MOT should i be worried ?

[singhters]

My mot is coming up im just a little worried.

Basically when im driving say 40 mph + i can feel a vibration in my steering wheel and it begins to shake on some surfaces it does on others it dont if I go faster then it increases im thinking its either a warped disc or bushes if its bushes is it hard to change by myself do i need special tools to do it with ?

thanks.

btw its a e36 1992 bmw 320i coupe

[trickywoo]

Is there also 'clonking'?

If its just vibration it could be a wheel out of balance.

A warped disk would be felt more under braking than just going along.

If its not a balance issue its likely to be a wishbone fault (ball joint or bush). Quite often its cheaper + easier to replace the whole wishbone than individual bushes.

Edited by trickywoo on Monday 6th August 11:51

[Zhead]

have you kerbed a rim or hit a pot hole? Bushes, ball joints and discs rarely cause vibration unless they are really knackered or about to fall off. Clonking (apm) and vague feel in the steering is more a symptom of this, brakes will fade and feel snatchy. Worn shock absorbers can have a similar effect to worn bushes esp on rough surfaces. So my guess is a wheel has gone out of balance or a tyre has blistered, check inside walls as well. If you have a friendly MOT station they may do a quick pre check on car to see if there is a problem. None of the above is difficult to replace, if you have the right tools. Good luck, Z

[clonmult]

My e36 coupe would have failed last friday due (in part) to a worn nsf ball joint. No obvious additional noises from the front end, but the handling was starting to go "off" a bit.

The total bill for replacing the whole lower arm, ball joint (and bushes for both front arms) is around £140. Not too bad really .....

(but it brings back memories of the blasted ball joints on the ex's Clio, which seemed to need a ball joint done every year)