Bmw drivers side wheel rattle over bumps on the road

Could be the suspension strut and/or upper mount is bad.

Check cv joints. check wheel bearings.. Check wheel nuts are tight and are tightening up on the center part of the wheel

The first thing to check on a rattling noise is if going over minor bumps in the road if that is when it makes noise is a sway bar link, they make a rattling noise. If you raise that wheel up you might also want to try and wobble the wheel to be sure it is not a tie rod end or ball joint. Typically I run into the sway bar links or the sway bar bushings making the noise. However ive even seen it be a rock sitting on the strut plate.

Take the car for a test drive, around town, and on the freeway. Notice how well and when it shifts, listen for any unusual noises and rattles when hitting bumps. Have the car put on a lift and check the underneath side for any wets spots of pssoble leaks. If possible, remove the wheels and check the brakes and struts.

check your break pads, and calipa. check your wheel balancing and alignment

you need an alignment and maybe some new struts and bushings

wheel cylinder needs replacing; rattle may be coming from broken wheel cylinder; consult your local mechanic, or if you are mechanically inclined., DIY. :-)

Take a close look at your springs. My 99 Audi A4 had a creaking rattle that happened when I went over a speed bump or dip in the road, and it turned out the bottom of each rear spring was broken. I replaced them and the noise went away.

Another possibility would be the sway bar end links. Since the sway bar is worked pretty hard, the bushings in the end links will wear out eventually. This can cause some clanking. Look behind the wheel hubs - you should see a short bar or bracket attached to the hub at one end, and to a bar at the other end. The bar will go forward or back a short way, and then across the bottom of the car to the other wheel hub. That's your sway bar. The bushings in the end links (the short attachment bars that anchor it to the wheel hub) or in the body brackets (some cars bold the center of the sway bar to the body with a bushing in a bracket) could be deteriorated and allowing the bar to bang around on the body.

Finally, take a look at the suspension itself. Do any of the bushings where various parts meet appear to be cracked, leaking fluid, or gone entirely? There should be no gaps between any suspension pieces at the points where they meet. If there are, you're missing some bushings and may well have found the source of your noise.

It could be your subframe as well big problem with E36's. Also you can check your Rear Shock Mounts in the trunk by removing the carpet, they are under the speakers. Also check your brake pads, the little shim could have fallen off causing your brake pad to rattle over bumps. And check all your heat shields.