Got the 50-55MPH shimmy shimmy shake shake today

[JimLev]

I guess my original front control arm bushings are finally shot, 18+ years and 158K miles the front shakes when I'm at 50-55 MPH. At any other speed it's fine.
Looks like I'll need to crawl under it once again.

[edjack]

Good idea to rotate the tires/wheels front-to-rear to eliminate them before you plunge in.

[philly98540]

Likely a slight out of balance/round on a wheel plus whooped TAB's. Rotate as above first.

[JimLev]

99% sure it's not the tires. They are staggard, but the rears should fit on the front.
A few days ago I thought I felt a slight shake in the wheel, today I can see it shake about 1/2" back and forth when I hit that speed.

[edjack]

Sometimes the weights fall off.

[Chedley]

The front lower control arms may need to be replaced; the whole control arm -new bushings included...Mine held 170 k miles.
Inspect and/or replace the upper control arm while you are there.

[geargrinder]

540i jealous of the attention the hot-rod is getting. Wants some old time JimLev garage love.

[BimmerBreaker]

Tire imbalance to me is felt at pretty much any speed. TABs are almost always in that speed range - accompanied with low speed clunking usually as well. Let it creep at a couple mph then jab the brakes. A clunking in the front is definitely bad TABs

[geargrinder]

Really? I usually find tire imbalance to be in a range - usually "comes on at a harmonic point" and then sometimes fades away as you go faster (but if its really bad it just gets worse...) I've had lots of out of balance tires that you didn't notice until you went fast enough. For TAB's and the like, nothing beats getting car in the air and using some prybars with extreme prejudice and see what happens.

[BimmerBreaker]

Tires for me always get worse the faster you go but I can feel an imbalance at parking lot speeds if its a notable imbalance. Years of driving hoopties has allowed me to develop a very sensitive butt dyno...

[dannyzabolotny]

Dang, you got a lot of life out of those! Meanwhile I’m going to be replacing my thrust arms for the 4th time in two years, lol.

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

4 sets of thrust arms in 2 years??? Wtf brands are you buying?

[JimLev]

Dang, you got a lot of life out of those! Meanwhile I’m going to be replacing my thrust arms for the 4th time in two years, lol.

Must be buying the cheapest ones in the Internet?

I looked at the wheels, all the weights are there. They have the little (1/4oz) strip tape weights that you just cut off what you need and stick them on, not individual weights.
I just got back from driving it, no shake?? Strange, will need to repeat what I did the other day to see if it had anything to do with the shake. Will need a pretty much deserted highway so it may be a few days before I can test it out.

[WBAD530i]

I was helping a friend diagnose similar issues on his car. The issue turned out to be a seizing passenger front brake caliper. The pad wear was vastly different compared to the driver front side as well. Ruled out thrust arms because those were still new as of 30k miles ago with Meyle HD bushings. Yes they are harsher.

Maybe what you did the other day and high speed braking could have contributed to it, and then normal driving to even them back out fixed it?

[StephenVA]

I was following a Toyota pick up today that had the side to side shakes in the butt at low speeds. RR wheel had a definite bend from hitting a curb or something as the vehicle was moving 3-6 inches left/right at 5 mph. At hwy speeds it looked like he had a jack hammer in the bed working away. Meanwhile, the driver did not seem to notice anything...
Some people sense very small issues while others would not notice a ground hog stuffed through windshield...


Good luck on the project. Might be time for a suspension refresh as I did one of mine at 97K and it was transformation on a little 6 banger wagon.

[dannyzabolotny]

4 sets of thrust arms in 2 years??? Wtf brands are you buying?

Must be buying the cheapest ones in the Internet?

Nope, I never put anything cheap on the 540it. At 180k I replaced the original thrust arms (which were beyond shot) with Lemforders. Those lasted less than a year before going bad. Then I installed Meyle HD thrust arms, those were really harsh and the ball joints went bad pretty quickly so I still had a steering shimmy. After that I installed another set of Lemforders which leaked out and went bad in less than two weeks. Thankfully all of this was through FCP Euro so I really only paid once.

Each time the arms were torqued the proper way, with weight on the suspension. The car was aligned several times in that period too. I do drive it pretty hard, but it’s still silly that they keep on failing. And it’s just the thrust arms... everything else I’ve installed has been fine over the past two years.

[mdistel]

I'd check the calipers and hoses. Is one wheel covered in brake dust or hotter after driving? Is the inner pad more worn out? I had something similar happen to my e36 and it was the caliper. I've had wheel balance issues with my E39 and it was tires I did replace all of the front arms and tie rods, my front end is solid. I did them at 75k, 108k now.

Mark

[JimLev]

540i jealous of the attention the hot-rod is getting. Wants some old time JimLev garage love.

Ha, your probably right. Pretty easy to love a 6.2L 450HP LS3.

- - - Updated - - -

Likely a slight out of balance/round on a wheel plus whooped TAB's. Rotate as above first.

I'm wondering if it could have been a flat spot on the tire, usually that only lasts for a mile or so.
But it didn't happen until I was taking the exit ramp after slowing down from light speed.

- - - Updated - - -

Dang, you got a lot of life out of those! Meanwhile I’m going to be replacing my thrust arms for the 4th time in two years, lol.

I sure did. Maybe replace the TAB's, I have the BMW cones to press them out and in.
Maybe replace the original rear ball joints, I bought new ones maybe 5 years ago in antipication of them not lasting this long.

- - - Updated - - -

I was helping a friend diagnose similar issues on his car. The issue turned out to be a seizing passenger front brake caliper. The pad wear was vastly different compared to the driver front side as well. Ruled out thrust arms because those were still new as of 30k miles ago with Meyle HD bushings. Yes they are harsher.

Maybe what you did the other day and high speed braking could have contributed to it, and then normal driving to even them back out fixed it?

I'll probably be buying OE TAB's, don't want a harsh ride.
The rotors weren't excessively hot but it would be good to look at the inner pads. The outer pads have at least 1/2 left.

- - - Updated - - -

Good luck on the project. Might be time for a suspension refresh as I did one of mine at 97K and it was transformation on a little 6 banger wagon.

Thanks, just when I'm about to stick the body on the '33 the 540 is begging for some wrench time.
Last month it got a complete top end gasket replacement job.

- - - Updated - - -

Nope, I never put anything cheap on the 540it. At 180k I replaced the original thrust arms (which were beyond shot) with Lemforders. Those lasted less than a year before going bad. After that I installed another set of Lemforders which leaked out and went bad in less than two weeks.

I was looking at Lemforders at FCP. I don't think I'd ever buy Meyle or URO.

- - - Updated - - -

I'd check the calipers and hoses. Is one wheel covered in brake dust or hotter after driving? Is the inner pad more worn out? I had something similar happen to my e36 and it was the caliper. I've had wheel balance issues with my E39 and it was tires I did replace all of the front arms and tie rods, my front end is solid. I did them at 75k, 108k now.

Mark

Brake dust on my wheels? You haven't been on the forum long enough!
Wierd how it was so pronounced and now nothing.
The hoses are Stoptech braided ones so they should be OK, I hope. I gave away the perfectly good OE hoses I took off.

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Shove a couple of GoPros in the wheel well to see what really goes on when these stupid thrust arms, and control arms go goofy.

[ross1]

Sometimes a good hard kick to the tire, turned out a bit, will show movement from worn bushings.
158k on the originals? You already know the answer.

[JimLev]

Shove a couple of GoPros in the wheel well to see what really goes on when these stupid thrust arms, and control arms go goofy.

No GoPros.
Steve, you want to hang out the window as I make the jump to light speed.

- - - Updated - - -

Sometimes a good hard kick to the tire, turned out a bit, will show movement from worn bushings.
158k on the originals? You already know the answer.

That's what I was figuring it was.
Guess I'll give the 540 some love today.

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

No GoPros.
Steve, you want to hang out the window as I make the jump to light speed.

Shoot, I’ll do it, just zap me over with the Bimmerupper..... Actually I have done that before, well, sort of, not at light speed, but at about 140, standing on the skids of an old ARMY Huey, flying through a canyon in the Philippines. That was one hell of a trip!!! Yes, I was wasted when we were doing that.

[JimLev]

Snotty, can you hang on at 150?

I did shake the tires, no play.
Yesterday I went for a 40+ mile drive, no shimmy. I was going to jack the car up and look at all of the suspension when I got back home, however I stopped at an estate sale and got a killa deal on a pair of Klipsch speakers for $45.
Needless to say they had to be setup in the garage immediately to complement NHT and Bose Acoustimass. Gotta have garage tunes when you wrench.
Hopefully I'll get to it today.

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Actually, the air around the fuselage of a helicopter at speed is quite calm. You feel like you are in a vacuum. Where the air is most turbulent is at the tips of the rotors. So when you think about a lunatic standing on the skids of a helicopter enjoying the rush, it really isn’t that crazy to do so. I’ve done 208 mph on my ZX12R Kawasaki, that is definitely more dangerous than standing on the skids, zooming through a canyon, 200 feet above a river. Can I hang on at 150? Depends on what I’m hanging on to. I have a 2003 Kawasaki Z1000, a fast bike without a fairing, at 150, it feels like the hand of God is trying to rip you off the bike. If my hands came of the grips, I definitely would have been roadrash. Times are changing, I’m starting to slow down. Getting old, or something like that is starting to invade my thoughts. At the time of doing death defying acts, I thought I was really living. Now, I think about trying to live longer. Funny how things work out.

[makenzie71]

Just to note it...i had a lot of shake up front and assumed it was the control arms and replaced them (they were pretty heavily worn)...but the shake didnt go away. Turned out to be the front brake rotors. Probably the arms in your case, just mentioning for the sake of information for anyone who finds this thread while researching shaking up front.

- - - Updated - - -

Now, I think about trying to live longer.

Excitement is overrated.