3-Series (E36)Chat relating to the BMW 3-Series from 1992-1999. Autodoodad
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hey guys, actually this has been a problem ever since i bought my car, the steering wheel shakes at all speeds, not so bad that you can't drive, but it is pretty noticeable, and it shakes especially bad when i brake at high speeds, although i feel no shaking in the brake petal.
Sounds like you need to first off check your balance on your tires, then check your front end alignment. When you get those two things checked out and it doesn't help, you need to rebuild your front end. That would include front control arms and control arm bushings, inner and outer tie rod ends, sway bar links and bushings. Also a good strut tower brace set is a good investment in chasis ridgidity. I don't know what model you have or that your referring to but this is a classic problem with the E30 and E36 chasis and thus far I haven't seen any quick fix for it! I did all of the aforementioned things to my '87 325i and she's never been happier!
Find a tire shop in your area that has a Hunter 9700 road force balancer Hunter 9700 RF Balancer and have them go over your tires. (You'll find almost ALL new car dealers use this balancer...) That'll tell you if its in the tires or rims, or if you need to look at other suspension parts. The same tire shop may also have a Hunter wheel alignment rack and can take a look at all your steering components. What kind of tires are you using? If they're Falkens don't even waste your time, toss 'em and get something else. Are the front struts original? The stock struts are crap too, replace 'em with some Bilsteins. Oh yeah, you'll see that the only thing you can adjust on the E36 stock frontend is the toe-in or toe-out of the tires, but most shops try to rip you off for a full 4-wheel alignment with all the bells and whistle hoopla and big profits. Just ask how much it is to check the toe setting on the car and do that.
haha you pretty much described exactly what my car used to be like, till about 2 weeks ago. The shaking of the steering wheel ended up being because of a buckled front wheel, so i got a new wheel. alignment is now all straight and have no problems with that. the braking at higher speed still shakes, but not as bad, which is probably due to my old/used rotors, which will hopefully get changed soon.
+1 on What DIRTE30 & Hamfisted said
First, try rotating your wheels, you can do this yourself if you have a floorjack, if the problem lessens noticeably or changes to the rear, good: you've isolated it to the wheels and not the suspension. Thusly, get them rebalenced until the problem goes away, otherwise, follow the next procedure.
Get the balance checked with that crazy ass machine, especially if someone else with a lesser machine says your wheels\tires are fine. Potholes are no joke on smashing up wheels, and our suspension design does quite a good job at holding the wheels where they are suppose to be. (this is why our cars handle so well and why the wheels can take one hell of a beating) I can't stress enough how important it is to ensure your wheels & tires are balenced well.
If the rims are aftermarket, or don't appear stock, make sure they are hubcentric!!! If not, get the proper adapters, etc. You will not be able to mount the wheels perfectly unless they are hubcentric.
Get an alignment!!!
Check your rotors, replace\resurface as necessary.
Now, instead of just jumping in and replacing parts all willy nilly, do replacements in this order:
Rotors: get them checked, you may not feel them through the pedal at all even if they are really warped.
LCAB's: Get solid M3 bushings. *DO NOT GET STOCK 3 SERIES LCABS* -They are awful. Get centered ones for stock, Offset if you would like extra caster (more like the M3 suspension geometry) I suggest centered as they are easier to remove later on if you need to replace the arms. The M3 bushings last MUCH longer than standard 3 series LCAB's
LCA's: Replacing the lower control arms entirely will replace both ball joints that hold the wheels on the car. If you already put on the M3 bushings, if you don't wait longer than a year you can re-use those bushings. (DO NOT try to re-use your stock LCAB's or buy new regular LCAB's!!! Those are AWFUL) Also, get standard control arms, the Meyle 'full metal ball joint' is just as good as stock - but they are NOT heat treated like stock balljoints are. There have been Meyle balljoint shafts that have sheared off at the subframe because they are not heat treated. If you look hard enough, you'll find that evidence.
Tie Rods: Really what you should worry about are the outer ends, but if you really want to (and what I suggest) is to replace both assemblies that attach to the steering rack. Lemfoeder (sp). Kyrlan(sp) and Meyle are inferior brands.
After replacing ANY major suspension part, you NEED an alignment, and use your best judgment in choosing a shop to do that for you.
wow bitcore u are hardcore thx for this amazing info
btw ive already tried rotating the tires does nothing, the wheels and tires were on my 325 before i sold it and i had no problem with any suspension or steering problems at all.
took these over the weekend when i was taking off my tires, i didnt jack it up very high but here are 2 pics can u guys tell anything from em?
anyways ill take it to my mechanics shop to raise the car up prob this weekend or something, so ill provide more info then.
Your inner balljoint looks fine (you have 2, the inner which is not replaceable [must replace whole arm] and the outer which is replaceable, but is a pain, and to be honest, not really worth it to not go ahead replace the whole arm anyways)
And, from what I can tell, (the angle you had of taking the picture was bad) your stock LCAB seems to be torn, get me another picture from behind or infront of the LCAB (not the side man, can't see anything) and I can tell you for sure.
Take pictures of your outter LCA balljoints, your tie-rod ball-joints, and your shock tower rubber mounts (in the engine bay, clearly visable) and I can tell you if anything apperas to be bad. All I can tell you via pictures about joints is if the boot is torn and greese is leaking out or not -> If that happens to ANY bal joint, CV joint, or U-joint - replace it (or get a new boot if the tear is recent) because that part will rust, and seize up without warning. Also, take some channel locks and grab the nut, and the bottom of the ball joint of the tie-rods, and squeeze. If it compresses at all, you should replace them.
Sorry, I've been away since friday and I fractured 3 bones in my left wrist on sunday, I'm feeling fucking great and wont be able to swap my tie-rods till next year :
The control arm bushing looks worn. You can get it from the dealer one of two ways. You can get just the bushing, you will have to press the old one out and the new one in PN 31-12-9-059-288 list $29.85, or you can get the bracket with the busing already pushed in PN 31-12-1-136-531 (L) and 31-12-1-136-532 (R) list $40.50 each. hope that helps a little bit.
Your inner balljoint looks fine (you have 2, the inner which is not replaceable [must replace whole arm] and the outer which is replaceable, but is a pain, and to be honest, not really worth it to not go ahead replace the whole arm anyways)
And, from what I can tell, (the angle you had of taking the picture was bad) your stock LCAB seems to be torn, get me another picture from behind or infront of the LCAB (not the side man, can't see anything) and I can tell you for sure.
Take pictures of your outter LCA balljoints, your tie-rod ball-joints, and your shock tower rubber mounts (in the engine bay, clearly visable) and I can tell you if anything apperas to be bad. All I can tell you via pictures about joints is if the boot is torn and greese is leaking out or not -> If that happens to ANY bal joint, CV joint, or U-joint - replace it (or get a new boot if the tear is recent) because that part will rust, and seize up without warning. Also, take some channel locks and grab the nut, and the bottom of the ball joint of the tie-rods, and squeeze. If it compresses at all, you should replace them.
Sorry, I've been away since friday and I fractured 3 bones in my left wrist on sunday, I'm feeling fucking great and wont be able to swap my tie-rods till next year :
thanks again bitcore, what were u doing to injure ur wrist?
btw i got some bmw contour rims and did a balance, i would say 90% of the shaking is gone, i guess i should replace the lcab
I have this same issue you were having also. Only i have already had my control arm bushings, sway bar links & outer end tie rod replaced along with a new set of tires & alignment done. And i still have this shake.. i can feel the shake coming from my passenger side front tire. I brought it back to the shop and they said my wheel checked out fine?? and that i need to bring it to a brake shop. Does this make any since to bring it to a brake shop? 95 bmw 325is
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