Discussion
Hi All,
I am experiencing a wheel vibration at about 50-60mph with my E39 Touring. I have checked the wheel balancing and the car has been to the dealer for KDS check but still no solution. The problem seems to be worse when cold and is only apparent when either accel or deccel but no braking or steering. Any advice gratefully recieved.
Thanks.
I am experiencing a wheel vibration at about 50-60mph with my E39 Touring. I have checked the wheel balancing and the car has been to the dealer for KDS check but still no solution. The problem seems to be worse when cold and is only apparent when either accel or deccel but no braking or steering. Any advice gratefully recieved.
Thanks.
Brake disc runout or a binding brake.
Trackrod end worn,or one of the suspension arm joints worn.Even a wheel bearing(this will come with a noise)
Compliance bushes worn or burst(sit in front lower arms and bolt to the subframe)They are hydrolic filled and if leak the fluid gives you a shake through the steering.
A buckeled wheel-quite common these days(how many wheel weights were used to balance the wheels)
A buldge in the tyre.
Defective engine mount.
Is the judder coming through the steering wheel?or is it through the pedals or seat?
Is it a diesel,if so you could be looking at an injector failure(excessive run off)injector missfires and causes vibrations
Trackrod end worn,or one of the suspension arm joints worn.Even a wheel bearing(this will come with a noise)
Compliance bushes worn or burst(sit in front lower arms and bolt to the subframe)They are hydrolic filled and if leak the fluid gives you a shake through the steering.
A buckeled wheel-quite common these days(how many wheel weights were used to balance the wheels)
A buldge in the tyre.
Defective engine mount.
Is the judder coming through the steering wheel?or is it through the pedals or seat?
Is it a diesel,if so you could be looking at an injector failure(excessive run off)injector missfires and causes vibrations
Edited by blackspider on Thursday 21st December 21:22
blackspider said:
Brake disc runout or a binding brake.
Trackrod end worn,or one of the suspension arm joints worn.Even a wheel bearing(this will come with a noise)
Compliance bushes worn or burst(sit in front lower arms and bolt to the subframe)They are hydrolic filled and if leak the fluid gives you a shake through the steering.
A buckeled wheel-quite common these days(how many wheel weights were used to balance the wheels)
A buldge in the tyre.
Defective engine mount.
Is the judder coming through the steering wheel?or is it through the pedals or seat?
Trackrod end worn,or one of the suspension arm joints worn.Even a wheel bearing(this will come with a noise)
Compliance bushes worn or burst(sit in front lower arms and bolt to the subframe)They are hydrolic filled and if leak the fluid gives you a shake through the steering.
A buckeled wheel-quite common these days(how many wheel weights were used to balance the wheels)
A buldge in the tyre.
Defective engine mount.
Is the judder coming through the steering wheel?or is it through the pedals or seat?
Blimey thats comprehensive, thanks. Vibration felt primarily through steering but whole car tends to vibrate. Will have to check wheel weights, not break problem all too familiar with those.
If it all checks out fine with your wheels/tyres which are the most common cause of vibration at 50-60 mph and the compliance bushes are good then have your engine management checked-I think you may have a missfire.You can get an idea of what the engine is doing if you watch it at idle-is it steady(nice smooth run)or do'es it have a small shake/rock/lurch/to it or do the revs change/pulse by about 100 rpm?
Ah, the old E39 problem..... a bloody nightmare to sort out too.... 
To be honest it can be so many things that it can get very expensive to sort out. If the wheel balancing is good then it is likely that the tyres and wheels are fine (though worth a visual check too). But do you have any suspension clanks or bangs? If so then wishbones and bushes might need checking. The drop links are worth having checked too. Also, dampers and suspension tops can cause this too - mine currently has a slightly loose front suspension top which results in exactly the same problem, but its not serious and I will get it sorted out at the start of next year.
But typically its a combination of dampers, wishbones, bushes or drop links - but worth getting the car off to a specialist to have it checked for the usual problems. Normally its pretty simple and easy to fix, but very annoying....
Its a very common fault and due to the lightweight and relatively complex suspension it blights the whole range including the 3 too....
To be honest it can be so many things that it can get very expensive to sort out. If the wheel balancing is good then it is likely that the tyres and wheels are fine (though worth a visual check too). But do you have any suspension clanks or bangs? If so then wishbones and bushes might need checking. The drop links are worth having checked too. Also, dampers and suspension tops can cause this too - mine currently has a slightly loose front suspension top which results in exactly the same problem, but its not serious and I will get it sorted out at the start of next year.
But typically its a combination of dampers, wishbones, bushes or drop links - but worth getting the car off to a specialist to have it checked for the usual problems. Normally its pretty simple and easy to fix, but very annoying....
Its a very common fault and due to the lightweight and relatively complex suspension it blights the whole range including the 3 too....
And common on 7 series as well 
Oddly I have looking here for the same problem
www.bimmer.info/forum/archive/index.php/t-9849.html
Oddly I have looking here for the same problem www.bimmer.info/forum/archive/index.php/t-9849.html
Edited by morningside on Thursday 21st December 21:41
Thanks for the advice guys. I get the impression that it's a complex problem as I have taken the car to the main dealer twice. First time they balanced the wheels, second for the KDS and each time they said it would be OK. I'm not sure it's in the dealers interest to ID this problem as it might take some time and would occupy the time of the technician who could be rushing the jobs out to reach target, sorry thats another rant.
Vibration at around 60mph is a very common problem with 5 and 7 series BMW.
It is usually caused by worn Thrust/Control Arm bushes.
This should solve the problem:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dl
Cheers,
Vano
It is usually caused by worn Thrust/Control Arm bushes.
This should solve the problem:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dl
Cheers,
Vano
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