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I replaced all four corners with Bosch rotors / ate pads, bled & purged system and still have a little bit of a steering wheel shake on braking. All new Michelin Defender tires, bottlecaps torqued with new bolts. PO replaced control arms and possibly other components about 30k miles ago. Where would I go hunting for this shimmy?
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Tie Rods, wheel bearings.
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What size tires did you put on it
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…and what brand of wheels? Hub centric?Originally Posted by msservices
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Michelin Defender T+H 185-65-14 on factory bottlecaps.
Thanks for the tips on tie rod and f wheel bearings. Since I get occasional vibration at speed in addition to braking wheel bearings seem a likely culprit.
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I would replace the wheel bearings and tie rod assembly’s, but struts can allow slop and do weird things also. Make sure the control arm bushings are new and installed correctly. I think I would go with the solid rubber ones if I had to do it again. Also I have found e30s seem to disagree with certain tire brand/sizes and even though I run Michelin on all my other vehicles I would not run that size on an e30 for the reason you are posting.
Last edited by msservices; 12-18-2018 at 09:42 PM.
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Are you referring to E36M3 FLCABs?
If so, p/n 31129069035 for the centered 1996+M3 FLCABs
And p/n 31129064875 for the (recommended) offset 1995M3 FLCABs.
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PO replaced control arms and bushings at 85k, i'm at 116k now. All I know about the parts he used is attached photo...
Do not believe he replaced tie rods, I can do that and the wheel bearings, doesn't seem to bad a job.
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Thinking behind these is added durability, with I presume some added stiffness and therefore noise/vibration/harshness?
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Yes, the centered 1996+M3 FLCABushings do add some ‘road feel’ without adding much NVH.
I would look at the Tie Rods for some slop.
What tires are you running? Do they balance well/easily? Any chance you have a bent wheel?
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smooth operator
off topic: I used the race control arm kit from garagistic instead of m3 control arm bushings last time. the ones that look like those treehouse racing ones, really small and solid. man, I loved those. no play at all. and I didn't feel anything different than before. everything else was stock but those. totally fixed all my steering issues in the 86 325 because I replaced tie rods, control arm bushings, and control arms
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these ones
https://store.garagistic.com/bmw-per...Arms-Treehouse
No e30s again.
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I replaced my right tie rod, that fixed my wheel shimmy. Cheap and fairly easy except for the funky lock washer BMW uses on the right end of the tie rod. You should be able to check wheel bearing by jacking the tire up, see if any excess play, then spin to see if smooth. As stated above, front struts have a big effect on an e30's handling
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Thanks all. Most of these parts seem affordable and not too difficult to replace, I will address them soon.
The exception to that rule is the strut. When you all mention strut wear, which component are you refering to? Presumably not the insert? The rubber at the top?
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The cartridge, or insert, and the mount, which has a bearing in it and rubber as well
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The front strut usually consists of just replacing the shock. Borrow a coil compressor from the auto parts store. Remove the strut, compress the spring, remove the shock and it's fittings. Check top mount. Then intall new shock by doing reverse.
$53ea Monroe from Oreilly's
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