E32 pulls right when braking & sometimes wobbles past 40-50 mph

[Mr.Mcgill]

I've been reading threads on calipers and break systems. But wanted to ask specifically if these two issues could be traced to the same problem. At times the car pulls right when I brake. On other occasions it develops a hard wobble or shake around 40 mph. It only happens sometimes, the other day I was going 80 mph no issues. This will be my first diy besides oil changes and some things here and there I've done since i bought the car, so if I can go into it with some specific advice or help diagnosing these two issues I would feel much more confident. Thanks in advance!


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[tomquic]

Hi , Sounds like the normal "dreaded shimmy" ... not a big fix ... see here from Timms site http://www.meeknet.co.uk/E32/E32_Shimmy.htm

This main site should also be a good reference guide ...

http://www.meeknet.co.uk/E32/Index.htm

Good luck .. just work thru it step by step and you'll find whats causing it ... if you want to visit www.the7seriesregister.co.uk lots of people on there have fixed what you are facing ...

[e30luv318i]

You have a frozen caliper to the opposite of the brake pull . Example car pulls to right when braking you need a left caliper. Usually when dealing with this you rotor will over heat causing it to warp. Plan on doing rotors and pads along with the caliper

[unity]

I had this same issue. Pulling, wobbling, etc. Was my rear thrust/control arm bushings. I replaced and all was well until one of the new ones failed, then it all returned. So I put in Moosehead spherical bushings to put an end to all that!

[Mr.Mcgill]

I've recently replaced the front control arm and well as the rear subframe bushings and the sway bar bushings. Unity, did you have the issue every time you drove the car? Mine comes and goes so it leads me to think it might be brake related first??

- - - Updated - - -

Thank you for the info, I'll be checking my left caliper tomorrow! Should I stick with BMW parts? I'd like to find something cheaper without sacrificing so much quality. Let me know if you've got any part suggestions. Cheers!

[e30luv318i]

These guys are pretty good http://www.bavauto.com/ try to avoid the dealer they really bump the prices up. Also keep in mind if you end up needing calipers rotors ect it be a good time to upgrade. The 740 brakes are a very nice upgrade for you. If you end up going that route let me know Im upgrading my 740 to the m5 brakes. So I will have the whole 740 set up for sale

heres some brake info

http://www.bmwe34.net/E34main/Upgrade/Brakes.htm

[Mr.Mcgill]

absolutely. send me a message with the parts and price you are letting go. I'll probably go ahead and do both sides while i'm at it. Thanks!

[shogun]

Some years ago I had an E32 750iL Alpina B12 here with the same problem. The usual culprits like upper/thrust arms, lower arms were already replaced by a shop and it did not help. We even changed tires/wheels from one car to the other to eliminate these, also changed from shocks for a test, nothing helped. The wobble / skaing came and went away etc, apparently the road surface had some impact, not the speed. Finally we changed these parts and all was fine http://www.bmwe34.net/E34main/Mainte...ering_link.htm
idler arm, tie rods, pitman arm, center tie rod. Especially the center tie rod was heavily damaged, one of the ball joints was very lose.

Important info for our members from RHD and LHD countries. Many members from RHD countries order parts in the U.S., but always carefully check if they really fit your RHD car.
I recently bought a new LHD Febi center tie rod for my 750 LHD and installed it and we discussed about the difference between RHD and LHD. My wrenching buddy said there is a difference, but we did not know the difference, and here I found it
http://bigcoupe.com/phpBB2/viewtopic...ht=rhd+problem

This confirms the findings on my original BMW draglink for LHD.
There are 2 connections/ball joints on a drag link, 1 is basically solid/fixed, the other one is much more flexible, the old one I took out and also the new one, so the RHD versions is just the opposite side. The shape of the metal at the bottom is different.
So the shape of the drag link is the same LHD and RHD, it will fit, but the preload is on the opposite side.

[shogun]

Car shakes at freeway speed - sloved
copied from Bimmerboard, in case someone has this problem:
Was driving on freeway at 65 mph for half an hour with no problem. Alignment and tire pressures OK. Then whole car started to shake, like there was an earthquake outside. Lane change didn't help. Within a minute I had the car slowed down to 50 mph and the shake subsided. Subsequently on city streets car droven normally. What should I check? I had suspected drive shaft, but I didn't hear the characteristic knocking under the seat accelerating from a traffic light.
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Last June I began to notice that the 750 shook badly when taken up to 65 mph. I didn't drive too often afterwards and last Thursday I forgot about the problem and took the car to the freeway again. Not surprisingly, the problem didn't go away by itself.Engine runs well. I examined the front tires. The right tire looks normal. Outer edge around the left tire has worn out. Looking through the spring, the strut boot has collapsed. I used the old boot when I switched to Bilstein touring ten+ years ago. I plan on disassembling the front left to see what goes wrong. Does it look like the strut insert fails? or the thrust arm or lower control arm?
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Replaced front calipers yesterday
Following up from a problem first surfaced last June. I drove the 750 only a few times during these ten months, including a trip to CA smog check station (and passed!).
I tried to sink my mind into the front suspension to figure out what was causing the dragging and bouncing that occurred two times at freeway speeds. Both occurred right after I stepped on the brake because of traffic ahead. Eventually that led me to believe that binding of the left front brake should be the cause. Once that idea is in my head I know I have to replace the brake components before looking for other culprits. Some fourteen years ago I rebuilt the original calipers, and probably didn't do it right. This time I just go with rebuilt calipers from O'Reilly, $94 for both sides.
http://www.bimmerboard.com/members/c...%20caliper.jpg
As shown in photo, a one-inch section of the rubber boot around the old piston was ripped. That could be the reason why the piston was dragging. I went on to remove the old piston and inspect, and found no rust spots. Still, the misplacing of rubber can be enough to interfere with piston movement.

The only problem during reassembly was that the brake hose refused to detach from the pipe at the wheel well. Craftsman flare wrench, penetration spray, vise grip, etc, only rounded the 11 mm nut on the pipe side (circled in red in photo). I had to give up but the remaining problem is that the hose is now twisted, not by much, perhaps by some 45 degrees. But that twist is enough to keep the hose from forming a natural arch when the wheel is on the ground. That may cause future problems.
http://www.bimmerboard.com/members/c...ake%20hose.jpg
As for the strut and strut mount, a fellow at O'Reilly told me the boot is not absolutely necessary. For now I just spray some silicone lubricant on the shaft and not to do anything to the strut. Last night I drove around town and car behaved perfectly. This afternoon I'll take the car to the freeway and see if problem goes away.
Patrick C 88 E32 750 172K

[DKJimmy]

Check for loose ball joints as well and please replace the brake hoses when replacing calipers. I replaced calipers, discs, pads, on all four corners of my 750il and the right front continued to lock up. Replaced the brake hoses, and voila. You could not blow air through the hose it was so clogged.

Tie rods, center links, idler arms, and control arm ball joints can have slight play that turn into vibrations at highway speeds. Check every joint on the front end for play.