E46 330conv - steering light..lacks feel..front bushes ?

[V8_chitty]

Just got my nearest and dearest a 2000yr 330ciSE conv which I have to say is a very nice car. Driving and comparing to my new 520d touring, or in fact my old 523touring I can't help thinking the steering ain't wot it should be...

My 5's tend to load up a little in corners giving that reassuring feel and surely a 3 should be better? At the moment it feels a bit vague, slightly loose and too light.

Possible causes, tracking, front bushes? or is this normal and I've gotten used to my big barges....

Any suggestions? Diagnostic routes? or even opinions from someone who's driven both...

Thanks!

[Shropshiremike]

V8_chitty said:

Just got my nearest and dearest a 2000yr 330ciSE conv which I have to say is a very nice car. Driving and comparing to my new 520d touring, or in fact my old 523touring I can't help thinking the steering ain't wot it should be...

My 5's tend to load up a little in corners giving that reassuring feel and surely a 3 should be better? At the moment it feels a bit vague, slightly loose and too light.

Possible causes, tracking, front bushes? or is this normal and I've gotten used to my big barges....

Any suggestions? Diagnostic routes? or even opinions from someone who's driven both...

Thanks!

Might have been before it got the revised steering as trialled on the Compact - that came in early '01 I believe. Certainly the e46 328 steering was a lot lighter than much later ( after 2001 ) 330s.

Certainly worth checking the tracking though

[amokwa]

FYI

Front wishbone bushes deteriorate and will need replacing given the age of the car it is worth a check.

[V8_chitty]

Thanks guys,

Re. Wishbone bushes - Is there a check for play or movement (if so, how much or is it obvious if they're U/S)? and roughly how much to get fixed?

Chitty.

[mikez328]

V8_chitty said:

Just got my nearest and dearest a 2000yr 330ciSE conv which I have to say is a very nice car. Driving and comparing to my new 520d touring, or in fact my old 523touring I can't help thinking the steering ain't wot it should be...

My 5's tend to load up a little in corners giving that reassuring feel and surely a 3 should be better? At the moment it feels a bit vague, slightly loose and too light.

Possible causes, tracking, front bushes? or is this normal and I've gotten used to my big barges....

Any suggestions? Diagnostic routes? or even opinions from someone who's driven both...

Thanks!

Check the tyre sizes. Make sure that the front tyres are identical makes/sizes. Same for the rears. On such a low powered car it doesn't matter if the fronts are of different manufacture to the rears!!

[chrisx666]

V8_chitty said:

Thanks guys,

Re. Wishbone bushes - Is there a check for play or movement (if so, how much or is it obvious if they're U/S)? and roughly how much to get fixed?

Chitty.

There is a large oil-filled bush as the back of each from control arm, you can usually see if they are split by rocking the front wheel back and forth. It's easiest to buy complete arms with balljoints/bushes already pressed in (about £75ea IIRC) - a local garage would have them fitted in no time. Check the simple stuff the guys have already mentioned first though.

[sniff diesel]

Might be worth looking at uprated polyurethane bushes if they need changing.

[Vee]

sniff diesel said:

Might be worth looking at uprated polyurethane bushes if they need changing.

These bushes are a pain - I fit them to my coupe ages ago. They feel rock hard. The bush is supposed to cushion some of the vibration - the poly ones don't

Your car is an SE meaning the arms are cheap - at that age I'd get a set of Febi ones (from eBay, I used United Auto Parts) whcih come with the bush already attached. The BMW ones are the same but much more expensive.

Changing the arms as well as the bushes means you can be certain that bush & ball joint related issues are dealt with.

ps the car will need alignment afterwards

[Zead]

chrisx666 said:

There is a large oil-filled bush as the back of each from control arm, you can usually see if they are split by rocking the front wheel back and forth. It's easiest to buy complete arms with balljoints/bushes already pressed in (about £75ea IIRC) - a local garage would have them fitted in no time. Check the simple stuff the guys have already mentioned first though.

Not oil filled! E46 just had a rubber bush pressed on to spigot on TCA. They seem to be a disposable item. Personally, as your wife is driving the car and no disrespect to her driving ability, polly bushes will make the ride too harsh, esp on a cab. Just use OE, if indeed it is the problem

Also check tyre pressures, a couple of pounds to hard can make the front feel light.

Z

Edited by Zead on Tuesday 10th February 13:46

[Shropshiremike]

Also go and drive a car from mid '01 onwards as the rack has more feel anyway.

[V8_chitty]

Thanks to all!
I'll start with the tyre checks and go from there...
If I need new front bushes then OE or eqivalent standard ones seem to be the way to go. Since it's an SE and we'd like to keep it more 'comfort' oriented the poly's would be a no-no.

Just out of interest what did BMW do to the car to tighten up the steering in 2001? Was this a major suspension redesign or something simple?

[Shropshiremike]

V8_chitty said:

Thanks to all!
I'll start with the tyre checks and go from there...
If I need new front bushes then OE or eqivalent standard ones seem to be the way to go. Since it's an SE and we'd like to keep it more 'comfort' oriented the poly's would be a no-no.

Just out of interest what did BMW do to the car to tighten up the steering in 2001? Was this a major suspension redesign or something simple?

Quicker rack....and I think they backed off the assistance slightly

[8Tech]

There is little to tell in harshness with the Powerflex poly bushes because they have the same noise absorption character as stock and in this application they are a rotational bush, not a compression bush. If you fit OEM then expect to do them again pretty soon.

http://www.powerflex.co.uk/

[V8_chitty]

OK, thought I'd give an update.
330ci conv was MOT'ed by my local garage last week and I thought I'd get this sorted - it failed on wishbone joint play - this was replaced along with the rear bush and the steering was realigned.

And guess what? Er..no change.

Steering is still light/vague around the straight ahead. Is there somewhere else I need to check? I hear there is a bush on the steering column that might give play? Car is an xreg with 70k

[baz1985]

My previous 330vert had a new steering rack, two power steering pumps, two sets of front bushes/ball-joints and two sets of rear top-mounts....in 18k miles.......

[cr1272]

Hi,

I've no idea when this thread was originally started, so apologies for dragging it back up.

I have a similar feeling in my 2002 e46 330ci, and was wondering if the original poster had any further updates, or if anyone else has had a similar experience?

I switched to the 330ci from a 2000 323ci, and have had the front bushes replaced, tracking & alignment and 2 new front tyres put on the car, but it still feels very light at the front, and almost feels like the wheels are moving when the steering isn't. Feels worse on slippy roads too.

The 323 never felt like this.

Thanks in advance

[AliMc99]

2000 model year (the first year the 323i changed to the 325i) had very light feel-free steering (in response to the US market- affecting X and Y plates. After complaints from European markets they firmed the steering up again (can't remember exactly when but I had a 51 plate 325 coupe which had the later heavier steering).

[john_p]

cr1272 said:

Hi,

I've no idea when this thread was originally started, so apologies for dragging it back up.

I have a similar feeling in my 2002 e46 330ci, and was wondering if the original poster had any further updates, or if anyone else has had a similar experience?

I switched to the 330ci from a 2000 323ci, and have had the front bushes replaced, tracking & alignment and 2 new front tyres put on the car, but it still feels very light at the front, and almost feels like the wheels are moving when the steering isn't. Feels worse on slippy roads too.

The 323 never felt like this.

Thanks in advance

What front tyres ? If it's not a sport, then try putting the back wheels on the front

Did you have a proper 4-wheel Hunter or KDS alignment done?

Anti-roll bar bushes and droplinks perhaps? An easy DIY and about £50 for OEM parts

[V8_chitty]

Hi Cr1272,

Took the car for a service and the indy reckoned it was likely tracking and to get it sorted on a 4-wheel system (see above post). They picked up irregular wear on the inside edge of the front tyres. I assumed (wrongly) that when the bush had been replaced the tracking had been re-done (it had not) so initially discounted that.

The tyres are getting close to the limit anyway so new Falkens will be added soon.

I'm going to pop up to micheldever tyres in the new year and get both tyres and tracking done then. Then we'll see where to go next if needed.

I did read a post somewhere that a 328 rack is a straight swap and is less assisted, much improving feel. Do a search on some of the other forums for confirmation though..