front end again...

[infurno]

A few days back i was driving on the highway and something felt wrong.

1) The car was shaking a little, just felt a bit unstable.
2) constantly making the thud sounds like a loose ball joint. Even at low speeds, the slightest bump would do it. very alarming
3) I also noticed that my wheel was now aligned straight and was no longer pulling.

Its pulled a little after I did some front end work replacing my control arms, thrust arms, and tie rods.

Something must be wrong.

I raised the car this morning to yank on the wheels but they felt pretty solid. There was a bit movement and sound but that was with enough force to turn the wheels.

I climbed under and checked to make sure all the bolts were tight and none of the parts were loose and seemed in good shape. I can't identify where the sound is coming from. Its there when i yank hard enough...

My best guess is its a cross bar that connects the two wheels together. Looks like there are two of them, the one im talking about is closest to the front. The tie rods connect to it.

Any advice on what to check next?

Whats the next common point of failure after tie rods, control arms, and thrust arms?

[infurno]

I just found some stuff, i was talking about the center tie rod.

Does it sound like i need it and new pitman arms or maybe still something else?

[e34.535i.sport]

A possibility is the idler arm bush needs changing, the idle arm is the small arm that connects to the centre tie rod (should be one on either side). It has a servicable bushing... however, i hear its worth changing the whole arm to save messing with the bush, for the cost difference.

Another idea that springs to mind is the sway bar links - have you changed them? I did and had similar symptoms to you again - the nuts had come loose so i tightened them up and voila - the noise was gone! Double check all the nuts are torqued correctly.

HTH.

[infurno]

A possibility is the idler arm bush needs changing, the idle arm is the small arm that connects to the centre tie rod (should be one on either side). It has a servicable bushing... however, i hear its worth changing the whole arm to save messing with the bush, for the cost difference.

Another idea that springs to mind is the sway bar links - have you changed them? I did and had similar symptoms to you again - the nuts had come loose so i tightened them up and voila - the noise was gone! Double check all the nuts are torqued correctly.

HTH.

Thanks a lot for the response, very informative. I bet it is my idle arm. Looks like its a bit of a pain to get to though... I will change the sway bar links while im at it.

[e34.535i.sport]

No worries- I hope it one of those for you, nice easy and cheap fix. The sway bar links are self explanatory, and the idler arm shouldn't be too much hassle hopefully. I've never done one but i wouldn't envisage too many problems.
A gear puller or ball joint seperator will be required - (the U type). Take a look at this thread:

http://www.bimmer.info/forum/showthread.php?t=33286&highlight=idler+arm

Or hopefully this pic will work:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/dave_macisaac/Bimmer/Steering-Suspension/puller.jpg

Dave M is the man to talk to i think on this one...

I don't know where you are but here in the UK you can pick a Lemfoerder Idler arm up for around £25. (Eurocarparts.com).