Hello everyone,
Car is a 2007 335i e92 coupe (12/2006 build date) with approximately 93k miles on it... it HAS the sport package
Power steering fluid level is perfectly fine, although I have no idea when the last time it was flushed/changed was...
I also double checked my steering rack mounting bolts to make sure they are tight as I recently had the rack lowered to install my downpipes (noise was already present BEFORE the install of the downpipes...) bolts are good and tight.
Yesterday I replaced all 4 of my tie rods with brand new Lemfoder units, and I got an alignment this morning.
The car drives & feels fine (other than the steering feeling light). But while going very slow speeds (parking lot speeds) and turning lock-to-lock/getting close to lock sometimes you will hear a clunk noise.
I jacked up the car and you can easily re-create the noise by jerking the wheel quickly, the noise changes tone based on the position of the steering rack. I had a friend with me and we took turns trying to pin-point the noise from above & beneath the car but were unable to do so. The U-Joints on the column visible from the top did not seem to have any visual play in them...
Take a look @ this short video:
I have been doing a lot of searching on these forums and have mostly only found threads related to the steering column lock recall issues.
Also, my steering feels incredibly light compared to my gf's 2008 323i e90 (no sport package) with approximately 45k miles on it. I don't know if it is just a sedan vs. coupe thing? I believe they share the same steering racks so shouldn't steering feel the same...? But there is definitely a night and day difference between my steering vs. her car's steering. This difference is most noticeable @ less than 45 mph speeds.
What else can I test/look into/individual parts to replace? Hoping I don't have to replace the whole rack...