EvasionOfTruth
03-18-2004, 03:38 PM
My roommate just bought a 95 318 sedan, when going 40 mph or above the steering wheel shakes to the right and left. When I first drove it I was shocked at how bad the shake was, it seems to be coming from the front right(and a slight knocking sound). Although when you let go of the steering wheel during this the car still tracks straight.
He took the car and had the wheels balanced, twice actually, with no luck. We thought that a belt might have come loose in the tire so we rotated the tires again with no luck. I haven't had a chance to get under the car yet to check out the ball joints and control arm bushings.
The question what method of replacement should we go for? He needs new brakes and rotors among some other things but his main concern is the vibration/shaking. Being on limited funds he wants to fix that then go at the rest of the normal wear items.
I've done some reading in the forums and noticed this issue a good amount, so any insight would greatly be appreciated. Personally I have a Subaru and never had this issue or driven a car that had it. The 318 has 123k by the way.
Thanks in advance,
Buster
PS. He took the car to Merchants and they quoted him $1400 to replace the brakes all around and both control arms(stating the ball joints couldn't be replaced and new arms had to be bought). They even tried to sell him a new sway bar endlink they said "The grease fitting broke off and you need a new one since it's dry", from my experience I've never seen an endlink with a grease fitting.
He took the car and had the wheels balanced, twice actually, with no luck. We thought that a belt might have come loose in the tire so we rotated the tires again with no luck. I haven't had a chance to get under the car yet to check out the ball joints and control arm bushings.
The question what method of replacement should we go for? He needs new brakes and rotors among some other things but his main concern is the vibration/shaking. Being on limited funds he wants to fix that then go at the rest of the normal wear items.
I've done some reading in the forums and noticed this issue a good amount, so any insight would greatly be appreciated. Personally I have a Subaru and never had this issue or driven a car that had it. The 318 has 123k by the way.
Thanks in advance,
Buster
PS. He took the car to Merchants and they quoted him $1400 to replace the brakes all around and both control arms(stating the ball joints couldn't be replaced and new arms had to be bought). They even tried to sell him a new sway bar endlink they said "The grease fitting broke off and you need a new one since it's dry", from my experience I've never seen an endlink with a grease fitting.
