steering issues

[willisssteve0]

have a small problem with my ride e30 318is coupe

just changed the front wheel bearings due to a vibration all wheels have been balanced and tracking done but now at low speeds i have begun to notice that the steering wheel rocks from side to side at around 40 or slower there is also a fair bit of play in the steering steering rack looks good as far as i can see and a month ago it had complete new running gear fitted?

any ideas?

regards

[Elecblondie]

Have you checked the rubber damping disc in the steering column?

[willisssteve0]

how would i check that my man everything rubber on the car seems to need replacing but unfortunatly there is an ubundance of it :S

[Brianmoooore]

how would i check that my man everything rubber on the car seems to need replacing but unfortunatly there is an ubundance of it :S

This is the norm. when most E30s are received into a caring home, but there isn't that much of it at all, it'll only need doing every ten years or so, and once done, you'll find out just how well an E30 drives and handles, and why I for one, drive them in preference to any newer stuff.
Front control arm bushes (use M3), rear beam bushes and rear damper top mounts (use E46 cab) are the main ones. Also check out the diff bush, prop centre bearing mount, prop guibo, roll bar bushes and links, and the steering coupling. Rear suspension trailing arm bushes are also rubber, but rarely deteriorate.
The steering column flex disc is in the short section of steering shaft between the bulkhead, where the column comes through, and the rack itself, near the exhaust manifold. The shaft should transmit the movement of the column to the rack with no rotational free play at all. A kit is available from BMW to replace the rubber disc for a few pounds.

[willisssteve0]

excellent weather its needs replacing or now its getting done hopefully will solve my problem had my e30 for a few months now and it had been sat for a couple of years which was a shame but gonna get it back up to scratch

thanks for the info

[JJ26]

Have you checked your tyres for lumps or abnormalities? I got cought out on my opel manta years ago like that. Worth jacking it up one side at a time and give the wheel a good spin and watch the flat of the tyre for anything unusuall! Check your wheel track the same way incase its bent if youve hit anything hard recently.