# steering wheel shakes at round 50mph



## 740icraze (Jan 25, 2008)

hey,

97 740i....wen I am crusing at round 45-50 mph ma steering wheel shakes at a constant were I need to slow dwn to 40 n it will stop....also wen Im at high speeds n I need to break it shakes really hard round the 65 mph mark....any idea wat it can be....someone told me it was ma wheels...took them off n place stocks back but no still occurs....wuld really appreciate it...

thanks in advance


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## card4645 (May 12, 2007)

Hi

Same problem for me, mine is booked in the garage tomorrow, am looking to have the control\thrust arm bushes replaced, plus a check on all the other parts for wear. Bushes and control arm wear seem to be the common cause from reading up. Will let you know. D


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## dlite922 (Feb 7, 2008)

Wheel bearing? , like card4645 said, check out all the control arms and suspension, and hub components for any problems.


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## Black 840Ci (Feb 8, 2008)

Yall check your control bushings and also check for warped rotors and bad ball joints!!!


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## Ryan M (Dec 20, 2006)

Most likely worn front control arm bushings. Fairly common problem after you get some miles on her. I replaced mine a while back and the car has been rock solid ever since.


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## card4645 (May 12, 2007)

Hi All, 

Well, I had it in the garage for a suspention check at a BMW independant yesterday, and he said all the bushes, arms, etc where not worn, so good news. His recommendation was that I have the wrong size tyre on the front, I have 245\50\18 and I should be running a 235\50.

As the tyres need changing I am going to go with this, and get the backs balanced as well. Also got a good price of £140 a tyre for Pirelli P6000, plus balancing. So fingers crossed this will solve it.

Cheers - Dave


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## mandrews1119 (Jan 13, 2008)

Should always check the suspension first, then the other things. Having correctly sized and balanced should be a given. A lot of times it is the tires and balancing, especially if it ISN'T the suspension. Some people troubleshoot the lesser expensive things first (tires, rotors, balancing) just to be sure and do due diligence maintanance wise, then move to the suspension if the problem isn't corrected. Your choice, as long as when you are done, you've checked and taken care of the whole system.


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## daveandjeannett (Feb 14, 2008)

740icraze said:


> hey,
> 
> 97 740i....wen I am crusing at round 45-50 mph ma steering wheel shakes at a constant were I need to slow dwn to 40 n it will stop....also wen Im at high speeds n I need to break it shakes really hard round the 65 mph mark....any idea wat it can be....someone told me it was ma wheels...took them off n place stocks back but no still occurs....wuld really appreciate it...
> 
> thanks in advance


hi I had the same problem. turned out to be the two bushes that stop your wheels moving back wards and forwards.cost me $125 aust plus fitting and wheel alignment. no more problems. Dave


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## Guy R Lagarde (Feb 28, 2008)

Had the same problem, turned out to be the control arms (the bushings wear out) and replacing the control arms solved the problem.


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## Guy R Lagarde (Feb 28, 2008)

*steering wheel shaking.*




Guy R Lagarde said:


> Had the same problem, turned out to be the control arms (the bushings wear out) and replacing the control arms solved the problem.


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## Podmore (Feb 29, 2008)

Generally the dreaded BMW steering shimmy (45 - 60 mph / 80 - 100 kph) is due to worn thrust arm bushes. Thrust arms run from the suspension strut back towards the firewall, lower control arms from the strut laterally/forward to the front subframe. Tyres/balance issues generally occur as harmonic vibration which is speed related but rarely exacerbated by braking. I rather doubt that the tyre width alone would cause the problem. Wrong wheel offset (rare because of interference issues) can load the suspension beyond design specs and contribute to premature wear in suspension components ..... my 2c worth


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## DocAce (Oct 23, 2007)

Control arm bushings, quite common. I have it now and that is what BMW told me was wrong. The tech said he see this issue often.

So with that said i'll check out a DIY post and make it happen. 

Good Luck


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