e34 Idler/Pitman arm replacement?

[omarg35]

Hey folks,

Forgive me for another post on this topic, I've been trying to get some direction on my issue at least until I can get underneath the car and see for myself (i'm no mechanic by any means, but I do what I can).

Long story short, along with the usual steering play, I was experiencing some "wandering" and just a general unstable feeling when driving at higher speeds in my 525i. Took it to a local mechanic and they told me that the idler and pitman arm needed to be replaced and potentially the gearbox-- along with a $940+ quote. The tech had said it was so bad he recommended no longer driving the car and towing it home because the arm was ready to detach?

I'm hoping to try and tackle this on my own but i'm not sure where to start. I've found a number of threads and diagrams but no actual DIYs. Also, I came across this thread where the person was told something very similar from a mechanic and actually ended up just tightening everything down and his issue was solved-https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?995332-PITMAN-arm/page2

Anyone done this job before that could provide some insight? What are the chances that the gearbox would also need to be replaced along with the arms?

Any insight is much appreciated.
Omar

[jmile46]

Edit: I had wrong part in mind. Sorry.

[xcastaway]

It sounds at least possible you have the same problem mine had, your pitman arm may just be loose and sliding up and down on the steering shaft. Jack the car up and turn your steering lock to lock, watching the end of the steering shaft. You can use the wheel to turn it. Mine was moving up and down a lot, though the bolt was tight. I couldn't find a torque setting for the bolt, I just tightened it until I was afraid it might snap, which solved my problem. It's been over a year with no further issues.

[W124]

I've replaced all the steering linkages and swapped in a different steering box in mine. Like jmile46 suggested, if you are going to attempt replacing linkages get the 3/4 in ball joint separator from Harbor Freight. Don't know if I can post links here, it's item number 99849. I can't imagine doing the job without this tool. Word of warning, when the balljoints finally separate there will be a loud bang, probably want to keep your face out of the way when you're under the car.

The idler arm is easy to replace, mine had 200k miles on it when I replaced it and it was still solid. The pitman arm is just the solid steel arm connected to the shaft on the steering box so for it to be worn would mean it would have to have been loose like in that thread you linked to. When the old steering box was in my car still and I looked up at it from the ground (with someone moving the steering wheel back and forth) there was an illusion that the pittman arm was sloppy and clanking but that turned out not to be the case. It was solidly attached and the play was inside the box, maybe the mechanic came to the wrong conclusion. Most of my non steering box related play was in the tie rods.

The ebay steering gearbox was only ~$100 and ended up being just about as worn and sloppy as the original. New boxes are like $1000 or more and "rebuilt" ones are a few hundred so that quote is way low if the mechanic wants to replace it.

[omarg35]

It sounds at least possible you have the same problem mine had, your pitman arm may just be loose and sliding up and down on the steering shaft. Jack the car up and turn your steering lock to lock, watching the end of the steering shaft. You can use the wheel to turn it. Mine was moving up and down a lot, though the bolt was tight. I couldn't find a torque setting for the bolt, I just tightened it until I was afraid it might snap, which solved my problem. It's been over a year with no further issues.

I'll try that out this weekend, fingers crossed it'll be that simple. My other argument is that is reputable as the shop seemed to be, I couldn't be sure that their recommendations and quotes were actually legit or I they were just giving me the run around.

[shogun]

wandering: also the beer cans at the rear axle can cause wandering http://www.bmwe34.net/E34main/Mainte...ameBushing.htm
steering http://www.bmwe34.net/E34main/Mainte...ering_link.htm

[omarg35]

Interesting you mention that the mechanic may have misdiagnosed. I guess I may have a better idea when I take a look myself but he was definitely convinced that those two arms needed to be replaced and then just said he'd have to further diagnose to determine if the gearbox needed to go as well.

And actually the quote I attached is only for the two arms, he mentioned similar prices you did for replacing the gearbox. In fact he even tried to run quotes and for brand new and could not even find one.. apparently BMW and most all after market manufactures stopped making the part, so they'd have no choice but to locate a used one.

[omarg35]

wandering: also the beer cans at the rear axle can cause wandering http://www.bmwe34.net/E34main/Mainte...ameBushing.htm
steering http://www.bmwe34.net/E34main/Mainte...ering_link.htm

great diagrams, thanks !

[moroza]

Long story short, along with the usual steering play, I was experiencing some "wandering" and just a general unstable feeling when driving at higher speeds in my 525i. Took it to a local mechanic and they told me that the idler and pitman arm needed to be replaced and potentially the gearbox-- along with a $940+ quote. The tech had said it was so bad he recommended no longer driving the car and towing it home because the arm was ready to detach?

And that quote apparently doesn't include the box itself. The only common reason to replace the box is excessive input shaft play (adjustable on some steerboxes, but not ours) which can only be determined after output shaft play (adjustable) has been dialed out. Sounds like nobody's done that? It takes half an hour with nothing more than a floorjack, a 17mm open-end wrench, and a 5mm (6mm?) Allen socket or key. EDIT: and another half hour to remove the intake ducts in the way, unless you have *really* flexible arms.

Pitman arms are known to come loose on the steerbox' output shaft splines. Tightening the pinch bolt may or may not cure the problem, depending on how worn the splines (on either part) got from the movement. If the output shaft splines are worn, that'd be another reason to replace the box. The pinch bolt is 17mm, I recall finding a torque spec of 68ft-lb somewhere, and on my car (a 94 525iT) I tightened it to around 95ft-lb, feeling very carefully for yielding.

There's not much of a DIY procedure on this one, but because it involves exceeding torque spec (which you need some experience to safely do), I recommend instead you 1. tighten the main steering lash per the link Shogun posted, 2. check/tighten the column nut under the dash, and 3. report back. I bet you'll still have slop but less, and then we'll walk you through diagnosing the rest for yourself. There's about a dozen things that contribute to steering slop, in addition to rear-end wander from the "beer can" rear subframe mounts.

I don't see a mis-diagnosis, but a lazy one. Idler arm play is easy to discern from steerbox slop, once the car's in the air. Input shaft play feels differently from play further down in the linkage. I conclusively diagnosed my pitman arm slop by clamping vicegrips to it, and watching them move in a way they shouldn't, while turning the steering column by hand.

On a somewhat-related note, $90+ for a "four wheel alignment" is a ripoff, considering the only thing adjustable on your car is front toe.

[omarg35]

Thanks for the input moroza. And thats correct, the quote was without a new gearbox.
Is everything you described in terms of troubleshooting able to be done with the car on ramps/stands or does it need to be on a lift? I don't have much experience with steering components but i'd image they'd be more difficult to access than just suspension?

Hopefully this weekend i'll go with what you said to start with-- the column nut and main steering lash and see what I can find. It does ride pretty badly though, bump or turn feels like the steering is going to fall apart any second.

[moroza]

Can't use ramps because you need the wheels to steer. Use jackstands. Lifts are for speed and convenience; there is no job that positively requires one. Apart from the box and column, steering parts are no harder to access than suspension.

Steering is the most important control of your car, full stop. Based on your and your mechanic's comments, I strongly recommend you not drive the car until it's fixed. Also, it's quite possible you have suspension wear as well. When's the last time anything was replaced in the front end?

[omarg35]

Can't use ramps because you need the wheels to steer. Use jackstands. Lifts are for speed and convenience; there is no job that positively requires one. Apart from the box and column, steering parts are no harder to access than suspension.

Steering is the most important control of your car, full stop. Based on your and your mechanic's comments, I strongly recommend you not drive the car until it's fixed. Also, it's quite possible you have suspension wear as well. When's the last time anything was replaced in the front end?

Good to know, i'll definitely pull the stands out for this one then.

And I agree 100%, I've got the car parked until I get the steering stuff squared away at the very least. I actually just picked up the car a few weeks back as a little project, wasn't able to get underneath it beforehand but I did go for a quick test drive and took it up to about 70mph on the highway. With that being said, I haven't really had the chance to examine the suspension yet because i've been working nonstop but from the test drive I was able to pinpoint the steering issue and a shake at higher speeds (owner claimed it was the plastic hubcentric rings).

Thats not to say the suspensions isn't contributing to any of the steering issues but i'm considering just doing a full refresh at some point this winter of the suspension along with getting this steering this straightened out.