04-30-2017, 10:11 AM | #1 |
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Hit a boulder...need help diagnosing a problem
A couple of weeks ago a hit a rather large rock on the freeway which ended up blowing out my tire and bending my rim slightly at the very edge (lip?). I was able to swerve enough to just clip the rock at the very outside edge of the wheel. The damage was to my front right wheel and tire.
After having my car towed to BMW they were able to replace the tire and balance the wheel even with the slight damage. The technician said they inspected the car but did not find any obvious signs of damage. I recently took my car to get aligned and surprisingly everything was still within spec. Now here is my problem...when going straight at freeway speed, I am now hearing some road noise similar to when I had the run flats. Additionally, I can feel a slight vibration through the gas pedal. I don't feel anything through the steering wheel. The sound and vibration through the gas pedal gets worse when I am going through a right hand curve. Otherwise, the car handles and drives like it always did. The weird thing is the sound and vibration goes away when I go through a left hand curve. Any ideas what could be wrong?
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Last edited by tboooe; 04-30-2017 at 11:14 AM.. |
04-30-2017, 10:59 AM | #2 |
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Did you fix the wheel? You say the sound and vibration go away on left curves, which wheel is damaged? I'm no tire/wheel expert but the bent wheel would be the first thing I would suspect, even if it's properly balanced. Perhaps the tire itself has hidden damage?
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04-30-2017, 11:08 AM | #3 |
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Regardless of the cause, there is something wrong. Better get it checked. I would guess that the vibration is caused by the damaged wheel.
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04-30-2017, 11:14 AM | #4 |
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Thanks guys. I forgot to mention it was the right front wheel that got damaged.
If the BMW tech was able to balance the wheel and tire, why would that be a potential cause if the problem I am having? Btw, I do intend to get the wheel repaired and rebalanced soon. |
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04-30-2017, 11:48 AM | #5 | |
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Hm, from what you're saying the impact was strong enough to bend the rim slightly. Although the damage is not enough to go out of specs, my initial guess would be that there could be, as others have said hidden tire/rim damage causing the sound and vibration through the gas pedal. If the impact actually bent your rim, is it possible that there was light damage to the wheel bearing, or x-drive component (if equipped)? The only reason I'm thinking that may be part of the problem, is because you are saying that road noise gets louder when going one direction but quieter, and virtually inaudible in the other. Also the fact that the steering is not vibrating, but the gas pedal is, may point towards the drivetrain. I'm no mechanic, and these are just my guesses, but it's what I would be thinking if I had this issue. Good luck! |
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04-30-2017, 11:58 AM | #6 |
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A side to side wobble that results from a bent wheel usually won't show up on a standard balancing. If the rim is bent it can usually be straightened.
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04-30-2017, 12:23 PM | #7 |
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It is possible to balance a bent rim, but that doesn't mean it will run smoothly, as it is out of round.
First thing I'd do is to eliminate the wheel, as the source of the issue, by having another wheel tried. |
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04-30-2017, 12:24 PM | #8 | |
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04-30-2017, 12:33 PM | #9 |
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Any wheel damage, out of balance tire, etc. would be felt in the steering wheel as a vibration, typically at higher speeds. There is no connection between the accelerator pedal and the wheels. I would inspect the car for other, unseen damage. Or maybe it was always there and OP is being overly observant after this incident.
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04-30-2017, 12:34 PM | #10 |
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I once had wheels that were in spec but still caused vibration because I was running wheel spacers. The problem went away when I had them balanced with a Road Force balancer. For different reasons, wheel balance can be very sensitive.
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04-30-2017, 12:39 PM | #11 | |
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Last edited by oz555; 04-30-2017 at 12:45 PM.. |
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04-30-2017, 12:46 PM | #12 |
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Thanks guys. There is supposed to be a guy local to me in socal that is a miracle worker with wheels. I will take it to him to repair the slightly bent rim.
Just now I removed the wheel and inspected the suspension, hub, etc. Obviously I am no expert so I was just poking around to see if I could notice obvious damage. One thing I noticed when rotating the wheel hub was that the friction I felt against the brake pads was not consistent. The hub would rotate freely for about 3/4 of the revolution, then for the remainder it feels like the rotor is rubbing against the brake pad. Could that be what I'm hearing and feeling? If so, what does that mean in terms of what could be damaged? |
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04-30-2017, 12:51 PM | #13 | |
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Measuring disc and hub run-out would be an essential test. |
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04-30-2017, 12:54 PM | #14 | |
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04-30-2017, 01:03 PM | #15 | |
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I never assume the norms, when dealing with odd vibrations. |
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04-30-2017, 02:20 PM | #16 |
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I don't think the vibration I am feeling through the gas pedal is being caused by the drive train. I think it just the vibration from the front right wheel area that is being felt. Note that the vibration is very slight and gets worse as I turn the wheel to the right. I think the vibration is so slight that I can't feel it through the seats or steering wheel.
Regarding swapping front wheels, does it matter that my tires are directional? I won't irreparably damage the tires by having them rotate in the wrong direction for this test right? |
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04-30-2017, 03:10 PM | #17 | |
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https://tires.tirerack.com/tires/Dir...es%20Backwards
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02-22-2020, 12:35 PM | #18 |
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Hello. Going to resurrect this thread.
Did you ever find the source of the problem? As i'm having exactly the same issue. The wife hit a lump of rock on the road one day which dented the outside rim of the front rh wheel. It didn't damage the tire. I have swapped wheels, tried other wheels and tires, and had the alignment checked but still have the noise. It's hard to say which side it comes from but you hear it at around 60+ mph in straight ahead and very slightly worse while turning right, it eases if turning left. I'm guessing the wheel bearing, although there's no sign of anything wrong when physically checking while jacked up. Last edited by Redtin; 02-22-2020 at 03:10 PM.. |
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03-11-2020, 10:44 AM | #19 |
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Follow up to last post
I replaced the hub/bearing on the side that suffered the impact, which was a straight forward job, and can confirm that's what the noise was. Old bearing likely flattened a ball on the impact. |
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03-11-2020, 05:15 PM | #20 |
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Had this myself on my F30, the impact shock damaged the wheel bearing, I fitted a new bearing and all perfect again, if you leave it for a few miles you will certainly hear it get worse, replace sooner rather than later though.
Lol you beat me to it |
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