Vague steering at 40 mph+

[BenG]

Suffering from vague steering on my 1988 318, i had a knocking steering rack so exchanged that for a second hand rack which cured the knocking.

Still felt vague so i bought a decent second hand steering guibo thing which tightened up the steering at lower speeds but its still twitchy over bumps and i can wiggle the steering at speed and the car not move.

The tracking has been one and tonight i noticed a very slight knock from the rack when rocking the wheels by hand whilst jacked up.

What would cause such an issue like this?
If my second rack is worn out do you know if its possible to rebuild the rack which was knocking and if so where to get replacement seals etc from?
Many thanks

[bmw9818]

control arms, tie rods, lollipop bushes, top mounts

ideally just do them as a lot in one go, should sort the vague steering, if your feeling brave for te e46 rack

[matt86]

Suffering from vague steering on my 1988 318, i had a knocking steering rack so exchanged that for a second hand rack which cured the knocking.

Still felt vague so i bought a decent second hand steering guibo thing which tightened up the steering at lower speeds but its still twitchy over bumps and i can wiggle the steering at speed and the car not move.

The tracking has been one and tonight i noticed a very slight knock from the rack when rocking the wheels by hand whilst jacked up.

What would cause such an issue like this?
If my second rack is worn out do you know if its possible to rebuild the rack which was knocking and if so where to get replacement seals etc from?
Many thanks

mines like this too, thought that was just e30s for you.lol. I was thinlillking e46 rack too, plus renewing all bushes.

[daimlerman]

E30's are sensitive to front tyres,I find a quality brand gives better steering than a budget brand.I also find that the steering is less precise in the wet with worn front tyres,once they get below about 3mm I prefer to fit new front tyres and save the part-worns for the rear.

[Brianmoooore]

The slightest amount of toe out on the front wheels of an E30 will give the steering a 'vague' feel.
If you have wear anywhere in the front suspension, and then let someone loose on it with some fancy alignment gear, you will end up with perfect static tracking, but the dynamic tracking will have toe out from the castor action of each front wheel.

[Grrrmachine]

Brian (or anyone); there's a blank page that needs filling in, if anyone fancies it:

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/inde ... _Explained

[BenG]

I have checked the bushes on the front and all is good other than very slight movement in the rack, very slight.

Tyres are new although not the best make im sure it shouldnt feel this vague and float around once touching the cats eyes at 50mph?

Brain when you say any wear in the front suspension do you mean actual visible play in balljoints and split rear arm mounts etc or just not brand new parts?

Would love to get rid of the vagueness about the car

Also i notice that at speed the steering wheel shakes like the wheels are out of balance but having had new tyres fitted not long ago that shouldnt be the cause.

For some reason i have my suspicion on steering rack but not sure if this is a correct symptom?

[Brianmoooore]

Brain when you say any wear in the front suspension do you mean actual visible play in balljoints and split rear arm mounts etc or just not brand new parts?

I mean any movement between two parts that shouldn't be there.
you could try winding one of the track rods in one complete turn, as an experiment to see if stability improves.

[matt86]

I have checked the bushes on the front and all is good other than very slight movement in the rack, very slight.

Tyres are new although not the best make im sure it shouldnt feel this vague and float around once touching the cats eyes at 50mph?

Brain when you say any wear in the front suspension do you mean actual visible play in balljoints and split rear arm mounts etc or just not brand new parts?

Would love to get rid of the vagueness about the car

Also i notice that at speed the steering wheel shakes like the wheels are out of balance but having had new tyres fitted not long ago that shouldnt be the cause.

For some reason i have my suspicion on steering rack but not sure if this is a correct symptom?

I've got this exact problem too, you have to turn steering wheel nearly have a turn to feel anything, also had the vibrating and pulling to the side just changed the outer balljoints and fit tracking done and now seems good, although still have vague steering issue.

[bmw9818]

Get solid poly lollipop bushes, new arms n an e46 rack no more vagueness at my end trust!

[matt86]

Get solid poly lollipop bushes, new arms n an e46 rack no more vagueness at my end trust!

yes this it what I was thinking of doing, how much did it cost?

[Brianmoooore]

E46 rack, yes. Poly bushes, most definitely not! Cabs have enough rattles as it is.

[matt86]

E46 rack, yes. Poly bushes, most definitely not! Cabs have enough rattles as it is.

thanks brian.

[Rorym2010]

ive got the same problem im in the middle of fitting new tie rods recon rack new steering guibo gas strut inserts lowering springs and lollipop bushes then getting tracking done if its still vague after that do you think adjustable camber top mouts will help as you mentioned above about the camber/toe having an impact on vagueness?? could a slightly buckled wheel or flat spot also cause these symptoms?

[BenG]

Update, i have had the tracking re-done to 2mm toe in as the wheel alignment book stated.

This seems to have helped slightly with the wandering issue, although at 50mph i am still getting a nasty shake through the steering wheel and the vagueness is still there.

Thinking about changing my wheels from front to back and seeing if that helps.

I have found a rack seal kit i could buy but unsure if that will cure the minimal slop i have noticed in the rack?

Update Again- Just swapped front wheels to the back etc and drove it down the road, felt much better, maybe one of the wheels was slightly buckled.
Definately worth a shot to those who are suffering similar problems!