Excesive negative camber issue

[pabo]

I just bought (a month ago) a '94 325is and noticed a slight shimmy during the road test. The guy who sold it to me said that it was due to a worn tie rod end on the driver's side and that I could just take care of it for cheap eventually, so I just put it on a list to fix in the near future. Now that I'm getting used to the car and more easily notice "things", I have observed that the front wheel on the driver's side has a pretty noticeable negative camber in comparison to the front passenger's side wheel. The suspension feels good overall and there's no rattling or clanking noises even on bumpy Chicago streets, however, there's a humming noise coming from the same wheel that varies with speed and I can't hardly notice with the windows down, but when the windows are up (radio off of course), it becomes very noticeable. The shimmy itself doesn't change much between lower and higher speeds, but gets better or worse depending on the tire's pressure (sometimes nothing more than a slight steady vibration), and somewhat bad when I apply the breaks stopping from around 50 MPH or more, but not stopping at lower speeds, and I can't say it's noticeable while accelerating. I've read it could be a few things like worn lower control arm bushings, ball joints, strut mounts, tie rod end, even that the bearings could've been damage by those parts being worn and/or damaged, hence the humming. I just found the time to get under the car this coming weekend and was wondering if anyone out there would be kind enough to let me know what I should be looking for, what parts to inspect, or any other advice. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! BTW, great forum!

[MisterBimmerMan]

I have this same problem. I replaced my control arms and ball joints when I got my car in april @172K. When I got my alignment done the guy said the tie rods were starting to go bad. Then one day last week my passenger tire started rubbing against the brake rotor backing shield and then voila
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x251/MisterBimmerMan/IMG_1604.jpg

[pabo]

That's a pretty nasty gash MisterBimmerMan. I feel your pain (or might be feeling it soon). So, you're saying that I should take a good look at the rods?

[ublemaschine]

Humming noise sounds like a wheel bearing to me. Ball joints and control arm bushings, in my expirience, tend to cause clunking and more noticable vibrations. Bad ball joints will cause a negative camber issue and bad cab's could cause a caster issue which could look like a camber issue when the wheels are turned slightly. Wheel bearings could cause a negative camber issue if they are real bad. Tie rod ends will not cause camber issues though. A tie rod would cause steering play, which will cause the car to wander or pull to some exent based on how bad they are, and cause alot of feathered tire wear.

To check ball joint : lift car off ground and push up on the bottom of the wheel. Have the brakes applied to remove any wheel bearing play. When you push up on the wheel any play/clunk you notice pefore the spring starts to compress is balljoint play. If it's noticable I would replace it.

Check wheel bearing : Try to tilt the wheel at top and bottom (basically on the axis of camber) and feel for any excessive play (small amounts are normal) To check for noise put a long screwdriver or stethescope on the knuckle near the bearing and spin the wheel while listening. You should be able to hear a bad bearing.

Tie rods: Check with both fronts off ground and brake applied. Make sure steering column is locked. Try to turn the wheel and feel for any play between knuckle and rack. Also try twisting the tie rod around it should be fairly tight at the joint.

Check the cabs visually for cracking or torn rubber

A torn boot on a joint is a good enough reason to replace it because it won't be long before it goes bad.

[pabo]

Thanks Ublemaschine, that really helps.

I also forgot to mention that there is no steering play, it feels solid, but there is a bit of pulling to the right.