted the car really bad it didn't show at all sat on it's wheels.
Never used the shaker when i was testing it was new and i am old lol pry bar for me if i needed.

[Thesisqokid]

Worth having a nose then il jack it up on the weekend and check, tbh id never seen a shaker until my mate had one fitted its always been oldskool mots iv watched

[GT456!]

What is a "shaker"...?