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Thread: Front End Shake

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    North Carolina
    Posts
    1,450
    My Cars
    2009 335i M-Sport Coupe

    Front End Shake

    I've been helping my neighbor with his 2004 330i sedan. I know the e39 and e90 platforms inside out, but I haven't owned an e46 (yet). Anyway he has a front end shake at speed, starting around 40mph. We swapped his front wheels as a test, but it still shakes. Rotors are new, brakes do not drag. He had the control arm bushings done recently. We're pretty sure it's not brakes, wheels, or tires. What should I check?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Seattle
    Posts
    5,774
    My Cars
    99 M3

    Front End Shake

    Did it shake before or after the Forward Lower Control Arm Bushing replacement? What brand FLCABushing?
    How many miles on the car?
    Could be Tie Rods and/or Forward Lower Control Arm Ball Joints (which are not replaceable because the FLCA is aluminum and has a fatigue life).

    What brand of rotor? Hope they are BMW, Brembo, Zimmerman, ATE, or similar known ‘good list’ brand.


    My money is on a tire balance issue due to the speed that it occurs. Could also be a balance issue due to bent wheels.

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Last edited by bluptgm3; 11-16-2017 at 05:35 AM.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    Norwich, Connecticut.
    Posts
    486
    My Cars
    E46 wag. E36 convertible
    I did the same...fronts to rear...and the shake stopped!

    My Michelins are 15 years old....new with my 03 325xi.....YES, I know...new tires!

    Front shake....not tires...yet the tires may have initially created such..... Easy way to find out..spend money!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Ca
    Posts
    6,981
    My Cars
    2001 525it
    Does it shake under braking

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    Lawrence Kansas
    Posts
    1,236
    My Cars
    2004 325XI/2008 GL320
    If the shocks, tie rods, strut mounts, control arms are tight/new, and the tires are balanced with no bending to the wheels then you may have an issue with the brake rotors you purchased. If they are not a reputable brand then changes are they are not spin balanced and will shake at speed. If they are a good brand, then the wheel/rotor may not be indexed properly. This may sound silly, but remove the wheel rotate it 180 degrees on the brake rotor then reinstall. It has worked twice for me on two separate vehicles. The theory is that the heavy side of the rotor being matched to the heavy side of the wheel will create a hop. If you match the light side of the wheel with the heavy part of the rotor, the differences will cancel themselves out.
    Last edited by dhurley34; 11-23-2017 at 03:37 PM.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Location
    Alabama
    Posts
    127
    My Cars
    '85 635 CSI
    Just cured a similar problem on my ‘04 325CI.

    Front end shake at 70 - 80 with light steering input. Rotated the tires (fairly new Sumitomo touring something) shake got worse.

    Had them road force balanced checked yesterday, tires were where they needed to be on the wheels but the weight balance was off over an ounce on all 4 tires. They re balanced all 4, smooth as a prom queen’s thighs now.

    Best theory is that the shop that mounted the new tires needs to get their balance machine calibrated.

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