a belly dancing 525

[Fahad]

hey guys
i did alot of searching so far and only got more confused!
my 93 525 has a very bad shimmy at 50 to 60mph.
all front end shakes like a belly dancer as soon as i reach 50 mph and continues doing that till i pass 62mph

below and over that speed range the car runs smooth.

by reading other posts and sites this could be anything, bad tires, bad wheels, bad brake disks and rotors, bad suspension parts, bad steering box..

so far i checked the wheels and tires.. i changed 2 tires, balanced the whole set and the shimmy is still there asking me to go further and try other things.

i just dont want to keep spending money without guaranteed results.

what do you guys think i must consider next to get rid of the annoying shimmy?

thanks

[Jehu]

next would be upper control arm bushings. All that shaking may have either caused their demise or is the result of their failure.If you have an aftermarket wheel set you may need hub centric rings between the wheel hub and wheel.That fixed mine, for a time but its back immediately after replacing the rotors and pads which is really confusing. I'd almost think one of the rotors wasn't true and i guess i may have to have them checked. I had my wheels off and spun and the rims were OK but the wheels were unevenly worn.Though this is true it was true before doing the rotors so why weren't the bad tires causing the 50-60 mph warble then i ask you?

[Fahad]

thx Jehu
went to my mechanic yesterday..he drove the car and he suspected the bushings.. he left the car up and said bushings and balljoints are bad. he is going to replace them soon ..and he "promised" that will cure the shimmy! lets see.


I had my wheels off and spun and the rims were OK but the wheels were unevenly worn.Though this is true it was true before doing the rotors so why weren't the bad tires causing the 50-60 mph warble then i ask you?

mechanics blame the suspension parts for uneven tire wear. how long since you changed your lower/upper arms, tie rods etc?


"logically" i would blame the new rotors, but these cars got their own logic sometimes! have your rotors checked and update us.
which rotors brand did u replace the old ones with?

[markus]

just change the entire thrust arm and control arms .

[Jehu]

My tires ARE worn unevenly now .I put them on before changing the upper control arms and bushings and drove it with a serious wobble for a few weeks before changing the suspension parts. That was done a few months ago and while by then the cruising shimmy had been fixed with hub centric rings for my aftermarket wheels there was still a bad shudder during braking at most speeds which was the bushings and when those were replaced the braking was fine other than a slight vibration from bad rotors.I have learned ,i think, that ALL the parts must be working properly or none will and whatever is faulty will quickly cause all other related parts to fail. So don't put new tires on till you have new bushings and good rotors or the tires will wear unevenly and then reciprocatively induce failure elsewhere and the same goes for all other related parts; control arms/bushings,tires, true rims, true rotors, correct size rims or proper adapters.There is no free ride.Its really an all or nothing prospect with the front end. Do it all right together and replace failing parts immediately .That seems to be all one can do to enjoy the wonderful ride the design affords when working properly. Good Luck! Keep us posted.

AS for the Rotors i ordered and paid for all Brembo but they gave me Brembo for the fronts and Zimmerman for the rear...

[jabemer]

i do have the same problem on my 89 525 and just 2 weeks ago i replace the front brake pads , what i notice is that only the inside pad of the rigth side rotor was badly worn, and then i replace just the pads ,and like i say i do have the same problem like when i go 50mph seem to ride say o.k. but if you go from 55 to 65 mph there is where you feel the shake(belly dancing) and if you go more than 65&up feel o.k what it get'me is this that the only from 50-55 to 60-65 mph, because i been spend time balancing the 4 tires and rotating lifting the front of my car and look for something could look wrong like bushing or somethimg but that it's kind of hard to find because usually you have to feel it if they have play and none of them has it , so my last shot is either calipers or rotors, when i do i put results back
thank's "great forum keep it up":) by the way i have originals bmw rims

[BillionPa]

my thrust arm bushings looked absolutely fine, but new ones made a world of difference.

[stx133]

replced my front end 1 month ago after months of minor changes, (brakes & tyres) complete new ride. i did upper and lower arms, tie rod ends and sway bar links.

[Fahad]

replced my front end 1 month ago after months of minor changes, (brakes & tyres) complete new ride. i did upper and lower arms, tie rod ends and sway bar links.

my mechanic replaced the upper arm and tie rods today.
old ones were in bad condition so i hope this will solve the shimmy problem.
i could not test the car cuz the mechanic is also dealing with a
leaking engine oil filter housing and a coolant leak aswell so lots of parts are removed.
i bought my car 3 weeks ago and its been at the shop for like 2 weeks to get things corrected.
1k spent so far for preventive maintenance and repairs.. might need another 500-700 USD, then another 1k put aside for emergency lol
yet im glad i didn't buy an e39 cuz that would not leave me any cash to get the car to the condition i want.

[Fahad]

jabemer
2 new tires and balancing didn't help me
were your upper arms and rods changed lately?
if not changed for long time replacing them might help as other bimmer owners say..im not sure whether that is going to work for me or not.. i can't tell before picking my car from the shop after 2 or 3 days. i will let you know.

[Fahad]

sorry for bringing this up again

so far im happy with the result of changing upper arm and tie rods..
it solved 90% of the annoying 50-60 shimmy.
yet i feel some soft belly dancing at 50-60 mph every now and then but its nowhere as bad as the pervious shimmy.

for now i just want to give my wallet a little break!
i wil live with that 10% shimmy for now

thx to all of you