[Healey3000]

Originally Posted by W37V

Pardon the language, but you just scared the shit out of me. I truly hope it is not. Warranty just expired on 25th and I didn't get the extended warranty. I am regretting it since it was only $2k for 3yrs or 100k miles.

If it is what you say it might be, I have fully loaded (other than radar cruise control) M-package Space Gray on black Dakota 6sp BMW 328i for sale. I will trow in 3 stage intake along with the car.

As I said, I sure hope I'm wrong. Chances are pretty good that I am, since this is now getting into the realm of grasping at straws. Before you do anything drastic, get it diagnosed. The simpler things happen more commonly.

[iDriveanXi]

Also don't forget that if it is the thrust bearings your warranty just expired but you've had this ongoing issue. You probably can get it at least partly covered by goodwill repair. Don't make yourself too crazy yet

[W37V]

Well... I just got a call from dealership. SA said that BMW rep will be here on Monday to check it out, but in the meanwhile, I can come by and pick up the car.

So far, SA and mechanics were awesome. Hopefully engineer can figure it out. It's just so frustrating as I LOVE this car.

[Agentphish]

This is a long term ongoing issue that they have not been able to fix. This should be taken care of at no charge to you, in warranty or not.

Hold firm with them on this. Completely unfair to you otherwise.

[W37V]

This had been bothering me so much that I can't sleep.

So, I been reading about different possibilities and the more research I do the more it seems like it could be caused by engine. On several different forums and ask/answer sites, people are saying that they experienced similar nose, and majority of answers were that the nose was caused by bad pulleys or bad power steering pump. With few suggesting its bad main bearing. Unfortunately, the original poster never comes back to update the post and provide final answers on what was the cause.

In my case, it seems that the noise is coming from the rear of the engine. Tonight after picking up the car, I sat in the parking lot and just went through different rpm ranges in order to determine if I missed something. I noticed following:
It seems like there is a vibration coming from engine (very slight and it can be felt through the gear lever). Vibration is drowned after 1800 rpm.
Grinding nose is constant and it doesn't increase in loudness. It's drowned by engine nose at about 1100 rpm.
Kick in the pedal is more dominant at low rpm and it appears to be directly related to the nose. If I rev up the engine up to 2500 rpm and then release the clutch, probability of feeling the kick is slim. However, up to 1500 I could feel it almost constantly. Also, it seems that the kick is def more predominant when the car is facing (is on) up hill.

I have been complaining about the noise since April and about the kick since September. At this point car has been sitting at the shop for over 7 weeks due to the same issue (noise and kick).

[iDriveanXi]

I honestly think you have a case for a complete goodwill repair based on your history with this.

[Healey3000]

Originally Posted by W37V

This had been bothering me so much that I can't sleep.

So, I been reading about different possibilities and the more research I do the more it seems like it could be caused by engine. On several different forums and ask/answer sites, people are saying that they experienced similar nose, and majority of answers were that the nose was caused by bad pulleys or bad power steering pump. With few suggesting its bad main bearing. Unfortunately, the original poster never comes back to update the post and provide final answers on what was the cause.

In my case, it seems that the noise is coming from the rear of the engine. Tonight after picking up the car, I sat in the parking lot and just went through different rpm ranges in order to determine if I missed something. I noticed following:
It seems like there is a vibration coming from engine (very slight and it can be felt through the gear lever). Vibration is drowned after 1800 rpm.
Grinding nose is constant and it doesn't increase in loudness. It's drowned by engine nose at about 1100 rpm.
Kick in the pedal is more dominant at low rpm and it appears to be directly related to the nose. If I rev up the engine up to 2500 rpm and then release the clutch, probability of feeling the kick is slim. However, up to 1500 I could feel it almost constantly. Also, it seems that the kick is def more predominant when the car is facing (is on) up hill.

I have been complaining about the noise since April and about the kick since September. At this point car has been sitting at the shop for over 7 weeks due to the same issue (noise and kick).

Have you checked your motor mounts by chance? Wonder if they are allowing the engine to move, causing a slight misalignment between engine and transmission.

[W37V]

Originally Posted by Healey3000

Have you checked your motor mounts by chance? Wonder if they are allowing the engine to move, causing a slight misalignment between engine and transmission.

They said that they inspected them and they looked fine. I asked and suggested to SA and mechanic to replace them at my own cost as a precautionary measure. I told them that since they already removed everything, I will buy new parts at their parts shop and they can just take it from there, or let me bring it to them. They never said anything (nay or yay), but mounts were not replaced. I still don't understand why, since they are only $40 vs transmission $4000.

[Healey3000]

Originally Posted by Healey3000

Have you checked your motor mounts by chance? Wonder if they are allowing the engine to move, causing a slight misalignment between engine and transmission.

Okay, that was pretty stupid of me - the engine can't move relative to the gearbox if the bell housing is true and correctly bolted up.

[W37V]

I just took it as if you were asking about mounts.

[W37V]

Quick update:

Today I met with BMW rep. He got into the car and tried to replicate the kick. However, he said he didn't feel it, but he noticed a LOT of play in the clutch pedal. Pedal moves off center by about 1/2 inch left and 1/2 inch right. He said that he doesn't run across many manuals, thus he is not 100% sure if that is acceptable, but is seemed out of the ordinary. He instructed mechanic to replace it, as a spring/bushing in the clutch pedal might be causing the "hung-up".

I suggested worst case scenario of bad thrust bearings. Rep said if that thrust bearings were bad, there would be a knock coming from the engine. Since there is no knock, he does not suspect thrust bearing is bad. Mechanic also said that he inspected crankshaft balancer and thrust bearings and they looked OK. Side note: Engine revs freely up to 7300 RPM and it always felt the same. Heck, now that the weather is cooler, it feels like it has even more power. Also, per e-dipstick (knock on wood), the car does not use any oil between oil changes - it's always showing maximum.

I also made a suggestion about pulleys causing the kick. He said that is unlikely and scuffed at the idea.

He also explained that the grinding noise I heard was likely gear rattle caused by dual mass flywheel's 1st stage of dampening failing. He said that there are 3 stages of dampening and quite often 1st one, which is the softest one - fails, causing the increased gear rattle. it does not influence drive-ability, but it would be a cause for rattle at idle.

I will provide an update when I get more info.

Thanks for all replays.

[Healey3000]

Originally Posted by W37V

Quick update:

Today I met with BMW rep. He got into the car and tried to replicate the kick. However, he said he didn't feel it, but he noticed a LOT of play in the clutch pedal. Pedal moves off center by about 1/2 inch left and 1/2 inch right. He said that he doesn't run across many manuals, thus he is not 100% sure if that is acceptable, but is seemed out of the ordinary. He instructed mechanic to replace it, as a spring/bushing in the clutch pedal might be causing the "hung-up".

I suggested worst case scenario of bad thrust bearings. Rep said if that thrust bearings were bad, there would be a knock coming from the engine. Since there is no knock, he does not suspect thrust bearing is bad. Mechanic also said that he inspected crankshaft balancer and thrust bearings and they looked OK. Side note: Engine revs freely up to 7300 RPM and it always felt the same. Heck, now that the weather is cooler, it feels like it has even more power. Also, per e-dipstick (knock on wood), the car does not use any oil between oil changes - it's always showing maximum.

I also made a suggestion about pulleys causing the kick. He said that is unlikely and scuffed at the idea.

He also explained that the grinding noise I heard was likely gear rattle caused by dual mass flywheel's 1st stage of dampening failing. He said that there are 3 stages of dampening and quite often 1st one, which is the softest one - fails, causing the increased gear rattle. it does not influence drive-ability, but it would be a cause for rattle at idle.

I will provide an update when I get more info.

Thanks for all replays.

Thanks for the update. How did the tech inspect the thrust bearings? he would have to drop the oil pan and likely remove the crankshaft to be able to take a micrometer to the thrust bearings. Also, work bearings don't mean that there will be knocking during the initial stages but it may end up that way if neglected.

Didn't you also have the flywheel replaced? Hard to believe that the new one has failed so quickly.

I can see the clutch pedal play as causing odd sensations but the grinding noise is unrelated. That uphill/downhill thing is also unrelated.

Interesting!

[W37V]

To my knowledge, engine was never touched. I think he may have just visually inspected it and pushed around balancer or something, but that is just my assumption.

The description of nose/grinding was related to the old flywheel and not the new one. New flywheel has about 200 miles on it. I spoke to SA this afternoon, and she said that they had to order parts and car should be done by Wednesday.

What makes no sense to me is that if the issue is caused by pedal, why is the kick present only if I hold the clutch pressed and transmission stops spinning. If the pedal was causing the issue, wouldn't the kick be present at all times even when the car is off?

[W37V]

How hard is to replace transmission mounts - diy? How much would shop take to replace them? If I chose to replace them, should I get something else other than stock business? Thanks

[Healey3000]

Originally Posted by W37V

The description of nose/grinding was related to the old flywheel and not the new one. New flywheel has about 200 miles on it.

I did not realize that the grinding had stopped with DMF replacement. That changes things (a lot)!

[W37V]

I mentioned it in previous posts. Grinding is much less than before. Now it's faint, but still there.

[Healey3000]

Originally Posted by W37V

I mentioned it in previous posts. Grinding is much less than before. Now it's faint, but still there.

That's how I recalled it. Less, but not gone. It shouldn't be there at all; something still is amiss.

[W37V]

Here is an update:

Today I went and picked up my car. They replaced the pedal. Unfortunately, I can still feel the issue. Mechanic said that they modified my pedal and added extra spring (apparently M3 and 335i pedal have this spring, while 328i don't). Pedal feels weird and it seems like it's not releasing as quickly as before. Mechanic said that the clutch is being released at the standard rate and feel in the pedal will not cause the clutch to wear out any faster nor it will cause any slippage. The spring eliminated any play in the pedal. I will update part #s that were replaced.

The reasons why i picked up the car are following:
- Other than personally annoying me, it does not appear to have any effect on drive-ability of the vehicle.
- They replaced everything transmission related.
- They checked the thrust bearings with micrometer by pulling and pushing onto flywheel when the transmission was out.
- From what I was told, all replaced parts come with 2 year warranty even thou the car is outside of warranty period (if someone can confirm this please)
- If the issue worsens, I will go back to them and have them sort it out. Since it's been ongoing issue, I am not sure why BMW wouldn't cover it after the warranty (one never knows)
- Mechanic showed me another transmission that was taken apart and explained what could be what I am feeling - He said that at this point I might be overly sensitive to any noises/issues with the car, and that I am feeling very tiny teeth, that are on throw-out bearing, which lock into pressure plate. (i know it sounds kind off like a brush off, but whatever - it makes a little bit of sense)
- They have no clue where to look next - really, they are fresh out of ideas and so am I - I threw at them everything mentioned in here and so far they said it was checked and OK
- Grinding noise is much less than before and is now tolerable
- I am thinking about replacing transmission mounts as a precautionary measure, and might do the same with the engine mounts.

- The most important reason for me picking it up is I AM TIRED of not having my car. Car was in the shop for over a month. I give up and will just have to suck it up.



However, if anyone comes with better suggestion about what it could be, I am all ears and will be calling my mechanic ASAP to see if your theory might be right.

Thanks all

[drewnel22]

Originally Posted by W37V

- Mechanic showed me another transmission that was taken apart and explained what could be what I am feeling - He said that at this point I might be overly sensitive to any noises/issues with the car, and that I am feeling very tiny teeth, that are on throw-out bearing, which lock into pressure plate. (i know it sounds kind off like a brush off, but whatever - it makes a little bit of sense)
Thanks all

I'm thinking this may be the issue. Replace the transmission mounts and have someone else drive it without you saying anything and see if they notice anything as well. Preferably someone who is familiar with BMW's. I would just turn the radio up a little and enjoy your car now. Seems like they have done everything they could. If you still aren't happy just sell it and buy another car because it seems like it can't be fixed.

[W37V]

I think BMW PE will take care of that.