Can you guys help with this vibration?

[rnrn]

OK,

95 540 auto with 89K. When I am going 30+ mph on a curve and braking and hit any larger than average pot holes or bumps I will feel the steering wheel shake as well as the front of the car. Pretty scary feeling as if I am about to lose control.

Next, once I am around 90 mph+ I will feel the fron start to vibrate again. Not violent like above, but enough to know not to go that fast again.

I am new to these cars but have read about control arms, sway bar links. Or is this a steering or wheel issue?

Thanks,

Ross

[SharkmanBMW]

I have had numerous shakes in my 540i...
many have been wheel balancing, some have not.
I had the dogbones in the rear replaced last summer and have been smooth in the rear since.

I had my wheels balanced again today and it seems to have fixed my small front end shake, don't forget that every day as you drive the wheels change and require re-balancing
I have felt that mega shake like you, but all my front end parts check out!
I too would like to know what it turns out to be!
good luck!

[Scott C]

I had a terrible (well, fairly loud) knocking on mine (95 525) which was corrected (95%) by ensuring that the control arms (the bushing bolt) were tight (gee, I wonder who did not tighten that enough) and by replacing the shocks (at 91K). I have a little noise on the driver side currently but it is vastly improved...
Scott

[Robin-535im]

OK,

95 540 auto with 89K. When I am going 30+ mph on a curve and braking and hit any larger than average pot holes or bumps I will feel the steering wheel shake as well as the front of the car. Pretty scary feeling as if I am about to lose control.

Next, once I am around 90 mph+ I will feel the fron start to vibrate again. Not violent like above, but enough to know not to go that fast again.

I am new to these cars but have read about control arms, sway bar links. Or is this a steering or wheel issue?

Thanks,

Ross

First is definitely the control arms, that might fix both issues.

Tire balance and general health are supremely important in getting a perfectly smooth ride. After you do the control arms you should get the front end aligned and balanced at a good shop. Look for a place with a "Hunter" brand machine that can do road force balancing.

Bad control arm bushings (upper control arms are also called thrust arms) can cause all sorts of vibrations, usually at medium speeds, often under braking or cornering. Fixing these will take you a big part of the way to having a better ride, though there are always the second order things like shocks and other bushings (lower control arm, ball joints, pitman arm bushing, sway links, collar nut) that can make the front end less than perfect. But you have plenty of time for all that... :) You say you're new to the E34... 2 years from now you will know everything there is to know about getting rid of shimmies, after you've had the chance to go through the whole system chasing that darn little bit of shimmy still there...

HTH