bmpower 3 Report post Posted February 24, 2009 The car: Prefl 1986 e30 325i sedan manual. The problem: Under heavy acceleration in 1st gear i get a huge amount of vibration felt through the steering wheel, and seems to come from the front end somewhere. It only seems to happen in 1st and i can't feel it in other gears under heavy acceleration. I have recently changed the following, and i had the problem before any of this was done - it does seem slightely better with the new engine mounts however the problem is still there! Engine mounts (OEM) (old ones were completely seperated) Sway bar bushes (Nolathane) Viscous fan (OEM) Top radiator hose (OEM) Shocks (KYB all round) Strut bar fitted. Could anyone shed any light on possible sources of the problem? I still have to do my control arm bushes - and i haven't had a wheel alignment done yet, and won't until the control arms bushes are in. Thanks in advance! Kerry. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Forrest 35 Report post Posted February 24, 2009 What are the condition of the tyres like? I would see if an alignment makes any difference, control arm bushes would definitlely benefit also Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bmpower 3 Report post Posted February 24, 2009 What are the condition of the tyres like? I would see if an alignment makes any difference, control arm bushes would definitlely benefit also Tyres are 'ok', wouldn't say they were great though. the are slightly camber worn, but that is purely due to lowering the car -30mm, and having 17" wheels on it. I wouldn't have thought the tyre condition would make it vibrate in 1st gear though??? Or would it? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ashy_aye 3 Report post Posted February 24, 2009 are they aftermarket 17s? if they are check that they are correctly located on the hub they might need locating rings. . . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bmpower 3 Report post Posted February 24, 2009 are they aftermarket 17s? if they are check that they are correctly located on the hub they might need locating rings. . . Yup they are ac schnitzer replica's, and have 3mm spacers on the front. However while this makes sense, when they were first put on i didn't have the vibration. I think i might put the 14" bottlecaps on and give it a spin and see if i get the vibration to rule this out. Thanks, Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bmpower 3 Report post Posted February 25, 2009 Yup they are ac schnitzer replica's, and have 3mm spacers on the front. However while this makes sense, when they were first put on i didn't have the vibration. I think i might put the 14" bottlecaps on and give it a spin and see if i get the vibration to rule this out. Thanks, Ok so i put the bottlecaps on tonight and took it for a drive. And low and behold most of the vibration is gone - however there is still a bit still there?! Also after putting the bottlecaps back on my steering wheel is now not straight when the car is driving straight? I know i can easily straighten the wheel however why would it do that from just changing the 17's back to 14's?? Thanks. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jamez 2147483647 Report post Posted February 25, 2009 it wouldn't. well it shouldn't. maybe you have got so much play in the steering nothing is ever going to liine up? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Silver Fox 43 Report post Posted February 25, 2009 Check the rubber donut on the back of the gearbox, and the drive shaft bearing. Both can cause this problem. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bmpower 3 Report post Posted February 25, 2009 it wouldn't. well it shouldn't. maybe you have got so much play in the steering nothing is ever going to liine up? Very possible - how do i check to see if i have play in the rack/steering? And more to the point if i do how do i solve this? Thanks. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bmpower 3 Report post Posted February 25, 2009 Check the rubber donut on the back of the gearbox, and the drive shaft bearing. Both can cause this problem. What should i check for, just general breakdown of rubber?, adn how do i check the d/s bearing. Yes i am a noob! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Silver Fox 43 Report post Posted February 25, 2009 Get the car up and on stands and crawl underneath, look at the back of the gearbox where the dshaft bolts up, there's a large rubber ring bolted between the dshaft and the box. Take a torch and look for breaks in the rubber, and possibly bits of broken cord. Take the dshaft in your hands and turn and see if there's any movement around the donut, there shouldn't be. The centre bearing should hold the shaft firmly with a little movement, again look for tears in the rubber around the bearing, and excessive movement. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bmpower 3 Report post Posted February 25, 2009 Get the car up and on stands and crawl underneath, look at the back of the gearbox where the dshaft bolts up, there's a large rubber ring bolted between the dshaft and the box. Take a torch and look for breaks in the rubber, and possibly bits of broken cord. Take the dshaft in your hands and turn and see if there's any movement around the donut, there shouldn't be. The centre bearing should hold the shaft firmly with a little movement, again look for tears in the rubber around the bearing, and excessive movement. Thanks for that - will get the car up on friday as i'm not working and have a look underneath and see if everything is good or not! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
