2" steering play '00 740

[mooll]

tried to capture it as best i could in the video. as u see, as im turning the wheel hard side to side the front wheels barely move and leave nearly 2"of play. and clunk. whole front suspension is new except for the sway bar bushings. just had the alignment performed a few days ago ($230). what's the deal ? tia
http://youtu.be/F-bfHFbCkfM

[Haadkoe]

Whole front end is new? As in new center link, tie rod ends, idler and pitman arm too?

What brand parts and who did the work?

[Qsilver7]

Ditto...the front end of the e38 has the front axle support/suspension parts (wishbones, traction struts, swaybars) plus the front steering linkage/connections. Which did you replace...all or just part?

...as well as the front steering components Haadkoe mentioned...

[mooll]

i replaced the upper and lower control arms, sway bars end links, idler / pitman arm and centerlink / tie rod ends. mix of moog / oem parts. it's also got coilovers

[clarkitect]

Maybe the U-joint in the steering column lower joint assembly?

[cazal740i]

The only way u have that much play is your power steering is shot or your missing some teeth on the stem of the steering stem.
Or you forgot to tighten the bushing ends
My real guess is your Center Link ball joint ends , the ones that the pitman arm and idler arms connect to, are shot !!!

[daytonatrbo]

The only way u have that much play is your power steering is shot or your missing some teeth on the stem of the steering stem.
Or you forgot to tighten the bushing ends
My real guess is your Center Link ball joint ends , the ones that the pitman arm and idler arms connect to, are shot !!!

The ball joint between the pitman arm and centerlink was shot on my car. That created a ton of play and a nice clunk.

If OP already did that, I would look at the steering shaft. If its like every other car I've owned there is a flex disc (similar to the guibo) up at the top right of Clark's microfiche image that may be shot.

From reading the e46 boards it can create a lot of vagueness in the steering even when its not badly worn.

[Haadkoe]

Maybe also have a look at the steering box while someone wiggles the wheel to make sure it's mounted securely. Couple of those have broken free on here recently, resulting in a complete loss of steering.

[Evilyeti]

I would also imagine it's the U joint in the steering shaft. Recently fixed a 740 with that issue and it had a lot of play in the steering and pretty horrible clunking. Was about 1 hour job on a pit, got a used steering shaft for 10€.

[mooll]

The only way u have that much play is your power steering is shot or your missing some teeth on the stem of the steering stem.
Or you forgot to tighten the bushing ends
My real guess is your Center Link ball joint ends , the ones that the pitman arm and idler arms connect to, are shot !!!

it's the power steering-has to be. could also be the u joint i guess. but i had lost most of the p/s a while back, so i replaced two of the four hoses and since then one of the lines i didn't replace in the back started leaking a bit. if i replace the other two and properly bleed the system and it doesn't take care of it where would i look next ? the po said he replaced the p/s pump 7 months ago.

[racer2086]

I just watched the video. You can't do that with the car off. It is an inaccurate indicator of the play in the system.

Run the engine and then turn the wheel. You will see very slight movement with movement of the steering wheel. Right now with the engine off, you have the wheels literally locked in place and are turning the steering wheel to exacerbate any play in the steering components, flex disc, box, arms, etc. With the power of the pump behind them, the wheels can actually move.