E46 touring steering wheel shake

[andrewjgriff]

Hi
When I get above 60mph and also under hard braking there is a noticable shake from the steering wheel. I've recently had new front discs & pads and had the front suspension wishbones bushes replaced but the problem is still there.
Any ideas what else it could be? Wheel alignment maybe?
Thanks alot

[E30M3SE]

Wheel alignment does not usually cause wheel shake, wheel balance does.

Get you steering tie rods checked also.

[giw12]

Could also be a jamming caliper. Cured my wobble for sure

[soda]

andrewjgriff said:

Hi
I've recently had new front discs & pads

Sticky caliper gets my vote, can happen after new pads as the piston is pushed further into the caliper to accomodate them taking any dirt with it into the caliper.

Check if one wheel is hotter than the other after a drive, more brake dust may be evident as well.

[Theoldfm]

soda said:

Sticky caliper gets my vote, can happen after new pads as the piston is pushed further into the caliper to accomodate them taking any dirt with it into the caliper.

Check if one wheel is hotter than the other after a drive, more brake dust may be evident as well.

+1

I had the same and simply unbolted the caliper, cleaned and regreased the slider, pushed the rubber boot back around the piston, emery clothed the rusty bit (where the chrome had rusted off) regreased it and its been fine for 2 years now and no more wobble!

[RLK500]

Same with mine before I sold it. Sticking calipers, easy to spot as you will feel the heat coming from around the wheel area after a drive.

[soda]

Theoldfm said:

I had the same and simply unbolted the caliper, cleaned and regreased the slider, pushed the rubber boot back around the piston, emery clothed the rusty bit (where the chrome had rusted off) regreased it and its been fine for 2 years now and no more wobble!

Lucky you, I had to splash out on new seals for mine. Rubber boot was well past it.

[andrewjgriff]

Thanks all. Reckon it probably is the caliper as one wheel is really hot after a long drive and there's alot more brake dust on it than the other.

[andrewjgriff]

It was the caliper. Had lunched the disc and pad so needed a new set as well as two new calipers. Gutted as only put new discs and pads on it late last year!

[soda]

andrewjgriff said:

It was the caliper. Had lunched the disc and pad so needed a new set as well as two new calipers. Gutted as only put new discs and pads on it late last year!

2 new calipers? I thought only one was sticking.

[007singh]

Thats a shame mate, but wtih value line from the stealers, a saving can be had whilst retaining quality parts. If you are handy with the tools, you could also buy the items at value line prices in fit yourself - more savings.

I had similar issues in my 330d convertible, but it turned out to be wheel balance issue.

[andrewjgriff]

soda said:

2 new calipers? I thought only one was sticking.

I figured that with 118k miles up I didn't want the other one to do the same so replaced it as well as a precaution.

[Vladimir]

Just had new pads and disks on my 335d - only got 31k out of them then they started to warp. Must have got a "lemon" set as they usually do almost twice that. Oh well, shiny new pads and disks work well!

Caliper issues make the offending wheel much hotter than the rest. Usually makes a noise too.