Steering/Brake Problem!! =/ - BMW Forum

Brian325i · 03-12-2007, 08:17 PM

Hey all, I have had recent problems with my e36 bmw 325i in the steering and braking primarily. What happens when I drive it is that it's usually fine for the first 10 or so minutes but after that the steering wheel starts to shake uncontrollably. Stepping on the brakes sorta makes the shaking worse but I can noticeably see the shaking worsen when I accelerate faster. While I was testing it out today, by driving it around on the the highway, I could also notice a decrease in power when going up hills (as the steering wheel is still shaking). Also there was a burnt rubber (possibly the brake pad?) smell coming from the front two wheels after driving for a while.

Today I took it into les schwab tires to get an appointment to have it looked at but I kind of want to know what's going on if any of you have had any similar experiences like this. It's obviously something to do with the alignment or rotors but I have had my car for almost 3 years (this fall) and I got the front brakes totally replaced right when I got it (because it had warped rotors). So I don't know why they are starting to fall apart on me this soon. Thanks for any responses in advance.

-Brian

WarNox · 03-13-2007, 01:07 AM

hey, since it doesn't always shake it won't be a buckled wheel, which is what i had. i don't see why a rotor would make it shake while you're not braking, try braking from about 120km/h to 80km/h, if its the rotors they will shake worse then. im interested to know what the shop will say, let us know.

chuckz · 03-13-2007, 06:41 PM

check your ball joints, I had the same shake and thought it was rotors.
lifted my car and both front wheels would move while the steering wheel didn't

Brian325i · 03-20-2007, 03:25 AM

I found out that both my calipers are not retracting the pads completely when I take my foot off of the brake pedal...apparently they compress at 18psi fine when the brake is pressed but they don't completely come off the rotor disc while I am normally driving. This is creating a hell of a lot of heat on my rotors continually but so far only my right one has begun to warp.

Also, the bastards that last installed my brakes, which was about 2.5 years ago when I bought the car with both front brakes totally replaced, they installed them wrong and the pads are only like 1/4 of the way on the disc...lol. So basically they screwed me over and only covered a 12k/12 month warrenty...But hey I got a quote for $350 at les schwab which doesn't seem too bad compared to the $450 the original place was gonna cost me.

danzel · 05-24-2007, 09:24 PM

i had the same trouble with you, what i did was i checked the bmw ball joints as told by my mechanic and did some repair on it..