[HP Autosport]

Originally Posted by Tambohamilton

I'd get the rear wheel properly balanced before worrying about anything else. That much imbalance suggests a badly damaged rim or an out of spec tyre. You should be able to warranty the tyre.

We had a shop G20 330i that had a tire vibration since day 1. The dealer took care of it and balanced the tires 3 separate times and yet the vibration is still there. We narrowed it down to the tires since we installed similar tires on two other customer cars and both of them complain about the same issue. Tire manufacturer won't stand behind it kept pointing fingers.

[Rube]

Originally Posted by 2008_335

I'm so sick of this car!! Alignment on spec, m3 upper and lower control arms, new struts and shocks, new tires, new wheels, road force balanced 2x!!! I did just find out that my passenger side strut mount is blown and that it's causing knocking. The tech said it was completely blown. I've been searching all day to find out if strut mounts cause high speed shaking and have yet to find any reports. What is next!? Could it be strut mounts? Could it maybe be inner tie rods? I've had my wheels shaken for tie rod testing, is there anyway it's worn in such a way that would fail the "grab and shake" from different angles test?

My bearings are fine according to shop.

I didn’t read through the entire thread so I’m not sure if you checked this already, did you check that the rotors are sitting flush on the hub? Make sure there’s no rust or other crap on the hub face or rear of rotor which would cause it to not sit flush. Check the hub side of the wheels also make sure there’s nothing there that would prevent them from sitting flush on the hub.
Also any strange humming noises while cruising at highway speed?
Lastly replace the top hats if they are blown.

[2008_335]

Hi everyone. I recently changed both strut mounts, tie rods, double checked my alignment, and borrowed a friends wheels. The shaking still exists. The strut mounts made a huge difference in with the vibration I was having on idle and the tie rods made the steering feel a bit firmer, but the shaking still exists.

I have literally rebuilt my whole front end, minus my steering rack. New wheels, new tires, road force balanced 3x, new tie rods, new rotors/pads, new upper and lower control arms, new struts and shocks, new strut mounts, new end links. I have looked over the steering rack and subframe bolts several times.

This car sucks so bad.

[IllSic_Design]

Originally Posted by 2008_335

Hi everyone. I recently changed both strut mounts, tie rods, double checked my alignment, and borrowed a friends wheels. The shaking still exists. The strut mounts made a huge difference in with the vibration I was having on idle and the tie rods made the steering feel a bit firmer, but the shaking still exists.

I have literally rebuilt my whole front end, minus my steering rack. New wheels, new tires, road force balanced 3x, new tie rods, new rotors/pads, new upper and lower control arms, new struts and shocks, new strut mounts, new end links. I have looked over the steering rack and subframe bolts several times.

This car sucks so bad.

Maybe bad motor mounts? Not sure how anything in the front suspension would caused/fixed a vibration/shake at idle.

[Tambohamilton]

Originally Posted by IllSic_Design

Maybe bad motor mounts? Not sure how anything in the front suspension would caused/fixed a vibration/shake at idle.

+1

[W37V]

Originally Posted by 2008_335

Hi everyone. I recently changed both strut mounts, tie rods, double checked my alignment, and borrowed a friends wheels. The shaking still exists. The strut mounts made a huge difference in with the vibration I was having on idle and the tie rods made the steering feel a bit firmer, but the shaking still exists.

I have literally rebuilt my whole front end, minus my steering rack. New wheels, new tires, road force balanced 3x, new tie rods, new rotors/pads, new upper and lower control arms, new struts and shocks, new strut mounts, new end links. I have looked over the steering rack and subframe bolts several times.

This car sucks so bad.

If you are having vibration while moving, replace your wheel bearings regardless what shop says. They do go bad.

If you are feeling vibration at idle (while not moving), it is your engine / transmission mounts.

[Z3ROLAG]

I've read this entire post, and I have a fair amount of experience chasing down vibrations on BMWs. I'd be willing to bet you have bad wheel bearing(s) and/or a bent hub. Runner up would be build up behind the rotor. Have the runout checked or replace the bearings. If this doesn't work set the car on fire, walk away and never look back.

[2008_335]

Hey guys, I changed both wheel bearings, replaced upper control arms again and there has been no change. The shimmy is always there but the intensity of the shimmy changes constantly - sometimes worse than others. To date, I have replaced my upper and lower control arms with m3, new tie rods assembly, new PS fluid, new wheels all around, new tires, road forced balanced each, new shocks, struts, and oem strut mounts, tried a friends wheels too. The strut mounts were pretty blown and new ones eliminated all vibration I had at idle.
I have quadruple checked the steering rack bolts, they are properly torqued to spec.

I have a weird knocking sound when moving my steering wheel and letting go, it sounds like its coming from the steering column or the very top of the steering shaft that connects to the steering column. I believe I have play somewhere in these parts and that is what causes the shimmy at high speeds. I am going to check sometimes in the next few days (pretty busy atm), has anyone heard of these parts going bad and causing this? i watched 2 videos on YT that showed play in the steering column of an e90 and the sound made when adjusting the steering wheel sounds very close to mine.

Here are the two videos I watched:

(My sound is identical to this!)

[Z3ROLAG]

Originally Posted by 2008_335

Hey guys, I changed both wheel bearings, replaced upper control arms again and there has been no change. The shimmy is always there but the intensity of the shimmy changes constantly - sometimes worse than others. To date, I have replaced my upper and lower control arms with m3, new tie rods assembly, new PS fluid, new wheels all around, new tires, road forced balanced each, new shocks, struts, and oem strut mounts, tried a friends wheels too. The strut mounts were pretty blown and new ones eliminated all vibration I had at idle.
I have quadruple checked the steering rack bolts, they are properly torqued to spec.

I have a weird knocking sound when moving my steering wheel and letting go, it sounds like its coming from the steering column or the very top of the steering shaft that connects to the steering column. I believe I have play somewhere in these parts and that is what causes the shimmy at high speeds. I am going to check sometimes in the next few days (pretty busy atm), has anyone heard of these parts going bad and causing this? i watched 2 videos on YT that showed play in the steering column of an e90 and the sound made when adjusting the steering wheel sounds very close to mine.

Here are the two videos I watched:

(My sound is identical to this!)

Have you ever had the subframe lowered for maintenance, mods, or out of the car altogether? If so did you reuse the existing hardware or buy new?

[2008_335]

Originally Posted by Z3ROLAG

Have you ever had the subframe lowered for maintenance, mods, or out of the car altogether? If so did you reuse the existing hardware or buy new?

Subframe bolts were reused and are done tightened. I changed my steering shaft and the shimmy still persists. I am out of ideas. The only thing remaining up front is the steering rack itself. To date (in the last 4k miles), I have replaced wheels, tires, road force balanced, tie rods, front upper lower control arms (TRW), new struts and shocks, new strut mounts, and one wheel bearing. Every single one of these parts are torqued to spec and double checked, the two bolts that hold the steering rack are torqued as well. Aligned after each replacement.

The shaking persists, never has really improved a single bit. Sometimes it is not as bad, but it is always present. I am so frustrated.

[Z3ROLAG]

Originally Posted by 2008_335

Subframe bolts were reused and are done tightened. I changed my steering shaft and the shimmy still persists. I am out of ideas. The only thing remaining up front is the steering rack itself. To date (in the last 4k miles), I have replaced wheels, tires, road force balanced, tie rods, front upper lower control arms (TRW), new struts and shocks, new strut mounts, and one wheel bearing. Every single one of these parts are torqued to spec and double checked, the two bolts that hold the steering rack are torqued as well. Aligned after each replacement.

The shaking persists, never has really improved a single bit. Sometimes it is not as bad, but it is always present. I am so frustrated.

Hmm. What an exceptional situation. I bring up the subframe and bolts because of experience I've had on non-BMW cars in the past. Subframe geometry is very important, and the slightest variance can upset everything attached to it. Technically the bolts should not be reused, because they stretch, but I've reused them before without incident. The steering rack could be the culprit but I would think some of the other changes you made would've diminished what you're feeling. Unfortunately not being able to feel the car in real life makes it impossible to really say for sure what the culprit is.

[autoart]

Have you thought about putting a gopro around the car to see what's happening?

[MightyMouseTech]

You have not replaced the front hubs, one, or both could be bent.

[Tambohamilton]

How would that cause shaking?

[2008_335]

I changed one wheel bearing. I do not have any howling sound, but heard some bearing sound when spinning passenger side so that was changed.

I noticed that the shaking is significantly worse if I accelerate quicker to high speeds. Say, if I go WOT to get to 80 mph, the shaking is significantly worse while getting to 80mph (and it continues at cruise), vs me slowly making my way to 80 mph.

To reiterate, if I slowly make my way to speeds, the shaking is still there, but not as bad as if I were to accelerate quicker to get to that speed. The faster I accelerate, the more violent the shaking. There is a positive correlation between the violence of the steering wheel shake and the throttle I apply, lol.

Shaking is always terrible, which has prevented me from really stepping on the car so I am just now realizing all of this. When I got my trans changed, my mechanic told me my guibo was in bad condition and that it was changed out. I don't remember seeing the cost for it on invoice, but I took his word for the replacement.

The behavior of the shake makes me believe it is drive shaft related? I do not hear any banging or clicking coming from the bottom of the car when changing gears or anything like that. I do have a slight vibration on my center console arm rest but the shaking basically resonates throughout the car, especially through the steering wheel. I can see the passenger seat vibrate on the highway too.

Additionally, I went on a road trip (yes with the shaking), and the shaking was present the whole trip, but there were many times where it was not as violent. I am not entirely sure, but I believe that when I was going down hill, the shaking was not as bad as it is when going up hill or on a flat surface. I was on cruise control the whole trip. I had a transparent cup in my cup holder and I could see the drink violently bounce around the whole trip, and at the times I felt the shaking/vibrations lessen through the steering wheel, it was also visible through the drink so I am 100% sure that the shaking was variating.

Thank you to everyone who has taken time and replied on this thread, I really appreciate it.

[Tambohamilton]

Could be something on the driveshaft, for sure. Just because you feel it most through the steering wheel, doesn't necessarily mean it's coming from the steering or front wheels. The fact that you've changed so much of the front end with no significant effect on the shake, I think, means that it's not coming from the front.

I'd start with looking at the giubo and centre bearing on the driveshaft. See if there's any cracking or visible deformation on the giubo. Look for play in the centre bearing - you may need to pry it to get it to move.

Check everything you can lay a hand on for play and/or perished rubber, etc. You'll get it eventually, and the victory will be sweet (and hopefully not too expensive!)

[Jerain]

I recently changed my whole driveshaft due to clunk and vibration at various speeds. Mostly felt at the middle and rear of the car. Noticed a lot of grease on heatshield near the diff, the rear part that connects the driveshaft to the diff was detoriaring. Since that part is unserviceable I used an almost new but used driveshaft and clunk and vibration are gone..

[2008_335]

Originally Posted by Jerain

I recently changed my whole driveshaft due to clunk and vibration at various speeds. Mostly felt at the middle and rear of the car. Noticed a lot of grease on heatshield near the diff, the rear part that connects the driveshaft to the diff was detoriaring. Since that part is unserviceable I used an almost new but used driveshaft and clunk and vibration are gone..

Were you getting any steering wheel shake? I usually DIY, but removing the exhaust and possibly changing the center support bearing is way too much on jack stands. What did your shop charge you for the job?

[autoart]

Motor mounts? how are they?

[stelvio]

Originally Posted by 2008_335

I changed one wheel bearing. I do not have any howling sound, but heard some bearing sound when spinning passenger side so that was changed.

I noticed that the shaking is significantly worse if I accelerate quicker to high speeds. Say, if I go WOT to get to 80 mph, the shaking is significantly worse while getting to 80mph (and it continues at cruise), vs me slowly making my way to 80 mph.

To reiterate, if I slowly make my way to speeds, the shaking is still there, but not as bad as if I were to accelerate quicker to get to that speed. The faster I accelerate, the more violent the shaking. There is a positive correlation between the violence of the steering wheel shake and the throttle I apply, lol.

Shaking is always terrible, which has prevented me from really stepping on the car so I am just now realizing all of this. When I got my trans changed, my mechanic told me my guibo was in bad condition and that it was changed out. I don't remember seeing the cost for it on invoice, but I took his word for the replacement.

The behavior of the shake makes me believe it is drive shaft related? I do not hear any banging or clicking coming from the bottom of the car when changing gears or anything like that. I do have a slight vibration on my center console arm rest but the shaking basically resonates throughout the car, especially through the steering wheel. I can see the passenger seat vibrate on the highway too.

Additionally, I went on a road trip (yes with the shaking), and the shaking was present the whole trip, but there were many times where it was not as violent. I am not entirely sure, but I believe that when I was going down hill, the shaking was not as bad as it is when going up hill or on a flat surface. I was on cruise control the whole trip. I had a transparent cup in my cup holder and I could see the drink violently bounce around the whole trip, and at the times I felt the shaking/vibrations lessen through the steering wheel, it was also visible through the drink so I am 100% sure that the shaking was variating.

Thank you to everyone who has taken time and replied on this thread, I really appreciate it.

I read this whole thread but do not remember if this car is AWD or RWD?

When you changed the front struts did you reuse the pinch-bolts/nuts that tighten the shock to the hub?
Those are one-time use. If reused, they can 'tighten' to torque and feel good but in reality they are messed up because you're reusing them and they will not tighten the actual strut 100% [lesson I learned the hard way and having to sawzall them off]. If this happens and they do not tighten the strut 100% they will leave a little gap and the aligning nipple on the strut will bounce around left and right. This can lead to wearing a groove into your hub and even if you replace the pinch bolt/nut the strut will still move around in the groove it will have created in the hub.


I had a similar issue with an aftermarket coilover company, but their issue was that the alignment nipple was a round-head screw of a smaller diamater than OEM with a very low profile and because I took the suspension out a million times [different issue] to swap parts out to make the coilovers work, the round-head screw just messed up my hub.


I then replaced those round-head screws with M3-0.5 socket cap screws from Home Depot to match OEM thickness of the alignment nipple diamater and that definitely helped with the phantom vibrations I had.


I am not sure if this helps you specifically but this is the reason I do not ever take that pinch bolt out completely anymore unless I have a replacement; I just barely loosen it to get the strut out.

[Tambohamilton]

Lol. As if taking the bolt out fully vs barely loosening it [enough to get the strut out!] makes any difference at all. If the bolt is so messed up after removal that it won't tighten/clamp properly, something else is in play; probably rust. My 140k mile original bolts are still there and going fine, despite having been removed and reinstalled at least twice...no shaking/etc. That said, of course you *should* follow BMW spec for torque and replacement.

[2008_335]

Due to the pandemic I have barely driven my car. The shaking is still there. Going to start working on figuring this shaking out. It's so crazy that it has still not been resolved, even after 3 years of owning the car this thing still shakes. Crazy. I've done so much work to it, chasing this crap.