Wheel wobble/shaking

Post Mon Nov 28, 2011 2:22 pm

Hi everyone. (my first post)
I have a 325i touring which failed its MOT last week on a worn front balljoint so i replaced the complete wishbone for a new one and fitted polybushes to both wishbones at same time. The car felt much better initially until i got onto the motorway when the steering wheel started shaking bad after 60mph despite it being fine before the job was done. Ive just had wheels balanced and its no different. Ive had a good check today and everything is tight and solid, all i can notice is "very" slight play in a tie rod so i'll replace both this weekend bit im not confident it'll sort it.
Anyone had this problem?

Post Mon Nov 28, 2011 6:08 pm

Buckled wheel maybe?

Post Mon Nov 28, 2011 10:12 pm

play in steering shaft/rubber guibo would be my bet.

Post Mon Nov 28, 2011 10:33 pm

I had an issue recently with mine that was similar.
Are the lollypop bushes M3 type? If so are they correctly fitted?

With the car firmly secured with the offending corner in the air give everything a good jiggle about but remember about safety first!
Mine ended up being another wishbone (Lemforder) but that was after new lollypop bushes and droplinks which had both failed in under 2000 miles.
Where are you located?
Plenty of Zoners UK wide that aren't afraid of getting their nails dirty.

Post Tue Nov 29, 2011 4:47 am

The bloke who balanced them yesterday said both wheels ran true and not buckled.
Lollypop bushes are standard type and are fitted correctly as per polybush instructions. Ive had both corners off the ground and its all solid side-2-side and up-and-down apart from very slight play in one tie rod, i'll replace both at the weekend.
I never thought of checking steering shaft, i'll do it tomorrow.
I noticed this morning coming home on motorway that at 60-70 initially its ok then the wobble gradually builds despite maintaining same speed.
Its never had this problem before-even with a worn ball joint. I'm hoping that all the nice tight new parts have made the wear in the tie rod become a problem.
I'm in Lancashire.
Thanks.

Post Tue Nov 29, 2011 7:34 am

Get the rears balanced as well before you do anything pricey.

Post Sat Feb 11, 2012 8:24 pm

I still havent sorted this problem. The track rods and the track rod ends have been replaced on both sides and it still shakes on the motorway.
What baffles me is that it can be perfectly smooth at criusing speed for a mile or longer then the shake will appear for a mile or so before going smooth again, or it will shake all the time. There is no play or wear at all in the front suspension now, the springs and shocks are also new.
It was fine before it had the polybush wishbone bushes fitted and am now thinking of fitting standard ones again to see if it sorts it otherwise I dont know what to do next.

Post Sat Feb 11, 2012 10:29 pm

Brakes sticking?

Post Sat Feb 11, 2012 10:35 pm

What type of wheels are they?

Post Sun Feb 12, 2012 12:52 am

Was the car parked up for any period of time? (I'm thinking deformed tyres)....

Post Sun Feb 12, 2012 12:59 pm

Wheel and tyre side:

Are the wheels correctly spaced on the hub spigots? If you've got a feeler gauge handy check the gap is the same all the way round. If it isn't, while up in the air loosen the wheel nuts with the feeler gauge in place a re-tighten. Repeat until the gap is consistent. (This is more likely to be an issue with aftermarket wheels)

The variable wobble could be due to wheel phasing. This occurs when both wheels are slightly out of balance. At one point they may balance each other out to give no input into the steering wheel, but as you corner they may go out of phase, doubling the input of the out of balance from a single wheel. To check this you need a snazzy a radial force variation wheel balancer.

On the suspension side:

Bush stiffness has a lot to do with steering wobble. While polybushes do firm up the handling, they'll also exaggerate and inputs like this. Softer bushes will damp some of these motions out. A softer bush isn't the cure however, the input is being provided by something else, and the firmer bush is just making it more noticeable.

But the most likely candidate in my opinion is play somewhere in the steering. Even the very slight play you describe could well be causing these inputs - it doesn't take much! Steering is something that should always be exactly to manufacturer spec, including torque settings.

Post Sun Feb 12, 2012 2:53 pm

i have the same problem.
i thought it was my propshaft out of balance (recently had it off and apart) but it could be the steering linkage now, i can notice a bit of play in the shaft.

how much play is acceptable?

i have about 2 degrees of play on the steering wheel (solid danthe linkage with e36 rack and modified e34 linkage)

how would you fit m3 bushes incorrectly?

Post Mon Feb 13, 2012 4:57 pm

Thanks for replies.
There are no brake issues and wheels are the original 15" BBS so they probably bolt up ok, the car is in constant use and not been laid up.
The very slight play I mentioned in first post has been sorted by fitting new track rods and track rod ends last week and everything is now solid, there is no play in column or rack.
Picking up on the "wheel phasing" suggestion- I'll take it to a different tyre centre this week to get them balanced again and see what they say.
The tyres are less than a year old but they were only budget ones and ive been thinking maybe one of them can go in and out of balance on the motorway but not show up on the balancing machine. I'll ask the tyre fitter when i get them balanced.