Why is the steering wheel wobbling?

[Mordan]

Hello,

My problem if that is indeed a problem. The steering wheel does not vibrate. But if you keep your hands off the wheel, it wobbles left right left right left right.

Should I do anything special?

Cheers

[wool]

Hell Yes! Don't drive the car until you inspect the front end. Does the car itself drift back and forth, or just the steering wheel? Jack it up - grap the front wheel and pull and push it to see if Tie rods and control arms are loose, check for leaks and wear arounf the steering box and rack.

Wool

[genphreak]

To be more specific, the main culprit is usually thrust arm (upper control arm) bushes.

After that the ball joints in the arms may also be bad as wool said. After that comes tie rod ends and people fitting non-e34 rims (e39 etc) that don't centre perfectly on e34 hubs without 74.1-72.56mm hub-centric rings.

Did the PO live/work somewhere that the roads were bad?

[Mr._Graybeard]

Could be there's a belt separation in a front tire. That can produce a left-right wobble that's visible even at parking-lot speeds.

[Interceptor]

Here's a few things to try:
1. Tighten the big nut above the pedals on the steering wheel shaft.
2. Adjust the steering box so there is no play in the centre
3. Rebalance your wheels
4. Check for worn components in the front suspension