Vibrations...

[catalyst.]

Ive got some odd vibrations coming from the rear of my car, it seems to be surfacing at 60+ MPH and it seems to fade off past 80 MPH or so. Its a rythmic vibration with a pattern, so im guessing... wheel bearings?

Any insight would be helpful...

Also: What bushings should i go ahead and replace in the rear of the car..? i understand completely how the front suspension works, but the rear im not too farmiliar with.

[byron]

i noticed the same thing this weekend. it comes on around 65mph and sometimes goes away.

[psonio7]

start out by checking rear wheel balance. Not that cheap static one, but a real roadforce/hunter counterbalance wheel balance (discount tire has that machine, if you bought tires from there, they will balance them for free...)

Next check rear alignment, tire problems, suspension components (shocks basically, sway bar,) wheel bearings (rub/wobble sound), driveshaft.

start at the wheel balance if its just a rear vibration that comes around 45-55 and leaves at 75-85mph. (95% chance thats what it is, you lost a weight somewhere) then work your way up, cheapest to most expensive

[catalyst.]

Good advice my man, but not for a 16 year old with 300 bucks in the bank.

I had a bent rim a while back.. i had to run on it for approx. 1000 miles.. im thinking this is what is causing the vibrations, the rim shimmy probably destroyed my wheel bearings..

Any other ideas? im going to dump all of that money into bushings and bearings.. the whole shizzzzzle, i am really pissed off right now though.. it seems like i need a god damn special 100 dollar tool to replace anything to do with the suspension on this car.

Where can i rent the equipment to do this? Or borrow it for a short while... ive heard autozone carries some of the equipment and will loan it out, any truth in this?

[catalyst.]

I forgot to add:

I clipped a curb with my passanger side rear wheel pretty badly about two days ago.. this is actually when this started happening.

Maybe i will take your advice and get the rims balanced.. i thoroughly inspected everything once i got home though, didnt see an damage what-so-ever, maybe some added curb rash :(

[psonio7]

that info leads me to believe you might have bigger fish to fry.

a bent rim alone causes vibrations. see if you can get that tuned true (its cheap),

Have an independent BMW shop look at your cars suspension/bearings for cheap/free, most honest ones will give you the benefit of the the doubt and look over the problem for free/minimal cost. They can diagnose major problems with suspension in a few minutes with a few peeks and kicks (the honest ones at least)

The cue that made me believe its a wheel balance is the, happens around 65, goes away above 80.

You might have knocked out the alignment and/or wheel balance. Rear Wheel bearing gone bad (had one that was bad for a few months) doesn't really cause vibrations, just a rumble/moan sound from the rear (like a grrrrrr).

Autozone will lend you the tools for a deposit (talking hundreds here) that is 100% refunded when you return the tools. the rear bearing is a pain, I let the shop do them. BMW rear bearing can take a good beating though before they call it quits. Contrary to popular belief, there are not many special BMW tools out there. 95% of what works on a honda, works on a BMW.

I'm sure you can beat out your vibration problem under $150). Good luck with it!!!! Vibrations are the worst.

edit:

check out SQ Bimmer advice on checking the rear bearing in this thread

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?p=4472629

[Cruzader66]

I forgot to add:

I clipped a curb with my passanger side rear wheel pretty badly about two days ago.. this is actually when this started happening.

Before you spend any money, try switching your wheels front and back. If the vibrations follow the switch and are now at the front, then you'll know it's the rims. I'll bet anything your rear wheel(s) is/are out of round, especially after the pothole. Sometimes an out of round wheel is not easily seen by just spinning it.

PS- get your ass back on UB!

[hookem12387]

i actually find the same thing in the front, it comes on at about 45 and goes away at 65 or so, and it's noticeable on hard braking

[quickslvr387]

i actually find the same thing in the front, it comes on at about 45 and goes away at 65 or so, and it's noticeable on hard braking


That could mean bad rotors also, since you notice it under braking. I belive this is my problem. I just replaced my guibo to eliminate vibrations from the tranny area, now my steering wheel shakes like crazy when I brake, but not as bad when I'm driving.

[catalyst.]

That could mean bad rotors also, since you notice it under braking. I belive this is my problem. I just replaced my guibo to eliminate vibrations from the tranny area, now my steering wheel shakes like crazy when I brake, but not as bad when I'm driving.

Could also be balljoints. If the pedal pulsates when you stomp on it then it is def. warped rotors, if not then theres a pretty good chance its balljoints.

Im going to go ahead and do everything after i get new rims and tires (balljoints/bushings/bearings), i cant justify pissing money away on these bottlecaps.. i need new tires too and im not going to drop cash on tires for 15 inch rims.

That should pretty much end my suspension woes for a while... i hope :eyecrazy