Help stop me wandering

[whiskychaser]

Car is great round town but on open road it wont hold a straight line. There is no uneven tyre wear. The tracking has just been redone and was found to be half a degree out. The centre tie rod was replaced about 12 months ago and there doesnt appear to be any play on the steering. There DOES appear to be some movement at the inboard end of the lower control arms though I only just replaced them for the MOT. Had weight in it and torqued up the bolts properly. There is an audible clunk when moving the steering wheel when at rest. There also appears to be some up/down play at the rear end - the dogbones and wishbone bushes seem ok but the whole suspension seems to move down if the car is rocked in park. You can even see the exhaust move down on its hanger. So am I looking at new arms (again) and new subframe bushes? Had pics but sods law says they are a few kb too big to post :(

[DaveVoorhis]

Sounds like at least your rear subframe bushings are sacked.

[Ross]

Sounds like at least your rear subframe bushings are sacked.
I'll second that.

[Tiger]

Are you sure there is no play in steering? How about your Idler arm? Can you rock that thing up and down? Did you tighten up your steering box bolt?

How is your wheel bearing? Any play? Should be zero.

All sway bar links? Have they ever been changed?

[whiskychaser]

Are you sure there is no play in steering? How about your Idler arm? Can you rock that thing up and down? Did you tighten up your steering box bolt?

How is your wheel bearing? Any play? Should be zero.

All sway bar links? Have they ever been changed?

No play in the wheels bearings. Not clear what you mean by sway bar links but if they are the verticle down-links ( no. 6 in the pic http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=HD68&mospid=47405&btnr=31_0045&hg=31&fg=10 )
they are new too. Just for info it doesnt matter what angle the wheels are at - you still get the clunk when rocking the steering wheel back and forth. Cant see any movement in the idler arm or box but will double check the bolts to make sure. Thanks both for the advice :)

[Tiger]

Idler arm is checked when car is up in the air... both wheel up in the air and push and pull up and down.

[mamilapon]

ave you tightened the nut at the bottom of you steering column?

[whiskychaser]

As per Tiger's instructions, put it on stands and heaved away at the drop arm. No movement. Rechecked the bearings and all the steering joints again. No movement. Where I do have movement is on the inboard end of the lower control arms-the ones I just replaced. So I took out the bolts expecting them and/or the arm bushes to be worn oval- and they arent. But they are not a snug fit either. I put the bolts back in, retorqued to 78nm with weight in the car as before -and got rid of the movement and the clunks. Maybe just for now. While I was at it, also checked the rear subframe (vertical front) bushes. So can anyone plse advise:

1. if the bolt through the inboard end of the lower control arms should be
a. interference b. tight c. dont matter
2. should the rear subframe bush extend up through the arm to meet the body? only I can get my fingers in a gap there!

[632 Regal]

maybe its the nut behind the wheel?


As per Tiger's instructions, put it on stands and heaved away at the drop arm. No movement. Rechecked the bearings and all the steering joints again. No movement. Where I do have movement is on the inboard end of the lower control arms-the ones I just replaced. So I took out the bolts expecting them and/or the arm bushes to be worn oval- and they arent. But they are not a snug fit either. I put the bolts back in, retorqued to 78nm with weight in the car as before -and got rid of the movement and the clunks. Maybe just for now. While I was at it, also checked the rear subframe (vertical front) bushes. So can anyone plse advise:

1. if the bolt through the inboard end of the lower control arms should be
a. interference b. tight c. dont matter
2. should the rear subframe bush extend up through the arm to meet the body? only I can get my fingers in a gap there!

[whiskychaser]

maybe its the nut behind the wheel?
Very likely. Should be certified :)

[mamilapon]

Well if we're talking about the same thing its the nut right next to your brake pedal, well known to undo itself over time.At the very bottom of the steering columc. There are quite a few posts about this.Pull the trim from behind your pedals and youll see it, takes a fairly big wrench from memory same size as the radiator fan nut.Biiiiiiig difference when its nice and tight. Good luck!!

[whiskychaser]

Well if we're talking about the same thing its the nut right next to your brake pedal, well known to undo itself over time.At the very bottom of the steering columc. There are quite a few posts about this.Pull the trim from behind your pedals and youll see it, takes a fairly big wrench from memory same size as the radiator fan nut.Biiiiiiig difference when its nice and tight. Good luck!!
I think Regal was being flippant :) I did a search on your suggestion. The instructions were to tighten until it starts to bind when you pull the steering in/out. There is a lot of resistance in mine already but I will check it out anyway to be on the safe side. Thanks for the tip!