Alignment And Light Steering

[ErikB]

Since my last visit to the dealer (they swear they didn't touch the alignment), my car feels squirrely. It feels like the camber is out of adjustment (it now follows the ruts in the road, is more prone to be blown about by wind, and requires more constant correction going down the road). I took it back to the dealer, they had it for two days and simply gave it back to me stating that they drove it and found nothing to be wrong). They wouldn't even put it on the machine to check it. But, something IS different -- I can feel it.

So, the questions:

1. Can camber go out of alignment and be it be adjusted?

2. Should I risk a non-dealership alignment to make sure?

I've got a 2002 530iA Sport

[bob in houston]

Erik, per my Bentley service manual, page 320-33, I quote "Front wheel camber is set at the factory and cannot be adjusted. Rear wheel camber is fully adjustable." It goes on to say that "Front and rear caster are fixed by the design of the car and deviations are usually the result of worn or damanged suspension or body parts."

Bob in Houston

[billB]

Originally posted by ErikB@Jan 24 2005, 05:16 PM
Since my last visit to the dealer (they swear they didn't touch the alignment), my car feels squirrely.* It feels like the camber is out of adjustment (it now follows the ruts in the road, is more prone to be blown about by wind, and requires more constant correction going down the road).* I took it back to the dealer, they had it for two days and simply gave it back to me stating that they drove it and found nothing to be wrong).* They wouldn't even put it on the machine to check it.* But, something IS different -- I can feel it.

So, the questions:

1. Can camber go out of alignment and be it be adjusted?

2. Should I risk a non-dealership alignment to make sure?

I've got a 2002 530iA Sport

[snapback]278057[/snapback]

It may sound unrelated but whenever you have the chance while the REAR wheel off the ground (jacked). With your foot try to press/push in the rear tire/wheel at 6:00 o'clock position. Any play?

P.s. I had a similar problem when it turned out to be an "integr. link" $80 or so; I changed both sides in the rear. It worked for me.
good luck

[ErikB]

I took the chance and took it to a local alignment shop that has done work for me in the past on my domestic vehicles. They found that the left front and right rear were "slightly" out of alignment. However slight it might of been, there was a definite improvement after the adjustment. They checked for play in the wheels (as did the BMW dealer) and found nothing of note.

There is still a little of the old feel left, and I'm thinking with about 15K on the tires, it's getting close to needing new rubber (I only got 14K out of the original Continentals).

Thanks for the help/replies.

[hpacc]

did the dealer rotate your 15k worn tires?

-might be why the problem occured after the visit to the dealer.