Weird handling on my 318is

[jph78]

I've finally got round to sorting the 318is i bought for the g-f a while back and its exhibiting a strange handling trait....

When you take you foot off the accelerator it drifts to the right, it doesn't suddenly swerve to the right, but it's enough to require steering input to avoid changing lanes!

We put it on a 2 poster today and all the bushes LOOK ok, checked the tyre pressures, and the tracking on the front wheels (but no other alignment) and everything seems ok. Just changed brake pads all round, nothings binding there.

Theres no sign of accident damage either.

I'm hoping someone here will have experienced this before, cos the next step is randomly replacing parts and thats a boring and expensive way to solve a problem!

I'm due to give this to my G-F as a present on sat, so i need to solve this asap cos i dont want her driving it like this!

Please help!

Jon.

[johnono]

mabey your diff is sticking or mabey the drive shaft bearing on the dodgy side is worn and not rolling smooth causing a pull of power

[jph78]

Yeah i did think of that, but when i changed the rear pads on friday i put it into gear and turned one rear disk by hand, the other one rotated pretty easily & smoothly. Cheers anyway mate:thumb:

Any other ideas?

[johnono]

mabey they turn ok off the ground, butwhat about with 1500kg on it?

could be worth a deeper look

[johnono]

have you checked if the wheels are trimmed straight

[jph78]

Yeah you could be right, i'll do some investigating tomorrow, cheers mate.

[johnono]

rear sway bar bushes

[johnl320]

Jon
hello mate ,it sounds like the rear axle carrier bushes ,i'm doing mine tomorrow weather permitting. they look fine but it handles pretty much like you described. my old 528 did exactly the same thing and that was also the cause, i bet you wish you hadn't sold that back end to me now!! have you sold the 325 engine and box yet? i hope you get the car sorted ,i would love to have taken that engine and box off you but i don't t
hink the almera could take it!!

john

[jph78]

Hello John!

How you doing mate? Hope all's well with you. Hows the project going?

Yeah still have the engine & box, currently holding it for someone tho. No i don't think the almera would've liked that much.

Do you mean the rear beam bushes? I don't know the official name for them but i think thats what you mean.

I'll do some more checking when it's back on the ramp later. Anyone know a good way to check they're still ok? They look ok, and there's not loads of movement when you get a prybar on the beam either.
Cheers,

Jon

[Karan]

they really should barely move....

sounds like rear beam bushes to me....

can get these done for Ԛ£150ish labour from BMW main dealer.... and sooooooo worth it!

Karan

[johnl320]

jon,
i stuck that whole beam on today that i got off you cos the bushes were pretty much new also stuck a quiet 3.64 diff on and ditched the old 4.10 ,what a difference the handling and the silence . the projct car however is going a little slowly due to cash flow probs, no change there, i hope you get it sorted mate ,sounds like a nice motor
regards
john

[jph78]

Right,

Got a pair of new rear beam bushes on sat morning.

3 hours later........ the problem is just as bad.

Anyone got any other good ideas?

ps. on a happy, but at the same time sad note, my g-f failed her driving test on friday so it gives me another 4 weeks to fix the prob!!

[Jhonno]

is the shell straight?

[jph78]

Lol, that had crossed my mind, and after close inspection all the seams, spot welds etc are factory fresh.

I'd also considered that something else might be bent, hence the geometry is out, but the symptoms suggest it's something mmoving, not something thats bent.

To explain..... if it pulled to the right all the time, id be thinking tracking, alignment, bent front/rear arm, twisted shell, etc.

But the fact that it only pulls to the right when you suddenly get off the throttle (and yes, it does go slightly left when you accelerate hard too) suggests something is moving, probably at the back, which affects the geometry, and thus makes it turn.

After changing the beam bushes did nothing,i put it on the ramp again and checked the trailing arm bushes (they were fine) and the 4 mounting points on the beam (incase one had a fractured weld, but fine!)

[Jhonno]

its gotta be something moving then tbh..

the arms all straight?