Steering Wheel Shake While under braking

cm335d · 11-19-2018, 04:13 PM

I'm experiencing a slight steering wheel shake when slowing at higher speeds (anything over 55mph). Could use some help in diagnosing.
Recently (within the last 5k miles) I replaced both front lower control arms, which remedied a much more violent shake that I was having. I've replaced the stock struts and shocks with Bilstein HD and new Lemforder strut bushings at around 75k (car has 113k on it now). I have not replaced any of the brake components though since my acquiring the car at 51k miles.
Thoughts on stuff to look at would be appreciated. Much appreciated!

RL18 · 11-19-2018, 04:55 PM

Had similar problems with another one of my vehicles and it turned out to be warped rotors. I’d check the rears since they tend to wear faster from the traction control. Have you been doing burnouts?

TheMidnightNarwhal · 11-19-2018, 05:01 PM

One thing it could be your brake rotors are warped or worn badly.

cm335d · 11-19-2018, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RL18

Had similar problems with another one of my vehicles and it turned out to be warped rotors. I’d check the rears since they tend to wear faster from the traction control. Have you been doing burnouts?

I'll definitely check the rotors. Funny you mentioned the rear ones, the car tells me I should change the rear brakes in 4800 miles.
Burnouts, who, me? lol. I've definitely hit traction control many times in this car. Its too much fun to stomp on it.

TheMidnightNarwhal · 11-19-2018, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cm335d

I'll definitely check the rotors. Funny you mentioned the rear ones, the car tells me I should change the rear brakes in 4800 miles.
Burnouts, who, me? lol. I've definitely hit traction control many times in this car. Its too much fun to stomp on it.

Does your car also pull on one side when braking? While it doesn't always happens, if it does it's usually rotors for sure.

cm335d · 11-19-2018, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

Does your car also pull on one side when braking? While it doesn't always happens, if it does it's usually rotors for sure.

I don't recall it pulling to one side under braking, but I'll pay a bit closer attention on the way home tonight and see if it does.

RL18 · 11-19-2018, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cm335d

I'll definitely check the rotors. Funny you mentioned the rear ones, the car tells me I should change the rear brakes in 4800 miles.
Burnouts, who, me? lol. I've definitely hit traction control many times in this car. Its too much fun to stomp on it.

My rears say 0 miles lol

RL18 · 11-19-2018, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

Does your car also pull on one side when braking? While it doesn't always happens, if it does it's usually rotors for sure.

I’ve always seen that pulling to one side was from a sticking caliper..

TheMidnightNarwhal · 11-19-2018, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RL18

I’ve always seen that pulling to one side was from a sticking caliper..

True, but before I changed my brakes car was shaking and pulling to one side.

Although now that you mention that maybe it's because I cleaned my brakes at the same time.

RL18 · 11-20-2018, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

True, but before I changed my brakes car was shaking and pulling to one side.

Although now that you mention that maybe it's because I cleaned my brakes at the same time.

Yep! I’d say that it was the cleaning that did it. Most of the time it’s the sliders that need to be cleaned... a little silicone grease never hurts too.

TheMidnightNarwhal · 11-20-2018, 07:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RL18

Yep! I’d say that it was the cleaning that did it. Most of the time it’s the sliders that need to be cleaned... a little silicone grease never hurts too.

I was surprised when people told me to actually not grease the guide pins? Apparently on BMW you don't? I mentioned it in a older thread and everyone was like noooo it's going to gum up everything.

So for the fronts I just brake cleaned them

I guess we'll see in the future.

iScramble · 11-20-2018, 08:18 AM

I have the same issue. Vibration in the steering wheel at higher speeds and a pull to the right side while moving. Hoping it's just alignment, taking it to the mechanic tomorrow.

Digitalinkartist · 11-20-2018, 10:09 AM

I might be your front control arm bushings. Failure can cause vibration, pulling, and clunking sounds

cm335d · 11-20-2018, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Digitalinkartist

I might be your front control arm bushings. Failure can cause vibration, pulling, and clunking sounds

Its not the control arm bushings. I installed brand new Lemforder control arms about 5000 miles ago. I did have the problems you mention as a result of the bushings being shot. That problem went away when I replaced the control arms.
What I have now is a slightly annoying steering wheel shimmy that only shows up when braking hard at higher speeds (over 55mph). I verified that the car does not pull to any particular side when braking, it goes straight as an arrow.
Tires are new as of 6k miles ago and recently rotated (problem didn't change when rotating the tires).
I cannot feel any pulsation in the brake pedal either. I'm suspicious that it is brake rotor/pad related, but want to check everything that could be linked to this before putting it on the jack stands.

RL18 · 11-20-2018, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

I was surprised when people told me to actually not grease the guide pins? Apparently on BMW you don't? I mentioned it in a older thread and everyone was like noooo it's going to gum up everything.

So for the fronts I just brake cleaned them

I guess we'll see in the future.

Yes I read that too. It’s weird that they don’t want you to. I also read that a lot of people said they’ve been doing it without problems. I will atleast be using it on the sliders and where the pad touches the caliper piston though. They say to use the ate plastilube if your gonna use anything.

335dlci · 11-20-2018, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

I was surprised when people told me to actually not grease the guide pins? Apparently on BMW you don't? I mentioned it in a older thread and everyone was like noooo it's going to gum up everything.

So for the fronts I just brake cleaned them

I guess we'll see in the future.

Do not grease your pins per repair instructions.

9krpmrx8 · 11-20-2018, 12:00 PM

Just an FYI for those who attribute shimmy to warped rotors.

http://www.brakeandfrontend.com/warped-rotors-myth/

cm335d · 11-20-2018, 12:36 PM

Sounds like I need to inspect the brake caliper pins and a general inspection of the calipers and pads to be sure those aren't worn in any weird way.
Keep in mind, I've never changed the brakes on this car. I bought it 4 yrs ago at 51k miles (it now has almost 114k). I don't know if the brakes were changed by any previous owner or not. My mileage is mostly freeway.
I've only seen warped rotors on a Suzuki sportbike I used to have. Not saying it can't happen though.

cm335d · 12-10-2018, 02:59 PM

Update: Yesterday afternoon, I replaced the brake discs (Zimmermann) and brake pads (Akebono). I inspected everything and cleaned the mounting pins that had a slight bit of brake dust on them. The discs were definitely worn, rears more than the fronts. I did not have a gage to measure the runout though. I did notice that the old front outside pads did not have the spring clip on them, which I thought was weird. Here's a pic of the new and old front pads from the driver side front caliper:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/mDRYQvppfoZPqoeM9

Anyhow, after bedding the brakes in this morning, I am happy to report that my brakes are solid and shimmy free! Woo hoo!

torqueisking · 12-11-2018, 10:30 PM

Had this issue on my X5 after having new tires installed.

The issue was caused by VERY uneven wheel nut torque which created lateral runout of the rotor(s). Luckily I caught it before the rotor thickness uniformity was significantly affected.

cm335d · 12-12-2018, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by torqueisking

Had this issue on my X5 after having new tires installed.

The issue was caused by VERY uneven wheel nut torque which created lateral runout of the rotor(s). Luckily I caught it before the rotor thickness uniformity was significantly affected.

The tire shop probably used an impact gun and no torque sticks and subsequent torque wrench to install your wheels properly.

TheMidnightNarwhal · 12-12-2018, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cm335d

Update: Yesterday afternoon, I replaced the brake discs (Zimmermann) and brake pads (Akebono). I inspected everything and cleaned the mounting pins that had a slight bit of brake dust on them. The discs were definitely worn, rears more than the fronts. I did not have a gage to measure the runout though. I did notice that the old front outside pads did not have the spring clip on them, which I thought was weird. Here's a pic of the new and old front pads from the driver side front caliper:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/mDRYQvppfoZPqoeM9

Anyhow, after bedding the brakes in this morning, I am happy to report that my brakes are solid and shimmy free! Woo hoo!

Nice! Thanks for letting us know. It's fun to see how well our diagnosis goes haha, although this one was fairly easy.

11-19-2018, 04:13 PM	#1
cm335d Private First Class 62 Rep 171 Posts Drives: 2011 BMW 335d Join Date: Aug 2017 Location: Los Angeles, CA iTrader: (0)	Steering Wheel Shake While under braking I'm experiencing a slight steering wheel shake when slowing at higher speeds (anything over 55mph). Could use some help in diagnosing. Recently (within the last 5k miles) I replaced both front lower control arms, which remedied a much more violent shake that I was having. I've replaced the stock struts and shocks with Bilstein HD and new Lemforder strut bushings at around 75k (car has 113k on it now). I have not replaced any of the brake components though since my acquiring the car at 51k miles. Thoughts on stuff to look at would be appreciated. Much appreciated! Last edited by cm335d; 11-19-2018 at 04:18 PM..
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11-19-2018, 04:55 PM	#2
RL18 Major 349 Rep 1,106 Posts Drives: 2011 335d sport Join Date: Nov 2017 Location: Maine iTrader: (0)	Had similar problems with another one of my vehicles and it turned out to be warped rotors. I’d check the rears since they tend to wear faster from the traction control. Have you been doing burnouts?
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11-19-2018, 05:01 PM	#3
TheMidnightNarwhal Major General 2886 Rep 6,436 Posts Drives: 11' 335is DCT Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Gatineau, Quebec iTrader: (0)	One thing it could be your brake rotors are warped or worn badly.
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11-20-2018, 08:18 AM	#12
iScramble Private First Class 77 Rep 128 Posts Drives: 2013 F30 335i Join Date: Jul 2018 Location: Laurel, MD iTrader: (0)	I have the same issue. Vibration in the steering wheel at higher speeds and a pull to the right side while moving. Hoping it's just alignment, taking it to the mechanic tomorrow.
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11-20-2018, 10:09 AM	#13
Digitalinkartist MrSixSpeed 41 Rep 920 Posts Drives: e92 Garage Queen Join Date: May 2007 Location: ATL iTrader: (4)	I might be your front control arm bushings. Failure can cause vibration, pulling, and clunking sounds
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11-20-2018, 12:00 PM	#17
9krpmrx8 Clean is the new cool, keep it that way. 819 Rep 1,685 Posts Drives: 11' Alpine White 335i Sedan Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: San Antonio, Texas iTrader: (0)	Just an FYI for those who attribute shimmy to warped rotors. http://www.brakeandfrontend.com/warped-rotors-myth/ __________________ 2011 335i, FBO, N55+ Turbo, full E85, S55 intercooler, etc. 2015 X5 35i Xdrive
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11-20-2018, 12:36 PM	#18
cm335d Private First Class 62 Rep 171 Posts Drives: 2011 BMW 335d Join Date: Aug 2017 Location: Los Angeles, CA iTrader: (0)	Sounds like I need to inspect the brake caliper pins and a general inspection of the calipers and pads to be sure those aren't worn in any weird way. Keep in mind, I've never changed the brakes on this car. I bought it 4 yrs ago at 51k miles (it now has almost 114k). I don't know if the brakes were changed by any previous owner or not. My mileage is mostly freeway. I've only seen warped rotors on a Suzuki sportbike I used to have. Not saying it can't happen though.
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12-10-2018, 02:59 PM	#19
cm335d Private First Class 62 Rep 171 Posts Drives: 2011 BMW 335d Join Date: Aug 2017 Location: Los Angeles, CA iTrader: (0)	Update: Yesterday afternoon, I replaced the brake discs (Zimmermann) and brake pads (Akebono). I inspected everything and cleaned the mounting pins that had a slight bit of brake dust on them. The discs were definitely worn, rears more than the fronts. I did not have a gage to measure the runout though. I did notice that the old front outside pads did not have the spring clip on them, which I thought was weird. Here's a pic of the new and old front pads from the driver side front caliper: https://photos.app.goo.gl/mDRYQvppfoZPqoeM9 Anyhow, after bedding the brakes in this morning, I am happy to report that my brakes are solid and shimmy free! Woo hoo!
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12-11-2018, 10:30 PM	#20
torqueisking Private First Class 46 Rep 141 Posts Drives: 335D Sport Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Toronto iTrader: (0)	Had this issue on my X5 after having new tires installed. The issue was caused by VERY uneven wheel nut torque which created lateral runout of the rotor(s). Luckily I caught it before the rotor thickness uniformity was significantly affected.
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