An alignment which is off a bit can cause that type of shake.

 

We checked alignment, also, actually no pull to the right or left, the car goes straight

 

A cv joint going bad can give a vibration like that. Is the car xdrive?

 

no, sDrive. We have checked both front and rear all components in their tolerance values.

 

Was it vibrating before you changed to Hankook tires?

 

I'm running out of ideas then. However you could try front to rear rotation, if tire sizes are the same.

 

I initially thought flat-spotting of the tires, but doubtful on two different sets.

 

Yes, I think tires are off the list. Tires create flat spots if they sit for a long time, but I am driving the car every day.

If the car sits more than 4-5 hours (the car is completely cooled down), It starts doing it more.

The car is on 100.000miles now and also has chain noise, turbo whistle. So, today we start to strip engine off from the car.

We will test every possible component and change them all. I am focusing on driveshaft components.

Also, I will change shock absorbers too.

Here are some photos :rofl:

 

By doing a rotation you could eliminate or identify the wheels and/or tires as a cause.

 

I did it a couple of times with new and old tire sets. No luck. We checked with all possible wheel positions.

 

OK, here is update.

We put together the car. Also, we did some heavy maintenance jobs.

- Timing Chain,
- Injectors (Cleaned and Calibrated), also some parts of the engine replaced
- Driveshaft guibos
- Front shock absorbers (They were dead :rofl: )
- Transmission mounts
- Wheels Rebalanced and aligned
- Control Arm Bushings (forgot to mention)

BUT,

In the morning first 20-30 miles steering wheel is shaking and front of the car is still shimmy.

While the comfort and acceleration of the car are increased very well, the problem still persists.

Any ideas? :dunno:

 

I have the same problem on my 99 540i. Same exact speed range steering wheel shakes and there is a slight vibration you can feel.

As my car has more pressing problems at the moment it's on the back burner for me. However I do remember finding a thread from some other guy with an e39 and the same problem. For him it turned out to be something wrong with the bushings in... The control arms?... Maybe. Something about gunked up oil and debries getting stuck in them. Maybe if you find the thread it will help.

Sent from my G9 PRO using Tapatalk

 

I have the same problem on my 99 540i. Same exact speed range steering wheel shakes and there is a slight vibration you can feel.

As my car has more pressing problems at the moment it's on the back burner for me. However I do remember finding a thread from some other guy with an e39 and the same problem. For him it turned out to be something wrong with the bushings in... The control arms?... Maybe. Something about gunked up oil and debries getting stuck in them. Maybe if you find the thread it will help.

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I forgot to mention but the first thing we did is changing control arm bushings if you mean this part (an example is attached)

All parts that we changed could cause this problem but none of them is the right solution.

It is really interesting that there is no change after this effort. I mean the car is still doing the same thing in the same way.

we have also checked if a brake is stucking in the mornings, but no luck.

 

I know you mentioned that you checked for stuck brakes but do one thing. After driving around for a while with it shaking touch the wheel bolts and check how hot they are. If one side is a lot hotter then the others I would suspect sticking brakes.

With what you have done already, it might be the wheel bearings or CV joints but I***8217;m guessing those were already checked

 

I know you mentioned that you checked for stuck brakes but do one thing. After driving around for a while with it shaking touch the wheel bolts and check how hot they are. If one side is a lot hotter then the others I would suspect sticking brakes.

With what you have done already, it might be the wheel bearings or CV joints but I'm guessing those were already checked

Two days before I have checked both discs after 2-3 minutes of driving, I found the right one %100 hotter than left.

Although we have already checked brakes on the lift there was no problem with braking, this was an obvious clue.

so, We rebuilt caliper and check all brake components carefully and replaced brake hoses today.

BUT NO LUCK, after 2-3 hours of sitting, my steering wheel shaking like crazy for 15-20min of first driving then shaking is going away, almost to zero,

I am totally lost again

 

UPDATE:

This morning, before I hit the road, I got my tires pressured up to 45psi, waited a while, then drop 35psi, to eliminate If there is any flat-spotting.

So, no shimmy and shake on the same road every morning I passed.

So my conclusion is that my Hankook 225/55/18 tires, creating flat spots for 4-5 hours of sitting. Day or night if the car sits 4-5 hours, getting out of round

But how can this be possible? Outside temp here is 15C in the night, 25C in day.

 

Should think the brake discs

 

This right here is where you should look. I have seen a lot of people scratch their heads about this issue, and I've seen it hundreds of times in the past, both when I was a mechanic and even after, helping others with the same issue.

You've ruled out all the other culprits, but warped brake rotors will cause this issue, your best bet is replacement. For the little extra money, some may argue against, or for the value, but I prefer to have the rotors cryogenically(sp?) treated. I had these on my former 328i and those rotors were on there for 100K miles, replaced them around 50K and sold with the same rotors, and this included a lot of trips around the mountains.

 

What do you mean by the sentence ***8220;No vibration and shake on 50 mph after 6 months***8221;? Do you mean that after 6 months there was a solution at least temporarily? Some of this seems to make no sense at all. There***8217;s no reason that adding a passenger should have a noticeable effect.

 

What do you mean by the sentence "No vibration and shake on 50 mph after 6 months"? Do you mean that after 6 months there was a solution at least temporarily? Some of this seems to make no sense at all. There's no reason that adding a passenger should have a noticeable effect.

I mean the latest tire shop did perfect balancing. This guy finds the exact spot for the balancing, but it does not solve the morning issue. The car going silky smooth in the rest of the day. This is what I missed so much.

The amplitude of the shaking by numbers:

In the past
Mornings-> Shakes like 10 - Rest of the Day> Shakes like 3

Now
Mornings-> Shakes like 3 - Rest of the Day> No Shake

With Passenger
Mornings-> Shakes like 5 - Rest of the Day> No Shake

 

BMW tech here,,,after reading this post a couple of times I think I***8217;m more confused,,,question why did the last tires guy put duct tape on the hub to center the wheels, do we have aftermarket rims?,,,next question did you ever replace the front brake disc and are they aftermarket because they could be out of balance,,,,next question did you ever check the steering column shaft it has a joint make sure it***8217;s not worn out,,,,also has this car ever been in a accident in the front end?

 

BMW tech here,,,after reading this post a couple of times I think I'm more confused,,,question why did the last tires guy put duct tape on the hub to center the wheels, do we have aftermarket rims?,,,next question did you ever replace the front brake disc and are they aftermarket because they could be out of balance,,,,next question did you ever check the steering column shaft it has a joint make sure it's not worn out,,,,also has this car ever been in a accident in the front end?

First of all, Now the steering wheel is shimmy around 50mph only in the mornings for 10 minutes of driving.

1. My front wheel hubs are aftermarket because wheels come out really easily, they wrap a few turn duct type to the center them and eliminate any centering issue.

2. Discs area aftermarket but we balanced them with a flashing balance machine while wheels on the car.

3. We check the column shaft a couple of times if there is any space or loose but it seems in a good condition.

4. Yes, the car has an accident from the front three years before but the BMW dealer has fixed the car with all OEM parts.

As I said I feel like front tires flat and the car wobbling for 10 minutes of driving in the morning. Then shimmy and wobbling disappear.

Driveshaft and guibos are fine.
Brakes are not stuck.
Going neutral, accelerating, braking doesn't change anything.

No floor vibration, just wobbling hard. Can it be related to the EPS software problem? Or steering box itself.

 

Ok,,,so I guess you have factory rims,,,,and you said aftermarket hubs and that the wheels come off really easy and that why they but duct tape,,,,doesn***8217;t that just sound crazy,,,that***8217;s not the correct fix,,,,someone should measure the wheel hub and rim and get the correct spacer so the wheel will center up on to the hub,,,also I have used aftermarket hubs and they are not different then factory in diameter,,,and you have stock rims correct no aftermarket because that could be you problem aftermarket rim not centering up on the hub.

 

Ok,,,so I guess you have factory rims,,,,and you said aftermarket hubs and that the wheels come off really easy and that why they but duct tape,,,,doesn't that just sound crazy,,,that's not the correct fix,,,,someone should measure the wheel hub and rim and get the correct spacer so the wheel will center up on to the hub,,,also I have used aftermarket hubs and they are not different then factory in diameter,,,and you have stock rims correct no aftermarket because that could be you problem aftermarket rim not centering up on the hub.

Yes, my rims are OEM, and you are right it is not a solution but I believe that it doesn't make a significant difference. I cannot remember numbers but the rims center diameter and the hub center diameter are in between tolerance values. Anyway, he solved the balance issue while tires are hot.

This morning was the same, the car was just wobbling for 10 minutes then everything was smooth.

(BTW, I let the engine fully warm before hitting the road no change)

This is really obvious front wheels are becoming imbalanced after 4-5 hours of sitting.

Tomorrow, I will go to tire (very near to my house) without warming my tires and let them check. If a defection occurs after sitting, they can find I thing.

Also, I have one more test to be sure, I will put the car to the lift and let it sit overnight without tires are touching to the ground.

And I think I am not alone :beerchug:
https://www.evoxforums.com/threads/tire-suggestions.292241/