I wouldn't worry about putting a rubber washer in. I put two metal washers in mine and it worked fine. If you dealer can't figure out the problem tell him to call A/C service and talk to Lee. He was the one who gave me this fix.

 

My dealer told me that it was the skid plate right under the oil pan, he said to use some styrofoam between the frame and the skid plate and that should do the trick, I havent done that yet but I did zip tie it in a few spots to make it tighter and that made no difference, but it sounds like he was way off on that so I will try to put some washers between the exhaust and the frame and see what that does. Mine only does it at low speeds also, about 10-12 mph. But I broke my speedo and cant tell if that has changed since I tied the skid plate.

 

I think I've fixed it. I really took a good look last night, and removed the seat, which I hadn't done before to look at the exhaust. With this new view, I could see that the left side of the pipe was pushed right against a bracket with a quarter-moon shape in it just below the seat level. The pipe is not secured here, it just rests against the support. I'm not sure that it is supposed to touch, maybe the pipe has an improper bend in it. I wedged something in there and it stopped the vibration completely. So, I placed some wood against the pipe and went to town with a hammer, bending the pipe away from that support just enough to see light passing through. VOILA! The vibration is gone.

The machine sounds much quieter now, and doesn't feel and sound like it is going to explode. I'm looking forward to my next ride. Would someone look at their 400i and tell me if their pipe touches the support welded onto the frame at this point, too.

 

Thanks guys I will take a look at mine this weekend. If this is not my problem I will post. I have to say I am deff in one ear so maybe I have been looking in the wrong place?

 

Wow, took a hammer to the pipe and it sounds great. Thanks for the tips, just came back from a 7hr ride. Mud, sand, woods, what a great Fathers day.

 

Loose mud and debris...very common. wash it out good. over and over. If you have to cut the end cap off and clean it,then weld it back

 

I complained to the dealer the same day I brought it home ,they told me to install a hose clamp on the heat shield ,I did with on luck .I did the washer trick with no plastic and the vibration was gone.
I did find the plastic on the left side right where the screw holds it to the lower fender was up agents the heat shield and was melting ,I took a hammer to it .I called my dealer and informed them of the vibration fix and gave them this web address for further assistance .

 

I noticed the vibration since the first ride. I had tried washers on the outside of the heat shield. I found this thread and tried a couple of the ideas. The vibration is now virtually gone.

Here is what I did:

1). Tried putting heat resistant silicon on the mounts for the heat shield. No washers. Helped, but didn't solve the problem.

2). Added a washer to the back mount for the heat shield. I read about that in this thread.

3). I took my seat off and noticed that the exhaust pipe was basically touching the bracket for the engine mount. I took a piece of wood and a hammer and moved the pipe a bit. I didn't move it as much as I wanted to, but I was scared I might loosen or damage some other part of the exhaust by banging on it.

Since I did fix 2 and 3 I have been on 3 rides and I have not noticed the vibration. Thanks for all the great information in this forum.

GeekBoy
2003 AC 400 Auto

 

I had the same problem with mine, 500i man. Found out it was the skid plate vibrating against
the frame. Took the skid plate off (one long piece) and siliconed where they touched, then bolted plate back on. No more vibes.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]





2002 500i manual (stock)