Need opinions about alignment issue

[skunka]

Hello all,

I've got a 95 525it with what I believe is an alignment issue and I am looking for input...

The car still gets the 55-65 shakes when accelerating onto highways and when just cruising. I bought the big suspension kit and replaced the control arms, thrust arms, tie rod ends, and steering links back in the spring time and got an alignment done by a shop here in Richmond specializing in BMW, Mercedes, and Porsche. The first time they did the alignment, the car seemed to track straight, but the steering wheel was cocked to the left. I called, they agreed to look at it again, and now the car pulls to the left slightly and the steering wheel is leaning to the right!

Driving the car up i-95 to NJ for the holidays proved difficult because the flow of traffic always seemed to be right at the 63mph mark. I found myself either having to be in the left lane doing 70mph+ or doing no more than 55 in the right lanes. Going over bumps seemed even worse as the car would seem to 'hop' to the right. If I did get stuck doing 65mph the front end would shake so violently I thought the steering box was going to explode! While I was still up in NJ I had all the wheels balanced and all wheels needed minimal weight adjustment. The ride back to Richmond was much better and the car felt great.

I am wondering what to do next. It's been too long since I've been to that shop to ask them to fix it again. How many of you have done slight tie rod adjustments in order to get your steering wheel straight and make the car track better? I haven't noticed any unusual tire wear.

The front passenger wheel seems to make the most chatter when driving. If there is a bump or god forbid a pothole that I could not see, the whole car seems to shake way worse than if it were a bump on the drivers side.

I appreciate any thoughts on the issue

[Nrick]

Replacing the center tie rod fixed my issue. I had replaced control and thrust arms before the center tie rod, but I still had the shimmy/shake.

[demetk]

What brand kit did you use? I'd suspect shocks if the shake gets worse after a bump.

Obviously the shop either doesn't know what they're doing or they don't care. Our cars only have front toe adjustments so it's not rocket science. Even I can get my alignment straight with a piece of string.

And before the alignment takes place the steering box needs to be centered. There are marks on the box to facilitate that.

[moroza]

Investigate the idler arm and center steering link.

[skunka]

What brand kit did you use?

I bought the Meyle kit. Is it possible to get a 'dud' from the factory? The center link and idler arm were replaced when I did the job.

I tend to overtighten at times... but would this cause an issue?

I'd suspect shocks if the shake gets worse after a bump.

New shocks and shock mounts are going to be on my to do list. Still reading into brands/drop height options.

Obviously the shop either doesn't know what they're doing or they don't care. Our cars only have front toe adjustments so it's not rocket science. Even I can get my alignment straight with a piece of string.

And before the alignment takes place the steering box needs to be centered. There are marks on the box to facilitate that.

This is why I am still pissed off at that shop. Considering how much I paid them for the job and for them to not get it right after having it twice is beyond me. I was told "Sometimes it's hard to align these old BMWs when rubber parts are wearing out".

Really???

[demetk]

Did they also do the steering and control arms?