Hello, here with more questions :
Ok, my car has been "squeaking" when ever i hit and little bump in the road, and its bothering me like crazy, it def, doesent seem like the ball joints or suspension. It really seems like a bushing. but as i listen, its making the noise on front and back right. anyway, how can i determin which control arm(s) i have to replace / (I dont think i can buy just bushings?///?, and is there anyway to to lube it or what?, my car is a 2003 a4 3.0.

BMW M3 SAC/SMG...any ideas??:

My buddie just purchased a 2004 M3, w/ 70k on it. As he finaly lets me take it for a spin, i am taking it out of 4th (not beating on it at all), and the car all of a sudden shuts off and i loose power steering. Now when i get up to the light, i put my foot on the clutch pedal and it stops half way down (feels like hydraulic pressure stoping it) and the car was going no where. we had to get it towed. He says he has never felt the clutch slipping before but the car had shut off a couple of times on the hwy going like 65mph. I have been reading about how these cars have SAC (self adjusting clutch) system that BMW calls SMG?, and there known to cause pre-mature wear, ect,ect. well, has anyone seen a hydraulic clutch do this or have any idea what it could be? replace/repair? THANKS!!!!!

 

edit: buddy

 

M3 comes with either a 6 speed manual or SMG (sequential manual gearbox). If his car had a clutch pedal, then it wasn't a SMG car.

The SMG process has a learning process whereby its computer basically calibrates itself to the transmission it's paired with. Self adjusting clutch, so to speak. As far as I know, the clutch in a manual M3 is just like any other hydraulic clutch.

 

ANYONE .?/...PART ONE OR PART TWO OF MY QUESTION?

 

sqeauking is the control arms. grab one and twist. just feel which ones are loose and u'll kno. as for the right rear, i hav the same noise but i can't seem to find the cause

 

I tried to help a bit with part two, but perhaps I should have been a bit clearer. If his car has a clutch pedal, then it does not have the SMG transmission. The SMG is a 6 speed manual gearbox with a computer controlled hydraulic unit to shift gears based on input from a console shifter and the paddles on the steering wheel. Think tiptronic, minus the automatic tranny. The SMG tranny uses centrifugal clutches that calibrate themselves, and I think this could be construed as the self adjusting clutch you're seeing.

I doubt the problem with the M3 has anything to do with the clutch, rather the clutch is a symptom. If the engine shuts off, you'll of course lose power steering, as the pump is driven off the crankshaft. As far as I know, the M3 clutch is just like any other hydraulic clutch. I wouldn't be shocked if the clutch has some sort of hydaulic assist, similar to the vacuum assist on the power brakes, but I don't know for sure. As for the engine shutting off randomly, I'd look for an electrical problem.

 

for your second problem, a belt serpentine belt coulda snapped, that would throw off the power steering and possible deal with the clutch feel if it has an assist. it snapped on my audi and thats what happened, minus a different clutch feel. just a thought though. iduno about bmw's as much as i do audis. and i wouldn't recommend changing just a few parts of the suspension/steering system, its more expensive, and every part goes eventually.
if a few bushings are bad they all are.
buy a front end kit, should run you around 300$ and be done with it.

 

I was thinking a broken serpentine belt on the M3, until I read that this isn't the first time it's stalled.

 

Sometimes spraying the bushing with silicone spray helps.
Bushings can be replaced by pressing them into the control arms.

 

yeah its not the serpentine belt, just talked to my friend who's quite a bmw enthusiast. try www.bimmerforums.com