Vibration felt through whole car

I took the car out on a long drive today over various road surfaces.  Definate difference between smooth tarmac surface and rough concrete surfaces thro housing estates.

Also, in a stopped position, I revved the car slowly up to 4,500rpm and the vibrations can also be felt up thro the accelerator & clutch pedal.

I'm baffled as to what might be causing it....maybe its a combination of both vibration from the dying cat and worn bushings.

Seeing as my cat has been on my list for a few months I think I'll tackle that first and check all the exhaust mountings while I'm at it.

GSF have one for £195+VAT, so I'll be ordering one first thing Monday.  Might take a week to 10 days before I'm back with a reply, but I'll keep it posted.

Andrew & Brybusa, I had suspected something like what you guys have mentioned and also my independent suggested also it could be coming from something resonating through the car.  My cat is not in great shapes at the moment and could possibly be the cause, but then again its been like that for a while and the problem is only recent.

Also suspected something in the engine bay are like a loose or worn engine mount.

Reasons why I discounted them was if I am driving on a glass like road surface the vibration is almost gone, but as soon as you hit a nice rough surface it's back with a vengeance.

I had a look at the rear wishbones today and they look relatively easy to replace....2 bolts each, pop them out and new ones in.  Had a quick look in the Bentley and it confirmed it.  The procedure is 2-3 lines long.  They're no way as difficult as the front ones.

There are 4 bushes on each corner at the rear.  2 are replaceable by themselves (swing arm & subframe mounting) and the other 2 (Upper rear control arm & upper front control arm) have to be replaced with the arm.  The 2 arms are the easy ones to replace.  Other 2 look a but more to them.

Another thing that crossed my mind was the wheel bearings.

Like you said Alex, this can be a cheap or expensive fix.  If u hit the nail on the head first time, you're lucky.

Parts #14 & 18 are the 2 arms I mention above that are straight forward enough to change.

Alex, at least you are in the position that you have it narrowed down to one corner. The drilling they had to do may have done some damage to the bearing or bushes. 

Edited by Toxic

Could it be from a worn engine/transmission mount?

Not sure of the details of any of these but might be worth a look.  As Tom is saying that would give a feel of a vibration other than thru the steering wheel. 

If it is a high frequency it sounds like it's due to something that is moving about quickly hence something moving about in the engine/transmission area?

Andrew

Tom, what you describe is exactly what i have.  Very small vibrations but high frequency felt through my seat and the floor.  Feeling my trousers vibrate against my legs and through the accelerator pedal.  The best place I can feel it is if I put my hand on the side of the passenger head rest.  I agree it is almost certainly at the back of the car cos the steering is fine.  I never mentioned that I replaced the front discs cos i also had steering judder under braking.  The judder is fixed (warped discs).  I'm not sure where to look next.  Let me know how you get on if you go for the bushes.

Edited by Alex B

I have a vibration through the whole car which i can feel from 60-90mph.  I've had my wheels balanced 3 times at different places.  replaced front and rear brake discs and pads.  I've even dumped my Fulda Extremo tyres and fitted new OE Conti eco contacts. 225/55/16.  The problem is still the same.  I've had the car checked over by a TCS BMW specialists in High Wycombe and by North Oxford main dealer.  They can't find anything wrong.  The wheels are OE and if swapped front to back the problem is the same.  It is not wheels/tyres/brakes.  The car is very low miles at 44000.  The dealer says all the bushes look good and have never heard of any prop shaft probs on an e39.  I've read plenty of previous posts about similar problems.  Has anyone actually fixed this problem?  I've spent around £700 already and am starting to hate the car i loved for so long.  Please help!!

 

I've read loads of previous posts similar to my problem but haven't got a definite solution