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Salim

HELP - Wayward handling after alignment

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2006 330cd Sport

Replaced so far:

AP Coilovers and front drop links

Meyle HD Wishbones & Bushes

Meyle HD Topmounts (F&R)

Lemforder ARB Bushes (F&R)

Lemforder track and tie rods

Meyle HD RTAB

After having replaced all of the above I have had a 4WA using the hunter machine.

 

Problems I am having:

1. Knocking noise from rear (on uneven surfaces - considerably louder when car is cold) rear top mounts are fully tight

2. Car pulls like crazy to the left and then snaps to the right

 

The two problems above completely ruin the driving experience of the car and having spent a s**t load of money on it - I don't even feel like selling it. I am currently running a set of 19" CSL's but I have put the original MV'2 on and experienced the same problem. I took it to my usual BMW Specialist, the 4WA guys who usually know their s**t and finally threw in the towel and took it to a BMW dealership. No one can figure out my problem and I am getting to the point where I feel like driving it into a f**king wall.

 

Any ideas?

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Thanks mjn. What do you say that based on? I usually use Lemforder top mounts but used Meyle on my last e46 without any issues. Maybe you're right but just wondering what you're basing that assumption on.

I do have a printout of the alignment but it's at home, will upload this evening after work. It is important to note that I had it aligned before replacing the tie-rods. It was pulling all over the joint so replaced the tie-rods, took it back for another alignment and explained the problems I was having so that they would give extra consideration before doing it the second time. As soon as I drove out from there I was back to square one!

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I have replaced near on what you have but with lemforder parts and bilstein shocks and eibach springs the car is 100% better with no pulling or wondering steering. My bet would be on some other bushes failing or dodgy top mounts.

Also why did the company doing your alignment go ahead knowing the tie rods needed changing ? Maybe try another alighnment center.

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Yes, I did some research after mjn's reply and it seems as if a lot of people have been having the same issues with the Meyle rear top mounts so I have ordered some Lemforder ones. This had me thinking maybe the rubber is too soft on the front to pmounts (also Meyle) causing the looseness in the steering. I then realised that the new wishbones and associated bushes are also Meyle! Perhaps, the whole lot just needs to be replaced with OE parts.

I've always used Lemforder but after having read excellent reviews on Meyle decided to go with them on my last two cars.

 

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57 minutes ago, Salim said:

Yes, I did some research after mjn's reply and it seems as if a lot of people have been having the same issues with the Meyle rear top mounts so I have ordered some Lemforder ones. This had me thinking maybe the rubber is too soft on the front to pmounts (also Meyle) causing the looseness in the steering. I then realised that the new wishbones and associated bushes are also Meyle! Perhaps, the whole lot just needs to be replaced with OE parts.

I've always used Lemforder but after having read excellent reviews on Meyle decided to go with them on my last two cars.

 

ive just had my rear shocks and mounts repalaced with meyle and mine is A1.was a week ago now.

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did you replace the trailing arm bushes,, i couldnt get my alignment anywhere near so done the wishbones meyle hd and trailing arm bushes, she is back on form and feels like its on rails again ,, the back end was all over the place,, but when the new trailing arm bushes was fitted its perfect

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RTAB- replaced

FCAB- came as a set with Meyle wishbones

So I read through a thread yesterday where a guy was experiencing very bad bump steer. Replaced everything I have and more. After many months and hard earned $ he got to the bottom of it. 

Turned out to be the Meyle control arm bushes that he never suspected before because they were brand new.

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I hate it when people don't update their threads and people with the same issue are left wondering years later.

 

mjn - You're an asbolute legend. I had ruled out top-mounts since they were new and I had used Meyle before. Swapped them yesterday for Lemforder and the noise is no longer there!

 

Only the issue of the twitchy steering left now. 

 

1. How does my alignment look? If the alignment seems fine then obviously has to be one of the new suspension components.

2. My main issue is the car wandering to the left and crazy bump steer. I'm thinking this has to be the Meyle wishbones and bushes? 

 

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I think it was probably me that first documented (here at least) the knocking noise with the Meyle HD rear top mounts. Meyle stuff, and particularly the HD range is VERY good quality, and should be as good as, if not better than OE parts. It's just a design problem with the rear top mounts that causes the noise. As long as the Meyle parts are fitted correctly, it won't be the cause of your problems.

I'm running Meyle HD front wishbones and bushes (as are a large number of other people on the forum), and don't have any issues at all. I'm more inclined to believe you had a poor alignment setup than faulty parts.

Here's a link to my original post regarding the rear top mounts, although the pictures links appear to have died.

http://www.e46zone.com/forum/topic/43008-meyle-hd-rsm-causing-knocking-noise/

Ian.

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3 hours ago, Salim said:

mjn - You're an asbolute legend. I had ruled out top-mounts since they were new and I had used Meyle before. Swapped them yesterday for Lemforder and the noise is no longer there!

No worries.  Hopefully we can get your alignment sorted now

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Thanks Ian, I did actually come across your thread once mjn brought the issues to my attention.

The fact that its been aligned several times and the pull is always to the left makes me think that it cannot be the alignment in itself. I'll start off by doing the front top-mounts first and take it from there

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All cars will pull to the left a bit due to road camber design.

Mine does, and when in Europe pulls to the right.

On track it's spot on [emoji108]

Not saying you don't have an issue, but worth finding an empty bit of road an drive on the right and see which way it pulls then.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Yes I'm aware of the roads having camber but I was under the impression this is accounted for in the alignment. Also, I have driven countless other cars that always track straight. 

I am going to try out your suggestion though, should give an idea of the severity of the problem. Cheers

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My car definitely doesn't pull to the left. Not on Motorways or anywhere else. 

I say pull, I mean drift, when people get alignments done especially after having suspension work they tend to let go or very loosely hold the steering wheel, in doing this a car will pull/drift to the left or right depending on which side of the road your driving on.

If your having to countersteer to go in a straight line then there is an issue.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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The rear camber is not the same so maybe that needs to be looked into and rear toe is quite a lot which is probably to counteract the bump steer but it shouldnt make it pull badly.

Tyre pressure up to standard? When mine is even a few PSI lower I can tell as it pulls all over the road.

Also, when you replace certain bits it shows up the wear in the rest of the suspension. Look at changing the rear suspension bushes and then try again. 

If it helps, I am on the same line. I've replace front and rear shocks with Bilstein B4's, front topmounts with Lemforder items, rear wishbone and front ARB bushes with Polybushs. I need to change one of the rear trailing arms as the ball joint has gone, I will change all the rear suspension bushes at the same time. Because these are rear wheel drive they are tracked from the rear forwards.

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Do your front and rear tyres match?

 

I had conti's all round then had the rear tyres replaced with Nexen N8000 - and after that the car was skittish as hell, felt like I was constantly trapped in a crosswind even at 30mph, it was downright dangerous to drive. I had the tyre guy replace the front conti's with N8000's, and immediately the handling was back to normal, stable and solid as a rock.

 

Worth thinking about.

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Haven't had a chance to update, life's been kind of hectic lately. 

 

Anyhoo, replaced the wishbones and bushes for lemforder items. Saw an 80% improvement for a week or two but now it's back to normal. I guess Lozevans, you're right, everything has been ruled out except the rack. 

Now ECP do a Remy rack which they claim is an OEM that has been completley refurbished. Anybody have any reviews on these or any other recommendations?

Also noticed that sometimes it pulls hard to the left when braking. I'm guessing this is a sticking calliper? My steering used to vibrate like mad at 70-80mph when braking so replaced front dics and pads for OEM. The vibration has come back 1500 miles later. Of course I was careful during the bedding in period. I'm guessing the new discs and pads are f**ked because I had a sticking caliper all along

dooge- rtab bushes have been replaced. The other rear bushes I have never come across people complaining about and no garage has reporter any signs of wear incl BMW. 

Dontpanic- my tyres are all matching, have also had them rotated and tried the orginial 18's back on the car, the problem has remained throughout

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On 30/10/2016 at 14:55, Salim said:

Haven't had a chance to update, life's been kind of hectic lately. 

 

Anyhoo, replaced the wishbones and bushes for lemforder items. Saw an 80% improvement for a week or two but now it's back to normal. I guess Lozevans, you're right, everything has been ruled out except the rack. 

Now ECP do a Remy rack which they claim is an OEM that has been completley refurbished. Anybody have any reviews on these or any other recommendations?

Also noticed that sometimes it pulls hard to the left when braking. I'm guessing this is a sticking calliper? My steering used to vibrate like mad at 70-80mph when braking so replaced front dics and pads for OEM. The vibration has come back 1500 miles later. Of course I was careful during the bedding in period. I'm guessing the new discs and pads are f**ked because I had a sticking caliper all along

dooge- rtab bushes have been replaced. The other rear bushes I have never come across people complaining about and no garage has reporter any signs of wear incl BMW. 

Dontpanic- my tyres are all matching, have also had them rotated and tried the orginial 18's back on the car, the problem has remained throughout

The rear trailing arm bushes are known for wearing out. Someone else mentioned it above, I believe it causes issues. Ultimately, theres only limited things that can be causing the issue. If tyres pressures are checked, all suspension components are up to scratch and alignment is within tolerance a sticky caliper could cause issues. Ive noticed that since getting my tracking done (a quick one until I get the rest of the suspension sorted) my juddering whilst braking also improved massively. Unfortunately, a weekend of using the car on really poor quality twisty roads has pushed the alignment back out.

I still maintain that your rear camber is out and rear toe. Toe is basically only there to make the car track in a straight line, especially at speed. If its not straight, the car wont track true no matter how well the front is set up.

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