[335boston]

Hello all , I'm having trouble fixing a problem on my FBO 335i . Let me give you some background . When I first bought the car little over 2 years ago I was in love with the cars steering it was tight responsive and very sharp , especially around tight turns at speed, the car then was completely stock and on Michelin pilot super sports . Since then I'm now FBO and have an m3 away bar , lowered on Dinan springs, just recently bought brand new Michelin sport as3+ tires, and a 4 wheel Alignment. over the last 2 months the cars steering has felt super light , so light that I don't feel confident in taking turns as high of speed as I usually did before. Ive replaced the top strut hats when I threw the springs on , I've also replace both tie rods with Myle HD rods before the alignment . I also had my mechanic who is an Audi master tech who also owned an n54 , look at all control arm bushings and all suspension components before doing the alignment just to make sure everything checked out . I've search over the forms a bit and no one seems to have a light steering feel that I'm having so I'm sort of lost on what to do. I have noticed there are a couple of degrees of "slop" in the steering where you can turn the wheel a bit without the wheels moving , I know that has to do with the steering shaft but can that also be the cause of the loose steering all together ? It's just odd that I've done all this suspension work , and the steering wheel was 50 times tighter when I first threw in the m3 away bar (this was my first suspension mod on the car) . Please if anyone could shed some light I would appreciate it as the steering was my favorite part of the car ! Thank you in advance !



Also as a side note I have noticed that the steering decently tight when stopped (not as tight as before) but once you start moving the tightness disappears , the steering is still responsive (even with the small degree of slop) but is seriously light !

[335boston]

Bump please help!

[Boosted12a]

Sounds like the preload needs to be adjusted. I haven't done it yet so I'm not a ton of help but I have the same thing going on. Everything suspension/tie rod wise is good on my car but it's light and about 1/2" slop in the wheel. Some people have the bolt on the lower universal come loose on the steering collum but that isn't my case. I have an do so I can't get to the adjuster untill I drop my sub frame. I thing it's different on rwd tho. Not sure. I serched on duck duck go and found a few occurrences of the preload needing to be adjusted

[335boston]

Originally Posted by Boosted12a

Sounds like the preload needs to be adjusted. I haven't done it yet so I'm not a ton of help but I have the same thing going on. Everything suspension/tie rod wise is good on my car but it's light and about 1/2" slop in the wheel. Some people have the bolt on the lower universal come loose on the steering collum but that isn't my case. I have an do so I can't get to the adjuster untill I drop my sub frame. I thing it's different on rwd tho. Not sure. I serched on duck duck go and found a few occurrences of the preload needing to be adjusted

Hey thanks for the reply ! What exactly is "preload"? Might be a noob question ahha but I never heard of it before other than to "pre load" torque on some components while installing .

[JJaber]

Originally Posted by 335boston

Hey thanks for the reply ! What exactly is "preload"? Might be a noob question ahha but I never heard of it before other than to "pre load" torque on some components while installing .

Currently having the same issue with mine and it all started after I got an alignment at the dealer. Since then, I’ve done the m3 control arms, Meyle HD tie rods, new Endlinks and a new alignment and it feels much better but not nearly as sharp as it was before the dealer did the initial alignment.

[Boosted12a]

https://www.bimmerforums.co.uk/threa...t-heavy.55956/

I think this thread explains it ok

[335boston]

Originally Posted by Boosted12a

https://www.bimmerforums.co.uk/threa...t-heavy.55956/

I think this thread explains it ok

Thank you for the post ! I'll take a peek now !

[335boston]

I found this post as well! It seems there is a e-12 screen that gets loose over time that can cause my exact symptoms . I'm going to try today to get to it and tighten to see if anything happens! https://www.e90post.com/forums/showt...125&page=2

[335boston]

Update : tighten the bolt in the post above , there's also a second bolt that connects at the top which I also tightened , steering felt slightly better but not what it used to be . I'm sort of leaning Towards the tires now, I did go from PSS to A/S 3+ (all seasons) and I knew there was going to be a slight decrease in handling but not this drastic . Before the steering was so amazingly tight and now it's lighter than my buds gti , driving me insane lol.

[335boston]

Another update , threw on my old rims / tires (PSS) and the the steering was heavier and more responsive but still have that play and was not at stiff as before I'm starting to suspect the steering shaft? Any input?

[lookalikehuuh]

seems like the difference in tires is what is making the difference for you. Pilot Super Sports are much stickier than the all season AS3+ so you will lose some of that grip and confidence of course since you are gaining all weather performance and nearly double the mileage warranty.

[335boston]

Originally Posted by lookalikehuuh

seems like the difference in tires is what is making the difference for you. Pilot Super Sports are much stickier than the all season AS3+ so you will lose some of that grip and confidence of course since you are gaining all weather performance and nearly double the mileage warranty.

Thank you for the reply ! I agree that the PSS are much sticker and grippy but I'm still having that same "play" in the first movement of the steering , The steering wheel is also still lighter than what it was before I did the alignment and tie rods do you think the steering shaft could be the culprit

[lookalikehuuh]

Originally Posted by 335boston

Thank you for the reply ! I agree that the PSS are much sticker and grippy but I'm still having that same "play" in the first movement of the steering , The steering wheel is also still lighter than what it was before I did the alignment and tie rods do you think the steering shaft could be the culprit

Do you trust the shop that you visited? I suspect they maybe left something loose on the front like the tie rod ends or something else that is causing that "loose" initial feeling on the front end. If possible I would lift the car up from the front and give each wheel a good shake as well as verify all the nuts/bolts/tie rod ends are nice and snug.

Did the alignment shop give you print out on what the alignment specs were when they were done?

[335boston]

Originally Posted by lookalikehuuh

Do you trust the shop that you visited? I suspect they maybe left something loose on the front like the tie rod ends or something else that is causing that "loose" initial feeling on the front end. If possible I would lift the car up from the front and give each wheel a good shake as well as verify all the nuts/bolts/tie rod ends are nice and snug.

Did the alignment shop give you print out on what the alignment specs were when they were done?

Hey ! Thanks for the reply . The person who installed the tie rods and did the alignment is actually a close friend of mine and we did them together one night after work , saw and helped him do them so I know they are in good. I also checked them the other day when I swapped the pss on for a second . I'm assuming it's the the steering shaft u joint that are starting to go bad since it's the only other explanation now . I also checked all the control arm bushings , ball joints , sway bar links and bushings when I had the tires off too . Hate this problem as the steering feels so off .

[213e90n51]

Whats your power steering fluid change interval? Do u use ch11s? And where do u get it changed?

[lookalikehuuh]

Originally Posted by 213e90n51

Whats your power steering fluid change interval? Do u use ch11s? And where do u get it changed?

I REALLY REALLY doubt that old fluid has anything to do with any of his issues.

[335boston]

I did happen to check the fluid while this was all happening , looked clean and didn't even need to top off that much.


I'm suspecting this part is my issue:

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...ft-32306769157

Only thing is I can't find a DIY on it and I don't feel comfortable shelling out $380 on a part that I don't fully know will fix the issue .

[Tambohamilton]

It's easy to test that part; put your fingers at the telescopic joint, have someone wiggle the steering wheel (steering lock disengaged!), making sure they're applying torque one way then the other. If you can feel one part moving relative to the other, it's bad. If both parts move in unison, it's good.

My car has a solid tube there, rather than a telescopic part...not sure why. Maybe it's a Europe/UK thing.

[JJaber]

Quick update - I tightened the hell out of that bolt on the steering shaft and the car feels MUCH better. Cannot believe what a difference it made, honestly.

My advice: Turn the wheel clockwise so the screw is facing up, and give it all you got. I wouldn't say mine was loose before, but I managed to get another 1/2 turn and it really tightened up the steering response - especially at low speed, which is where I was having the most problems.

[335boston]

Originally Posted by JJaber

Quick update - I tightened the hell out of that bolt on the steering shaft and the car feels MUCH better. Cannot believe what a difference it made, honestly.

My advice: Turn the wheel clockwise so the screw is facing up, and give it all you got. I wouldn't say mine was loose before, but I managed to get another 1/2 turn and it really tightened up the steering response - especially at low speed, which is where I was having the most problems.

Hey man happy you it straightened out ! Interesting how you say your was at low speeds mine is at high speeds that it's more prevalent.

[JJaber]

Originally Posted by 335boston

Hey man happy you it straightened out ! Interesting how you say your was at low speeds mine is at high speeds that it's more prevalent.

Investigating this further: If I form a tight grip around the bottom section where I tightened the lower screw and move it around it a bit, its VERY tight. However, if do the same on the other end of the shaft, I feel *some* play. However, that screw is much harder to get to.

Might need to order a wrench because as I was trying to get my ratchet in there, the bit fell off and into the the abyss. Anyone know what size wrench I would need? E10?

[Tambohamilton]

E12, I think.

The end at the steering column will have some play, because the tip of the steering column isn't supported past the telescopic section of the column.