Tram lining steering and loud humming noise at 50mph!

[BenG]

Car is 1988 318i
Ok I will start with work that's been carried out on the steering. Replaced ball joints and bushes on the arms, and fitted a known good power steering rack because mine was clunking. All is good on the clunking front but after having the car tracked up I am still getting tram lining and vague steering, what should I check?

Also when travelling at around 50mph and above I hear a loud humming sound, all bearings are good showing no signs of play...sounds more so from the rear and when the clutch is pressed and held down the sound is still there. Do rear wheel bearings cause such problems on these cars?

Any info would be great,thanks![/b]

[bigwinn]

you sure the front bearings are good? sounds like a problem I had this week and replaced my OSF bearing with a new one, its like driving a different car

does the sound get quieter when cornering?

[BenG]

In case my first post was confusing, there are two problems listed.

All the bearings are good when the car is jacked up, there is no play when holding the wheel and rocking top and bottom, let and right. The front bearings spin up very easily by hand and both continue to spin for a long while. The rears dont spin up as easily by hand due to the driveshaft but neither one feels notchy.

It does change slightly when cornering though, i just cant tell which side!

[kam-325i]

Tram-lining can be caused by having larger wheels/tyres fitted.

The humming could be somthing like the wiperblades......

[daimlerman]

Both the tramlining and noise could be worn front tyres.


I find that front wheels will start to tramline at about 3mm of tread,at this point I swap the wheels and save the part-worns for rear axle use.

[BenG]

I must admit that all my tyres are due for replacement with around 2mm of tread remaining.

tyres are 205 55 15, unsure what standards would be?

[kam-325i]

i think standards are 195.....for 15" alloys, 185 for 14" steelies.

[maxfield]

Standard tyres are 205/55 15s on BBS rims

[daimlerman]

I have no desire to start a debate on 'what tyre should I buy' but I have found that budget tyres do not suit the E30's front axle,you will find that better quality rubber will improve both ride and steering feel.

[BenG]

Ok thanks everybody, so from this i think i should get some new tyres then see how the car drives

[mcbonio]

Sounds like wheel bearings, take the wheel off and spin the hub by hand. It shouldn't spin freely more than a couple of times on its own or make any hollow metallic sounds.

[Brianmoooore]

A wheel bearing will 'hum' if a small patch of the case hardening on one of the races breaks up. This will not normally cause any noticeable play until the problem gets much worse.
The noise will get less when cornering on the wheels that are on the inside, and a front bearing will usually quieten down the instant the steering is turned, with a noisy rear bearing taking slightly longer to respond.
For the tramlining, check the front toe again, even if it has just been set. You need between 1 and 2mm toe in. No need for any fancy electronic laser gizmos, which is only as good as the person operating it - all you need is a length of string and some small pieces of plywood.

[magpie]

i think your diff hums

[BenG]

Thanks again, BrianMooore i will take the car for a drive tomorrow and recheck the noise.

Regarding the tracking, do you have any info on how to make one of these? Very keen to try this method and then try the car out.

Magpie: did think that but less than a year ago the noise was'nt there and the diff has no leaks whatsoever. Still worth checking again though