If replacing all steering components...my shimmy saga

[Jon K]

Hey guys - swapping wheels tonight I decided to give my car a look-over and shook the wheel. It seems like the drivers side wheel has a little more left/right shake-ability... like left/right as in if turning the steering wheel left/right. I looked under as best I could with the car up and it seems like the control arms aren't going anywhere. I shook on the control arms and teh ball joints felt good, and the urethane thrust arm bushing looks great, and the lower control arm bushing wouldn't move much when pried on. I am thinking its my steering linkages.

So - what should I replace? Tie rods (with ends), drag bar, idler arm, what else? Also - I'd like to tighten up my steering box but I am not sure how.

Finally - what brands should I go with? I know Lemforder is the usual one to go with right? There's Lemforder, Meyle, Ocap, TRW or TWR or something... what should I do? Thanks all

[GJPinAU]

Jon,

I had the same shake on mine, so I borrowed some original wheels and the bloody thing still has faint shimmy but no where near what was happening before.

Getting my wheels re-balanced to see if this helps.
Also, when I took off one of the wheels the nuts weren't tight (not loose) which made me a think that could have been the problem.

Greg

[Jon K]

I have OEM bottle caps on the front. They are tight. The hub assembly can shake by hand back and forth some a little on each side. More so on the drivers side. I suspect the ball joints in each steering linkage are going bad. I don't think this is just an issue with balancing I've tried 3 sets of wheels/tires.

[GJPinAU]

Sounds like you have eliminated the usual suspects. Guess it is time to start replacing steering parts.
Good luck. I'm following your progress.
Sorry I couldn't be of any more help.

Greg

[Scott C]

I was able to see visible motion on the ball joint (front one - shaft faces up) by jacking the wheel up and carefully pushing on the wheel (had my wife do it).

You can see my rant on my recent thread ;)

Damn dodge neon has bigger ball joints - there I said it again :)

Scott

[Jon K]

heh yeah scott - a long time ago i replaced a tie rod end on the pass side, and now, I wouldn't be surprised if one is faulty on the drivers side. going to bring the car up to the lift this weekend and check it out on the lift.

[Dave M]

FWIW, my shimmy was a drivers side tie rod.

[Scott C]

heh yeah scott - a long time ago i replaced a tie rod end on the pass side, and now, I wouldn't be surprised if one is faulty on the drivers side. going to bring the car up to the lift this weekend and check it out on the lift.

LIft is way to go - but if you can get someone to move the wheel laterally while you glare at the joints - it may be more obvious (tie rod or ball joint).

Really, I think the problem is the motor that you have in that car (with the turbo). I think you should put it in my car to see if it solves your problem

:D

[Jon K]

LIft is way to go - but if you can get someone to move the wheel laterally while you glare at the joints - it may be more obvious (tie rod or ball joint).

Really, I think the problem is the motor that you have in that car (with the turbo). I think you should put it in my car to see if it solves your problem

:D

haha i'll think about it ;)

yeah i dont think its the ball joints on the control arms which is reassuring - i just dont like doing those... and i didnt see the urethane mount moving at all, which re-establishes my faith in the grunt units

[russiankid]

I have Lamfoerder tie rods and they work great. They come painted black, so they won't rust which is a plus.

[632 Regal]

go under the front with a helper turning the wheel back and forth lightly and isolate the play. As for replacing things... you know the BMW rules, replace all tie rods and the links at once (Lemforder), drag link if needed (TRW is good), idler seldom wears but is possible. Ball joints you should hear a low clunk at slow speeds jabbing the brakes forward and reverse. Also since you are using them hard ass poly bushings check if the bolt holes have elongated yet or if it tore the attachment perch away from the mount area.

[filip00]

offtopic....jon when are we finally to see your ride pics? how it looks now :)

[Tiger]

The lower control arm ball joint thunk nose should be able to be heard under braking... usually only on American car... not BMW. For BMW, driving down or up the driveway from street is sure fire way to hear the thunk. However, this will also reveal the steering thunk too.

I changed my complete steering with Meyle and when I drove down the driveway to street... there was a cluck thunk sound... turns out to be the right lower control arm.

Steering thunk is easy to do... with engine off, key to on position... wiggle the steering left and right... a clunk thunk sound is definitely sure fire way to tell.

I am not a fan of just replacing one or two bad parts... change them all... it is only $150 or less a complete set. If you have over 100,000 miles on the car, change them all.

[Jon K]

offtopic....jon when are we finally to see your ride pics? how it looks now :)

I posted a bunch of pics I thought. I drove it to work today - looking at it right now out the window :)

Meyle is ok? Eh I did a price search and Lemforder parts will be about $300 for all the linkages. I am thinking that's the way to go..

[russiankid]

I posted a bunch of pics I thought. I drove it to work today - looking at it right now out the window :)

Meyle is ok? Eh I did a price search and Lemforder parts will be about $300 for all the linkages. I am thinking that's the way to go..

From what I hear, Meyle parts are a hit and miss. Go with Lamfoerder and forget about it.

[Jon K]

Fogetta bout it

What sucks is I prob drove 25 miles today... didnt get the shimmy even once. WTf

[Tiger]

Jon, Whoa! The prices has gone up for suspension parts... $128 each for thrust arm? I paid $160 for a pair with 750iL bushings pressed in... heh heh... that was like 6 years ago, but installed 4 years ago.

AutohausAZ has Meyle tie rods for $31 per side and they have Karilyn center for $55... I jsut did my steering and the car has aboiut 130,000 miles. I find the center link to be in good shape (TRW is factory supplier), but the tie rods are shot. So you can skip the center link if you want.

But seriously, the prices has gone up for steering parts. I don't recall spending that much for this all Meyle steering set. Actually I just looked it up at AutohausAZ... I paid $78 for center and $27 per tie rod. The Meyle I got is made in Germany... all of them.

[russiankid]

$110 for Lamfoerder arms with 750 bushings on BMA.
http://www.bmaparts.com/item.wws?sku=31121141097KIT&itempk=52714&mfr=LEMFORDER&weight=5.50&cookieID=2GS1CBQ2B2GS1CBQ2A&clientid=bmaparts

[Tiger]

Price for one?

[Ferret]

Price for one?

Lemfoerder kit in the uk works out at approx:
Thrust arm, w/bush: ~$120US /side
Track, alu: ~$80US /side
Track, steel: ~$100 /side
Drops : ~$30 /side

[Jon K]

Well, drove 68 miles on it so far since complaining about it... and I have no shimmy. Not a hint of it. Kind of confused. I think I'll take it up to the lift this weekend still and see if I can diagnose anything on it.