Wobbly 740
Printed From: Bavarian-Board.co.uk - BMW Owners Discussion Forum
Category: Technical & Model Specific Forums
Forum Name: BMW 7 Series
Forum Discription: This forum will deal with any issues on the BMW 7 Series (E23, E32, E38, E65, E66, E67 & E68)
URL: http://www.bavarian-board.co.uk/forum_posts.asp?TID=28076
Printed Date: 19-May-2024 at 07:35
Topic: Wobbly 740
Posted By: essjay2004
Subject: Wobbly 740
Date Posted: 08-March-2006 at 02:38
| I have a 1996 740i ( 4.4 litre V8 ) that has developed a wheel wobble at about 50-60 mph that seems impossible to cure. So far, following advice from local garages, I have had new tyres and alloy wheels all round, new front discs/track rod ends/lower suspension arms/rear wishbone bushes/propshaft balance and new UJ/front main suspension springs. It is due to go in again for further investigation so I wandered if any others owners had experienced similar problems. |
Replies:
Posted By: the big lad
Date Posted: 08-March-2006 at 07:31
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Hi essjay, re your wobbly BM, before offering any diagnosis, I would be grateful for a little more detail. When you say "wheel wobble", what exactly do you mean? Is it a vibration which starts at that speed, is it looseness felt at the steering wheel, does the car wander, what is happening? It seems like you must have spent an extraordinary amount of money and I find it difficult to accept that all of it is neccesary. Have you had the front wheel bearings accessed? What about the front brake pads, were they changed as well? If you can give more info on what is happening, someone on the forum will be able to help.
------------- 740i virgin and happy with it. Blissfully happy in France |
Posted By: jenks80085
Date Posted: 08-March-2006 at 16:28
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I've got the same issue on my 98 740.
I had very mild (i.e. could live with it) wheel wobble at the speeds mentioned which has just gone berserk now that I've fitted a set of 18's from a 750. The car's at the garage getting an oil leak seen to after which I intend to get the wheels balanced properly to see if that helps. I seem to remember somewhere that the wobble can be caused by the aluminium bottom arms on the suspension. Apparently they can warp over time but can be replaced with tougher steel ones. Sounds like you've already done this though (front and back)? |
Posted By: Geeman
Date Posted: 10-March-2006 at 06:17
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Same on my 728i too. About 50-60mph I get wheel wobble, same when under braking. Having the bushes looked at today. ------------- 
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Posted By: jenks80085
Date Posted: 10-March-2006 at 17:48
| I had my front wheels balanced and the problem has receeded. There is still a tiny bit of wobble sometimes but much much better now. |
Posted By: Chas C
Date Posted: 11-March-2006 at 01:33
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Common problem on the 7 series known as "50-60 shimmy". There are multitudes of posts on other 7 forums about it but no-one has conclusively found the root of the problem (if there is just one source). Larger wheels do seem to accentuate the issue. It's worth ensuring that the wheels are expertly balanced. ------------- 
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Posted By: steven.seed
Date Posted: 11-March-2006 at 04:13
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This is something similar to what is fairly common on the 3 series caused by a sticking caliper that is made all the worse by the fact it confuses the ABS which can exacerbate the problem. It only needs to bind slightly to cause the problem. Giving the caliper a good cleaning could solve the problem I know it did on mine. Hope this helps. Steve. ------------- 1998 E36 318iS Saloon 1989 E30 318i. Coupe 2000 E39 520i Touring 
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Posted By: jenks80085
Date Posted: 12-March-2006 at 14:01
| Thanks mate - I think you might be onto something there - becuase although mine is much better since I got the balancing done there is still a small amount of wobble and it does seem to sometimes get worse under gentle braking. |
Posted By: rockmen
Date Posted: 17-June-2006 at 15:31
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My 2000 740 developed the same shimmy. I got some plastic inserts 1.4mm thick from my local bmw dealer which fit over the hub that the wheel sits on. (Sorry - I'm not technical) This resolved my problem. ------------- Newbie 2000 740 |
Posted By: PaulS
Date Posted: 17-June-2006 at 15:40
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That's intreguing - I always presumed all the e38 7 series were the same centre bore as the e39 5 series - what they've given you are spigot ring centre bore spacers to match the smaller bore 72.6mm to 74.1 (e38/e39), which is what I have to use for my M-Parallels, but may sound like they changed the centre bore size on later models back down to 72.6mm (2000 onwards). Just a thought and may also explain why e60 wheels don't fit onto the e38/e39's Paul -------------  95 E34 530i V8 Auto Maldives Blue |