My wife's daily driver is a well warn 2005 BMW X3, 3.0i with just north of 213,000 miles. We purchased the car 5 years ago and have added about 120,000 of the wear and tear to the total. The car is driven five days a week to the hospital my better half works at, the one way trip is 35 miles with a 3700 foot elevation change. We will not talk about how many tires have been consumed in her 25 year commute, no I own this one.
I have in the past prided myself on, with up to this issue, keeping her cars running and repaired based on her description of what the issues are with her car. Up to this one, I got them right. The puddles of different fluids were chased and repairs were made. Check engine and dash warning lights have been resolved. It was the creaking and growing I got all wrong. You have to understand, this is her car and other than driving it to being repaired by others that have the time and tools, to fix it right now, it will not be a project. I have lots of those, the discussion off that topic is for an other day. Again, other than getting it "done", I do not get much seat time in the X3.
I will focus on the "creaking and growing", of the car. It had started some time ago, as an odd noise. I in fact had experienced the chorus of noise when it was just getting started and was just a solo player. I have to admit that I believed it had something to do with the tire consumption give it happened in turns and under acceleration. No, it only revealed it self when the car was parked, the foot brake applied and the accelerator pushed. Much like that line from Toy Story that Woody utters when his string is pulled, "Reach for the sky", did my issue come to light.
From the factory BMW did not build a metal on metal two part driver side motor mount. When the material that binds them into a useful assembly evaporates, how ever that works, they give the motor lots of room to move about. Vertically , at least. The passenger side just ends up looking like a pancake and is not as dramatic.
The drive home last night, with the new parts in place, was quite. I might say quitter. But when I focussed, I could just pick up the hint of what might be, the next.....
