Stumped by a 2005 325i

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camrydriver111

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I seek BITOGer wisdom,

I have a nasty problem with my 2005 325i. It has about 100k miles. When you drive it at high speeds (100 km/h or faster) I get steering wheel vibration very similar to one you would get when your wheels are unbalanced. It's only in the steering wheel, not the cabin. It gets worse with speeds, and it's always there. It happened after I rotated my tires. Since then I've done the following things (chronological order).

I don't want to get into why I did the following work, and make this post too long and complicated. All work was performed by professional mechanics, so no DIYer mistakes. I've been to 4 different shops: tire shop, alignment shop (tire shop doesn't align BMWs), two different independent mechanics. I am using OEM BMW wheels, and OEM tire size.

-tire balancing (no change)
-tire balancing and rotation (no change)
-changed front control arm bushings (they were worn) (no change)
-changed front rotors and pads (no change)
-4 new Continental tires (no change)
-4 wheel alignment (no change)
-another tire balancing (no change)
-tire rotation and balancing, wheel hubs were checked (no change)
-changed both tie rods and alignment (no change)
-two new OEM BMW wheels in the front (slight improvement, vibration starts at 100 km/h instead of 80 km/h)

At this point I think there may be two possibilities: bad tires, or some other suspension problem?

I doubt it's the tires because it would mean all 4 of my old tires were bad, and all 4 of my new tires are bad. I also bought good tires.

The only sort of clue I got was the tire shop mechanic said my rear trailing arm bushings and other rear multilink bushings were worn. He said my front suspension is good but the rear has worn parts. Can worn rear trailing arm bushing cause high speed steering wheel vibration? An independent mechanic who also serviced my car doesn't agree with that diagnosis though. The car is RWD BTW.

Another possibility is that my old wheels were bad since there was some improvement with the new ones, and I just got a bad balance on the new ones.

Maybe I should have replaced my control arms entirely, and not just the bushings?

I'm thinking I should replace my rear trailing arm bushings, and replace the rear shocks to stop rear suspension travel, since it should be relatively inexpensive. At this point I do not want to guess and replace things, but I don't have any other leads.
 
Is it possible they didn't clean behind the rotors so they're sitting slightly cock-eyed in there, which the wheel is bolted up against leaving it slightly wobbling down the road?

Otherwise maybe a bad wheel bearing.
 
I forgot to mention the wheel bearings were checked, all mounting surfaces were checked, rotors taken off to check the hubs.

Professional mechanic opinions are:

Tire shop mechanic: rear multi-link bushings
Independent mechanic #1: bad tires
Independent mechanic #2: does not know
 
I was going to say a broken belt that doesn't show itself until spinning faster than a tire balancing machine... But if you got new tires that wouldn't be it...
 
I had this happen on my Mazda Protege! It ended up being a bent rim. The rim was in shape enough to balance properly on the average machine, but I finally took it to a roadforce machine and it wouldn't balance. We started looking at it on the rotational surface and when looking really close, we noticed the lip of the rim was moving ever so slightly. Replaced the rim, shaking gone! it sounds like you still have a bad rim on the car.
 
Originally Posted By: EdwardC
Originally Posted By: SatinSilver
Yip, yip. Here's a locator for the Hunter Roadforce balancer:

http://www.hunter.com/gsp9700


I was wondering the same, whether any of the balancing were performed on a road force balancer.


Yes, one of the balancings were road-force.

The car has 16" wheels with 205/55R16 tires so it has a pretty big sidewall.
 
Originally Posted By: camrydriver111
Can worn rear trailing arm bushing cause high speed steering wheel vibration? An independent mechanic who also serviced my car doesn't agree with that diagnosis though. The car is RWD BTW.

Of course the rear bushing can can cause vibration the car cannot be properly aligned with worn parts its that simple. On cars with adjustable rear the alignment "squares" the suspension with a worn bushing the geometry is changing all the time.

One of the very first things I learned as a young mechanic is replace worn parts or repair known issues before continuing with any diagnosis.
That's auto mechanics 101.
 
What brand front lower control arm bushings were used? Some are garbage.
 
Last edited:
Have you had the steering components checked? PS pump and rack? I have seen them create some strange symptoms before.
 
Originally Posted By: MCompact
What brand front lower control arm bushings were used? Some are garbage.


Meyle HD

Originally Posted By: Blkstanger
Have you had the steering components checked? PS pump and rack? I have seen them create some strange symptoms before.


I don't think so.

Originally Posted By: Trav
Originally Posted By: camrydriver111
Can worn rear trailing arm bushing cause high speed steering wheel vibration? An independent mechanic who also serviced my car doesn't agree with that diagnosis though. The car is RWD BTW.

Of course the rear bushing can can cause vibration the car cannot be properly aligned with worn parts its that simple. On cars with adjustable rear the alignment "squares" the suspension with a worn bushing the geometry is changing all the time.

One of the very first things I learned as a young mechanic is replace worn parts or repair known issues before continuing with any diagnosis.
That's auto mechanics 101.


I see. Thanks for the reply.
 
Im on an e46 forum for my bmw and ive read before that e46 do not like meyle bushings. Multiple people reported "clunking and shaking". When i replaced mine a few months ago i used dorman brand from AAP and havnt had any issues. I know you since you had yours replaced but it is possible new parts are faulty.
 
Originally Posted By: rickmeseke
Im on an e46 forum for my bmw and ive read before that e46 do not like meyle bushings. Multiple people reported "clunking and shaking". When i replaced mine a few months ago i used dorman brand from AAP and havnt had any issues. I know you since you had yours replaced but it is possible new parts are faulty.


Interesting. I just found those threads as well. I always thought Meyle HD were supposed to be the best.

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=587245
http://www.e46fanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=832270
 
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