'Shakin' E30

[Dan TM]

I have an '87 325e, and at highway speeds, it's really shakey over small bumps and other irregularities. At firts, I thought it was just 14" rims and tires with high sidewalls, but I'm sure this wasn't the intent of the BMW engineers, even in '87. There's no play in the steering wheel, just not a good, solid contact with the ground. This starts around 60 mph and gets worse as speed goes up. Do I have a suspension problem, or just an old car in need of mods?used:

Dan

[wrenbirdx2]

Originally Posted by Dan TM

I have an '87 325e, and at highway speeds, it's really shakey over small bumps and other irregularities. At firts, I thought it was just 14" rims and tires with high sidewalls, but I'm sure this wasn't the intent of the BMW engineers, even in '87. There's no play in the steering wheel, just not a good, solid contact with the ground. This starts around 60 mph and gets worse as speed goes up. Do I have a suspension problem, or just an old car in need of mods?used:

Dan

my cars was doing the same thing i had some brokin springs mine where snaped at the base put your car on a lift and check them i changed mine last week new struts,shocks and springs i took mine on the sutobahn and she did great i had her up to 200kph(120 mph) she would have done more but she was already at 6000 rpms so i backed off

[Starmavin]

Sounds like your shocks are shot. Push down on your bumper on one corner with your full body weight and then let off, if it springs up fast and goes down then up again, they are no good. Also check them visually for leaks. Your front struts are crucial for maintaining your alignment and handeling charchistics....

[DIRTE30]

Yeah... What he said. Sounds like your struts have had enough!

[Rfitz25]

My two cents:

I got rid of most of my vibes with correct rims.
Still got a little at 90 its gone from 100 -125
havent gone over that yet...

look for a thrown weight.
rotate wheels and see if vibration migrates.

Check the upper shock mounts too front and back.
Up on a rack you can shake the shocks and feel this one easy.

Check control arm bushing and any other bushings too.

Listen to Starmavin

good luck.

[Dan TM]

So, how can I figure out which strut fits. Monroe (not the best, but cheap) lists two different ones. One is 51 mm and the other is 45 mm outside diameter. Will either one fit? There's a huge price difference between these, and the 'sport' version is the cheaper of the two.