Re: Loose Steering (more) (archive)

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Thanks for the detailed reply. Yes, these cars are very frustrating. Not only do I now need a new fuel pump, I just discovered that my 13 month-old radiator is leaking all down one side. Guess what the warranty period is on the radiator? Yes, that's right, 12 months. Serves me right for buying after-market. Back to the point in hand (or tie-rod in hand):

I have adjusted this but really did not spend enough time or effort making sure that the adjustments produced the desired results. This is my next area of attack.

Thanks for the detailed instructions. I have been jacking the front end up for each adjustment. I will follow your advice and try to make corrections with the car on the ground. One interesting thing I did notice is that after adjusting the toe-in the tire noise (patter) from the front tires is significantly lower.

I examined this several weeks ago as I noticed that I could wiggle (technical term) the steering column in the engine compartment. I tightened the nut until the coulmn would not wiggle but this stopped the telescoping steering from working. When I loosened the nut until the telescoping function returned, I was basically back to the point where I started. I did however notice that the column under the dash has a rubber coupling between the top of the steering column and the rod which holds the nut. This coupling moves as the column telescopes in and out. I ordered a new one and will install it later this week. I don't think it will make much difference but who knows, all the little changes may add up.

I have the standard bottlecaps and run 32 psi all around. This is the recommended value which is printed on the driver's door pillar.

Taking the car to the stealer really isn't an option since I really do not know how good or bad their technicians may be. The only experience I have is that parts are 20% to 30% above BMW NA list (that's right, ABOVE list). You're right again, I may end up just spending lots of money for unsatisfactory results.

Hi Alex,
You sound very frustrated....these cars can have
this effect. Please keep in mind if you (give up)
and take your E-32 to the dealer and give them
a lot of money you probably still won't be perfectly pleased with the outcome anyway. A couple of points:
- You've done the hard part...replacing most if
not all the front suspension. Don't stop now.
- Getting the best steering feel is a function of
four things:
* Steering box adjustment
* Toe-in
* Tightening of the big nut (32mm) under the dash.
* Tire pressure

I've played with all these things quite a bit.
A couple of tips:
You have to mark the set screw on the top of the
steering box for reference. (use a file edge or
dremmel tool to do this) Then through trial and error incrementally tighten the screw in small
increments and drive the car to see what the net
difference is. Each time, record what screw clocking position works the best. It takes a lot
of patience to get the right adjustment.

Manual toe adjustment (at home) also takes a lot
of patience. Its easy to get lost in which way
to rotate each outer tie rod (turnbuckle) to get
the desired toe adjustment. You have to record on
paper what direction rotating each tie-rod changes
the toe of each wheel. Since you are now 90 degrees off, and the toe is set approx. right, with the wheels set approx correctly ahead with
steering wheel 90 deg off, place some tape on the
ground parallel to the outboard edge of each wheel. Now start the car and center the steering
wheel. Look down on the ground and adjust each
tie-rod to restore tire angle parallel to the tape with the on-center steering wheel position. Now you are in the ball park. The rest involves two 7 foot tape measures and more patience to get
the correct toe. I would set the toe in at .08"
and leave it alone.
A couple of further tips to help:
Mark each tie rod with a paint dab to keep track
of their clocking position.
Don't raise the car each time to adjust each tie
rod. If you don't tighen each tie rod too tight you can adjust their angular position by just reaching under the car with a channel lock
priers. Once you get the desired position, then
tighten the 13mm pinch bolts.

Second to last, if you haven't already, tighten the 32mm nut under the dash.
Lastly, if you have standard bottlecaps with 225
60/15's I would set the tire pressure at 30 psi.
Book calls for 29 psi.

Getting the correct balance between all the above
stuff takes above all else time and patience.
(both fleeting commodities these days) Since I like my E-32 to drive right, I've gone through the above drill more than once.
If you want to discuss any of this send me an E-
mail. As far as the money pit factor, that's been
well documented. Staying away from the stealer
is the biggest factor as you know. I did decide to purchase a primary driver and drive my E-32 only on nice days however. Drove it today in fact. That makes me appreciate it that much more when I wheel it out.
Best Regards,
George
90 735il/144K

After months of fruitless checking for problems in the steering and front suspension, I finally decided to just ignore everything else and adjust the toe in myself. All of the front suspension parts are (now) new and the loose steering has persisted despite all other attempts to resolve the problem.

The good news, the steering is much better. I simply adjusted the tie rods by an equal amount on both sides, gradually increasing the toe-in. First adjustment, definite improvement but still a bit too loose. Second adjustment, almost back to the way I remember the steering 100,000 miles ago. Third adjustment, no, I don't think so as this would probably create adverse wear on the front tires. Although the car had been aligned, I don't think that the shop works on very many BMWs and perhaps their specifications are not that accurate.

The bad news, my steering wheel is now 90 degrees off. Maybe it is just time to take the car to the stealer and have him align the front end, set the steering box tension, and adjust the steering wheel. This, however, feels like admitting defeat since I have never had to take the car to the stealer in my four years/126,000 miles of ownership. Maybe it is just frustration since after I had packed everything up and was walking around the car, I could hear a distinct buzzing sound coming from the right rear. I looked underneath and, by pushing on the gas tank, I could temporarily stop the buzz. I am afraid that the fuel pump is starting to fail (it is the original pump). Oh well, something else to fix next weekend. (wouldn't it be nice to have just one weekend where you didn't have to fix something?)

Alex Lynch
1992 735i 189,000 miles (the money pit)
1972 2002 187,000 miles (a much shallower money pit)

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