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Bad week for the m5 (long)

2K views 13 replies 10 participants last post by  Teutonaddict 
#1 ·
Last week was a tough one for my2001. I replaced the thrust arm bushings with some urethane ones. All went well. No problems for several days. Then the car developed a shake...more body than steering wheel at 65 -70 mph. Very noticeable. On Thusday i dropped it off at the tire place to have the wheels balanced. My tires were about 85% worn, so he talked me into new tires. I let him. On the way home the shake was still present. Now, I am thinking, this must be the bushings... or I left something loose. Neighbors dog barked all night. Finally went downstairs, and slept in the kids playroom to get some sleep. Woke up...or better said just got out of bed. One must be asleep to wake up. As I am leaving, driving my pickup, as I have a bunch of trash that needs to go to the dump, my wife gives me the "oh my God!" look. Thinking the cat drug in a small woodland creature or something....After a few seconds, I realize she is very serious...after ten years and three kids, you get fast recognizing these situations. I get out of the car, go into the garage and notice, a shelve next to the car had collapsed and some stuff hit the hood. Not bad, a good scratch, easily fixed. Then a notice the fender, front door, rear door, rear quarter, and rear wheel. Didnt get the trunk!! Long story short. $2500 worth of damage. I am not really that upset, and consider myself lucky, as my dog usually sleeps there. It could have hit one of the kids. Really my own fault for putting too much stuff on those wire shelves. I wont even admit what was up there. Except to say a couple of old Datsun z car steel wheels were included. This only days after a garage storage thread!

Well, after getting a couple of estimates, and talking with my insurance company, I decided to swap out the urethane thrust bushings for a new pair of stock ones. Shake still present! Dropped it of at the body shop this am, maybe it will fix itself while it is there. After it is repaired, back to the tire shop to rebalance, check front alignment, if that doesnt do it, I am not sure where to look? Wheel bearings

Check those shelves!

ernest
 
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#2 ·
E; I had a ladder fall on a Porsche once about ten years ago, and my garage has been fall proof ever since. Hope the repairs are done to your satisfaction.

As for your bushings, I wish I had a dollar for every post on this board where someone has spent time and money to upgrade their M5, only to find that a downgrade was accomplished. I could buy a new M5 with the dough, no problem. (not that i want one.)

Steve
00 M5
 
#3 ·
i would suggest checking your rotors with a run out test. I had a similar problem on my previous 2002 M5. Sounds like my shake was a little less and it was all in the steering wheel and a little more pronounced under braking. Dealer convinced me that it was the thrust arm bushings and rear sway bar bushings. after changing all of them the shake was still there. i asked them to do a run out test on the rotors which they said they did not think was necessary. 1 rotor came back at .005 and another at .02. replaced the rotors and the shake was gone.



emccallum said:
Last week was a tough one for my2001. I replaced the thrust arm bushings with some urethane ones. All went well. No problems for several days. Then the car developed a shake...more body than steering wheel at 65 -70 mph. Very noticeable. On Thusday i dropped it off at the tire place to have the wheels balanced. My tires were about 85% worn, so he talked me into new tires. I let him. On the way home the shake was still present. Now, I am thinking, this must be the bushings... or I left something loose. Neighbors dog barked all night. Finally went downstairs, and slept in the kids playroom to get some sleep. Woke up...or better said just got out of bed. One must be asleep to wake up. As I am leaving, driving my pickup, as I have a bunch of trash that needs to go to the dump, my wife gives me the "oh my God!" look. Thinking the cat drug in a small woodland creature or something....After a few seconds, I realize she is very serious...after ten years and three kids, you get fast recognizing these situations. I get out of the car, go into the garage and notice, a shelve next to the car had collapsed and some stuff hit the hood. Not bad, a good scratch, easily fixed. Then a notice the fender, front door, rear door, rear quarter, and rear wheel. Didnt get the trunk!! Long story short. $2500 worth of damage. I am not really that upset, and consider myself lucky, as my dog usually sleeps there. It could have hit one of the kids. Really my own fault for putting too much stuff on those wire shelves. I wont even admit what was up there. Except to say a couple of old Datsun z car steel wheels were included. This only days after a garage storage thread!

Well, after getting a couple of estimates, and talking with my insurance company, I decided to swap out the urethane thrust bushings for a new pair of stock ones. Shake still present! Dropped it of at the body shop this am, maybe it will fix itself while it is there. After it is repaired, back to the tire shop to rebalance, check front alignment, if that doesnt do it, I am not sure where to look? Wheel bearings

Check those shelves!

ernest
 
#4 ·
JoeyOctane said:
i would suggest checking your rotors with a run out test. I had a similar problem on my previous 2002 M5. Sounds like my shake was a little less and it was all in the steering wheel and a little more pronounced under braking. Dealer convinced me that it was the thrust arm bushings and rear sway bar bushings. after changing all of them the shake was still there. i asked them to do a run out test on the rotors which they said they did not think was necessary. 1 rotor came back at .005 and another at .02. replaced the rotors and the shake was gone.
No harm in checking the rotors, but I would expect the shake only to be present upon using the brakes if rotors were out. I didn't get that from the previous post; it seems like it happens at a particular speed. I would check runout on the WHEELS, and also go over the car for a bent suspension piece if the bushings are all good.
Regards,
Jerry
 
#5 ·
Hello Ernest,
Wow! Sorry to hear about your terrible week! :crying: :crying: Thank you for sharing it with us.

I'm glad nobody got hurt when the shelf fell. But ouch, that hurts in the pocketbook. I hate dogs that bark all night (and their owners for letting it happen!!)grrrrrrr

I hope your shake gets fixed soon!
Best Wishes,
Alfred
 
#6 ·
Its a strange shake...I feel it more in the seat than in the steering wheel. I find it too coincidental that it started shortly after changing the bushings?? It only occurs at 65-70, maybe gets slightly better above that speed. Does it coasting in or out of gear, doesnt seem brake related. I am hoping alignment and rebalancing will do it. I looked over the rest of the suspension, including tranny mounts etc. and all appears sound. Thanks to all.

ernest

gsfent said:
No harm in checking the rotors, but I would expect the shake only to be present upon using the brakes if rotors were out. I didn't get that from the previous post; it seems like it happens at a particular speed. I would check runout on the WHEELS, and also go over the car for a bent suspension piece if the bushings are all good.
Regards,
Jerry
 
#7 ·
Hello Ernest,

I'm so sorry to read of your tough week. It's like one of my worst fears for my garage too. Sounds like some garage planning is in order after you get the car settled. I bought heavy warehouse storage shelving for mine and secured it to the wall.

I'm also in the Bay Area and service my car at Dinan in Morgan Hill (in case you need a shop).

Take care, Philip
 
#8 ·
Thanks for the kind words. We decided to take the kids out of town for the weekend..had a great time. Got back last night, laid in bed to read...dog still barking!! Called my neighbor. She was very upset about it, and said she couldnt hear him, b/c his pen is behind a barn. They did something and he was quiet all night. Hope they didnt shoot him! They said please call if he does it again. Great to have good neighbors!

What hurts is the 1k deductable! But, I haven't had a claim in close to 15 years, so I am still ahead keeping a high deductable. This car is getting expensive.

ernest


I'm glad nobody got hurt when the shelf fell. But ouch, that hurts in the pocketbook. I hate dogs that bark all night (and their owners for letting it happen!!)grrrrrrr
 
#9 · (Edited)
BMWs seem to have a tendency to shake ...

BMWs seem to have a tendency to shake the steering wheel between 55 and 65 MPH. Usually gets worse as mileage increases. I have read that it is inherant in the suspension design. I didn't say it was "normal."

My 1980 320i had it bad ... alignment guru told me (without even looking at the car) to change the brand of tire I was using. FIXED. My Mother's 528e got it, as well. Her mechanic turned the rotors and it was FIXED. On other BMWs I rotated the tires. FIXED. It also seems to be worse going over bumpy pavement (wheel ruts, if you will). The M5 hasn't had the problem in 38,000 original miles.

In your case, there is something definitely wrong that causes the vibration. I figure (IMHO) it could be bushings, wheel balance, tires (some brands are not round, even when new), brake disks, lose or worn wheel bearings ... have I forgotten anything ??? Oh, yes, wheel alignment ... and, heaven forbid, a bent wheel.

It will probably take a methodical review of all the "candidates" to find the culprit, but it can be cured.
 
#10 ·
emccallum said:
Thanks for the kind words. We decided to take the kids out of town for the weekend..had a great time. Got back last night, laid in bed to read...dog still barking!! Called my neighbor. She was very upset about it, and said she couldnt hear him, b/c his pen is behind a barn. They did something and he was quiet all night. Hope they didnt shoot him! They said please call if he does it again. Great to have good neighbors!

What hurts is the 1k deductable! But, I haven't had a claim in close to 15 years, so I am still ahead keeping a high deductable. This car is getting expensive.

ernest


I'm glad nobody got hurt when the shelf fell. But ouch, that hurts in the pocketbook. I hate dogs that bark all night (and their owners for letting it happen!!)grrrrrrr
Sigh. Sorry to hear of the problems. On a high note, you should be happy to have such responsive neighbors.

You might look into dropping the deductible on your Comprehensive insurances. Common wisdom says that higher deducts redce the cost of insurnace, but I found that Comp didn't have the same effect as Collision: I car $50 deduct on Comp and it only runs $150-200 more a year total- I go through 2 windshields a year in my 5 cars!

The recent Fine Homebuilding mag had an article on garage upgrades- lifts, floors, cabinets, shelving, etc... not a bad article for ideas. The over head shelves looked like you could but a few trannies in them and be safe...

A
 
#11 ·
SC has a no deduct. glass policy. So, if you break a windshield they fix it with no deductable even if you have a 1k policy. It doesnt matter who the policy is thru it is a SC law. Wierd, huh?

Thanks to all for the replies

ernest

ard said:
Sigh. Sorry to hear of the problems. On a high note, you should be happy to have such responsive neighbors.

You might look into dropping the deductible on your Comprehensive insurances. Common wisdom says that higher deducts redce the cost of insurnace, but I found that Comp didn't have the same effect as Collision: I car $50 deduct on Comp and it only runs $150-200 more a year total- I go through 2 windshields a year in my 5 cars!

The recent Fine Homebuilding mag had an article on garage upgrades- lifts, floors, cabinets, shelving, etc... not a bad article for ideas. The over head shelves looked like you could but a few trannies in them and be safe...

A
 
#12 ·
Ernest

Sorry to hear about your bad week! This one has to be better!

Anyway, you mentioned that you feel the shake more through the seat than the wheel. Are you sure it's not the back end making trouble? That's usually a symptom of a rear suspension/brakes/wheels/tires problem, rather than a front problem. Heck, I had a shake cruising at around 70MPH for ages in my 03, my dealer and I chased it for two and a half years, and it eventually turned out to be an engine problem.

It'd be a shame to take the front end apart again to discover that nothing was wrong.

Cheers
JJ
 
#13 ·
Thanks! This week has been better, and my car is well on its way to being fixed. I have always thought that shaking in the steering wheel is most likely from front suspension....and in the seat is from another source...driveline, rear susp. etc. It just seems coincidental that it came on right after the new thrust bushings went in. I adjusted the parking brake at the same time as I did the thrust bushings, and really thought this may have contributed, but it didnt have much effect after i loosened it back up. Something is loose....I just need to find it! It feels like a bent wheel rear wheel, but I havent hit anything. Never a dull moment.

ernest

jaj said:
Ernest

Sorry to hear about your bad week! This one has to be better!

Anyway, you mentioned that you feel the shake more through the seat than the wheel. Are you sure it's not the back end making trouble? That's usually a symptom of a rear suspension/brakes/wheels/tires problem, rather than a front problem. Heck, I had a shake cruising at around 70MPH for ages in my 03, my dealer and I chased it for two and a half years, and it eventually turned out to be an engine problem.

It'd be a shame to take the front end apart again to discover that nothing was wrong.

Cheers
JJ
 
#14 ·
emccallum said:
Its a strange shake...I feel it more in the seat than in the steering wheel....It only occurs at 65-70, maybe gets slightly better above that speed. Does it coasting in or out of gear, doesnt seem brake related.
Sorry to hear of the garage trouble, ernest. Sharing your experience has caused me to reconsider my New Year's resolution of overhead storage in the garage! I'm now designing for minimal gravity-related damage risk!

As for your vibration, I'd also suggest inspecting the driveshaft. I torqued mine to the point of replacment, and it displayed some of the symptoms you describe. Driveshaft torque-age is pretty prevalent on E39 M5s and E38 7'ers (high mass + high torque combo's).

Good luck getting this resolved!
-Dave
 
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