Ok your probably wondering what the hell is this,,,,well this is part of a repair for F10 and F01 front wheel bearing noise,,,,it’s a special grease that sometimes fixes the problem,,,,,and sometimes doesn’t,,,this is to stop a clicking noise heard from the front wheels while turn your wheels while at a stop,,,,what happens is that the wheel bearing hubs moves slightly when there is a load on it causing a clicking noise from the wheel area.
This is a picture of the steering hub with the wheel bearing already removed,,,,,you apply that special grease on the mounting surface of where the wheel bearing mounts
Here a picture of the back side of the bearing hub,,,,this part mount flush with the steering hub,,,,you also apply some grease on the mounting surface,,,,so when the wheel bearing shifts slightly it won’t make a clicking noise.
Here the other side you more likely to see,,,,this is where the brake rotor and tire mount on to,,,,if applying the special greas doesn’t fix the problem,,,,the we replace both front wheel bearing hubs,,,,and that’s what happened to me,,,,,so we end up doing the same job twice,,,,because BMW doesn’t what to put wheel bearings on a car if it doesn’t have to,,,,don’t get me wrong I have had the grease work plenty of times,,,,it probably 50% of the time.
bmwtechnician 
gzzzzzz, never heard of the bearing moving
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What it is the 4 bolts that hold the bearing to the steering hub,,,flexes and shifts slightly causing a clicking noise,,,,only happens when stopped and turning the steering wheel side to side complete end stops
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I have a popping noise when i turn the wheel and step on the brakes while in reverse or going forward. The dealer initally said it was a faulty strut and replaced the whole front driver side under cpo warranty. But after the fix the noise is still there. The tech said that its common for the 2012 f10 to have the popping noise and it was not the strut. he said bmw used a different caliper and when you brake you hear the popping noise and a way to fix the issue is to replace the front brake pads even though theres plenty of life left on them. With new pads it keeps the plate from shifting as much when you brake. It kind of sounds like a pop when you turn the wheel and depress the brakes. I wonder if this issue your talking about is the same as what i hear. Its kind of annoying now when i park in my garage theres a loud poping noise while turning the wheel and stepping on the brake to park or moving forward at a slow speed.
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Question,,,,does the wheel have to be turned to make this popping noise,,,,,ok we did have a clicking noise from the front brake pads moving back and forth when go from drive and then to reverse the brake pads would shift and make a clicking noise,,,,,not a popping noise,,,,,the popping noise could be coming from a wheel bearing with the wheels turned and a load on them,,,,,or its coming from a suspension component ,,,,,I hope this helps
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Thanks for the quick response. If I move the car forward while stepping on the brake it makes the noise and goes away until I turn the wheel again to a different direction and straighten out it will make the noise again. The tech took me out to a parking lot and all he did while going straight is turn the wheel and press the brake and it makes a pop. In reverse it does the same. So I think my issue might be what your thread is about. What kind of grease is that?. I’m thinking of bringing this up maybe they can give it a try to see if it solves the issue.
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It’s a special grease from BMW ,,,,tell them there is a BMW bulletin about this problem and how to fix it.,,,,the only thing you say it’s a popping noise,,,,the wheel bearing noise is more a clicking noise.
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Thanks for all your help. I will definitely mention that when I bring it in. I might be describing the noise wrong it can be a clicking rather than the poping. Any chance you know the BMW bulletin number so I can reference that to them?
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No I don’t know what the bulletin number is,,,,,your dealer should know all about it .
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This was very helpful!
I just bought new front hub/bearings for my 2011 550i.
One question I have is- should I use red or any threadlocker on the bolts?
I’ve read elsewhere that the new bolts come with “micro encapsulated” threadlocker but I’m pretty sure the ones I got did not. Thanks for your time and any advice you may offer.
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If there is no lock tight already on them,,,,you can use some blue lock tight,,,,,just alittle,,,don’t get to crazy with the lock tight
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Thanks!
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Dear Sir:
My 2012 F10 528i with same clicking noise for years and fixed it recently . The root cause was gap between front wheel HUB collar screw and knuckle pass through hole. As we stop or start the car, the hub screw hit knuckle hole and made clicking noise. I put(winding) 1mm diameter aluminum wire in 4 HUB screws tread and the clicking noise is gone.
By the way, BMW have revised F10 HUB & collar screw type from 2014 (to M12X1.25 from M12x1.5). I don’t know that work for this noise issue or not !
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BMW has changed that fix a couple of times,,,,sometimes we still see the car come back after the repair with the same problem,,,,lol
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My 2012 M5 has been making “clicking” sound while driving at any speed, the faster I go the faster it clicks… I had after market wheels on them, putting the stock back on it was gone for a few months. Could it be the same issue?
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It could be the same problem,,,,the M cars were known for the front wheel bearing to start clicking,,,,BMW had a repair for that problem , the fix was to put some special shims on the wheel bearing
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What is the grease used?
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The special grease is for the friction between the 2 parts,,,,to help element the clicking noise
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Noise is back. Got grease. Do I need new bolts?
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BMW always says to replace any bolt once you remove it,,,you should be ok as long as you put some lock-tite on the bolt
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Hi,
Hope you are staying healthy!
Odd issue on F01 right turns, I hear click click when I apply brakes so slightly click goes away.
I know other BMWs had a service bulletin for friction ring, is this the same problem ?
For sure it sound like it, any ideas ?
Thank you
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Try this drive forward slowly and apply the brakes and stop and then go reverse and apply the brakes and stop then go forward again and stop,,,do you hear the click when you apply the brake forward and reverse,,,,if you do then it’s the brake pads shifting not to worry,,,let me know
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Good call! I’m familiar with that click!
But the click I’m hearing on turn is continuous until I slightly apply breaks or finish the turn
Thank you
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