DIY: Diagnose E9X M3 Clunking or Popping Noises

[Theodore]

If your E9X M3 has an undiagnosed clunking or popping noise, check these items out as the most common failure points.

If the clunk noise occurs in conjunction with turning the wheel, check on the strut bearings and the sway bar end links.

This video does a great job a showing what happens when a strut bearing fails (skip to 1:00 mark to see failure in action):

This video does a great job a showing what happens when a sway bar end link fails:

It's worth checking on your car's driveshaft components to include the Guibo (aka flex disc). Here is a good video example of a Guibo that is failing:

And a failing driveshaft center support (skip to 0:56 minute mark to see the acceleration behavior from a stop):