What else could it be?

[Jehu]

Today i stopped into the place i got my tires to have them swapped front with rears. I drove off and when i hit 45mph the frigging wild wobble appeared and i knew they had forgot at least one of the hubcetric rings so i drove right back. We found that one of the rings had stuck inside the wheel bore which he then mounted on the rear hub which had its ring stuck to that so the right rear had two rings and the right front had none. The ring was mangled and i should have put the good one from the rear on the front but i figured since the band part was still intact,just the rim/flange was ripped off it should work anyway. I drove off and the same thing, heavy steering wheel bounce. Back again and this time they tell me it looks like the right inner tie rod end is NFG. I had been told they were weak so i had to conclude the brief drive without the hubcentric ring was enough to break it. I drove to Bavarian Auto and got two new complete Tie Rods,new Hibcetric rings and a set of Bilstein Sport Shocks. Just hope that was all it was and the new tie rods and hub rings get me back to a smooth ride then i'll get those Billies on asap. Oh i grabbed a bottle of that LubroMoly Createc oil treatment too.. Not a bad store even had those little head light mounting sleeve things that hold the lights to the assmbly and adjust. Kinda neat living so near them.

[Macv]

Kinda neat living so near them

I could imagine... very handy.

[Barney Paull-Edwards]

Tie Rod Ends are`nt that weak! Go back to "the place" and tell them to get you a new set of rings as they messed up.A set of billy`s will make problem worse if its wheel centres.

[Jehu]

Tie Rod Ends are`nt that weak! Go back to "the place" and tell them to get you a new set of rings as they messed up.A set of billy`s will make problem worse if its wheel centres.

Interesting thoughts. If i hadn't seen the bloke show me how with the car up on the lift the wheel had a ton of play in it i'd tend to agree. The wheel displayed far too much play when moved by hand while off the ground. The Tie Rods aren't such an expensive job. parts, installation and alignment will run me about $150.00 usd .I'm assuming if there were no other issues the Bilstiens should be fine unless its more an issue of them being problematic with ANY aftermarket wheel requiring hub centric rings. then i might have to exchange them for the Sachs but i've never heard that before...

[Ross]

Regardless of the tie rod's condition it isn't going to make your car shimmy instantly one minute when all was well a moment ago. Don't get me started on tire stores. F#$%*!% chimps with wrenches.

[Jehu]

Quite so but... what i know i explained. I went in with nothing but a very slight high frequency/high speed vibration i believed was from a bent rim. All 4 wheels had good hub centric rings on it and the steering wheel was perfectly stable thru all speeds. I know what the car feels like with both bad Upper Control Arm Bushings and without Hub centric Rings.I've driven my car with both conditions in effect and when i drove out that is exactly what i felt. Not in my imagination it was VERY PRONOUNCED. Yes one of the Rings was not in place yet even today after having four brand new aluminum rings installed ,after having the new Tie Rods installed and an Alignment when i finally got to the highway WHAM-O 45 mph shimmy.. After i came back down thru the roof again i called another one of their shops near where i was headed and arranged to stop in and see if they actually did get all four rings on the hubs but i began suspecting driving it that little bit with that wicked shimmy might have torn the Control Arm Bushings now and that was what was now causing this shake. They took the right front wheel off revealing the ring in place and in fine condition then set about speed balancing the wheel. It was off slightly and they added weight to the inner edge. I brought the Tech with me to the highway so he would see if it didn't work but it was in fact AT THAT TIME A-OK. Right on up thru the danger range it tracked smoothly. The guy was actually rather amazed as i pulled on over 100MPH and the car was still very stable albeit that slight vibration i had originally sought to remove was still there just ever so slightly RUINING the perfect ride,lol. So i drove him back and set off for a drive. Eventually i did begin to feel the shuddering but this time mostly under heavy braking in the 45-55 mph range which I remembered was my Upper Control Arm Bushings last time.. I have that pair of e34 M5 bushings i've yet to find anyone to install when I've had time but all four wheels have the rings and (complete ) Tie Rods are both brand new and both front tires are balanced and true. Now i suppose the weight could have fallen off the Wheel already and be allowing the shuddering but I'm more inclined to fault busted bushings . This place can't install them and the nearest in Time and Space I've found is two weeks out this Thursday... Not real great news.. I know about the Kits i can buy and Do it Myself so if i can maybe find ramp stands to rent I'll give it a shot that way.. The guy at the Tire shop grabbed the control arm when i pointed it out to him and tried to budge it then said " it feels solid". I didn't try and explain i didn't think he had exerted 4,000 lbs of force on it so the rubber could be torn yet still not budge at his pulling on the arm.. Anyway when the car's over and under that 45-55 zone its quite smooth.