Front Suspension Question

[Mitch90535im]

Hi guys. Been away for a while. Noticed my latest post was in August '09.

With my 90 535i sitting with all 4 wheels on the driveway I can grab the top of the passenger side front tire and push/pull it and get maybe 1/4 inch of movement and a clunking sound.

Also notice that whenever I hit a slight bump I get some vibration for a few seconds from that side of the car.

The wheel lugs are not loose. What is the next thing to check?

This car has been off the road for nearly a year with a broken waterpump bolt. I've been riding my R1200GS exclusively for a year. Nice experiment, but at 53, I'm glad to have the e34 back on the road.


A little eye candy -

Me on the GS -

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v368/mb90535im/WaterCrossingonCashesValleyRdNov09.jpg

The e34 -

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v368/mb90535im/535i.jpg

The "one" that got away -

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v368/mb90535im/70Cuda.jpg

And finally some of the nuts I ride with - (as you can see these guys need my adult supervision)

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/6411073/16625337

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/6444578/16708274

[e34.535i.sport]

Hey - Love the pictures... The e34 is looking good! Makes me miss my 535i :)

I'd be looking at the wheel bearing if you can get movement in the direction you describe. Strut mount might also be worth checking... Jack it up and grab the wheel at 12o'clock and 6o'clock and try to wiggle the wheel, if it has movement the bearing is suspect #1. You can check the other joints too (thrust arms etc) by grabbing the wheel at 3o'clock and 9o'clock and doing the same check.

Just out of interest wat happened with the waterpump bolt, did you get it out in the end?

[Mitch90535im]

No, it's still in the block. Out of the 6 bolts this one was one that I was able to use a C-Clamp with lots of thread locker on to hold the pump in place. We'll see how long (or even if) that will last. So far so good. I've run it pretty hard the last couple of days and it hasn't offered to budge. Kind of "redneck/duct tape", but I wasn't going to take it to a shop and have someone pull the engine out to drill it out. Car isn't worth that much.

I never could get it to drill out with the broken extractor in it.

[Tiger]

Oh... that nightmare... I would try banging that extractor with a punch to see if it will dislodge... or drill out surrounding the extractor and put in helicoil for larger bolt.

Remove the radiator for more room to work on it...

[Mitch90535im]

I tried everything I could think of for a year. The c-clamp was my surrender flag.

[sal_park]

Hi Mitch,

I've got some good and bad news for you :)


No, it's still in the block. Out of the 6 bolts .

Erm, there are only 4 bolts that hold in the water pump. There a 6 holes in the water pump, 2 of which are threaded and used to extract the pump:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3499/3978864251_eaac92c83c_b.jpg

(This is my ex pump with two of the bolts in the threaded holes used to push out the pump.)

Why can't you drill out the threaded holes in the pump, thread the holes in the head and use 5 bolts to hold the pump in ?

[Mitch90535im]

Thanks for that info Paul. In that case what I have is a new pump held in place by 3 bolts and a c-clamp. At this point I'm inclined to leave well enough alone. I'll keep an eye on the c-clamp for any signs of movement.