steering judder/vibration e39 540i

[harryinsaudi]

erm, i'm 2000km from home in al ain.... my trusted 540i A has developed a judder from around 100 KMH to 190 KMH.... feels like the wheels (17"bbs) are out of balance but they run true on the machine... power steering not leaking/using any any fluid but gets heavy sometimes at low speed/ idle... traffic lights etc... i think it may be the pump on it's last legs? any ideas? cheers Harry

[Teh Prof]

Power steering fluid low?

Pump may be on its way out, but this isn't related to your judder at speed.

Thrust arms or bushings may be dead.

[harryinsaudi]

ok, i did bang a speed bump pretty hard.... but it seems to be getting worse as time passes... maybe i've knackered a thrust arm bush? either way i'll take it back home... just won't be its smooth self

[marti5]

540i V8, I would say you may have a suspension wear problem, get the front suspension checked out.

[harryinsaudi]

yep, ok....thanks for the input

[Teh Prof]

If you hit a speed bump too hard, there are any number of things in your suspension that could be bent.

[rashid]

Cant "Heavy power steering" be due to steering box problem?

[harryinsaudi]

i've never seen anything like it .but when i took the car to another tyre place to change the fronts to the back/spare in an attempt to check the increasing wheel wobble there was a huge bubble in the side wall.... when we took the tyre off the rim it stayed inflated! looked like a huge salami!...inside and out of the side wall stayed infated. So there was a small hole in the inner.... that inflated the sidewall over night as it cooled down? and then after driving and sidewall pressures increased... it vented back into the tubeless void. mad. and i was pushing 175+......eeek! the previous slight wobble that went away after 2 mins was just a prelude. Anyway thanks... got home in 15urs....2000 KM.... don't you just LOVE this motor!

[witeshark]

Strange problem! Glad you got it sorted!