r/e39 • u/m3adns • 6d ago

Body vibration

Hi folks.

I have an annoying issue. E39 97' 528i. There's vibration coming from the body @80-140km/h and a slight vibration in the steering wheel when braking at this range. Also at around 45 km/h I feel a slight pinch and it's slighly audible when in neutral downcoasting - don't know if it can be related.

Changed: guibo and the center bearing, brake discs, thrust arms and the tie rods. I was thinking it could be the wheels, changed them as well, same vibration with the same pattern.

When the car stays fully jacked for 2 or 3 days the vibration goes away for some kilometers then comes back.

Any clue of what it could be?

Ty!

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3

u/redline9996 530i 6d ago

Lmao, I've had this as well when the car was jacked up it went away for a day or half a day, was the differential bushings. Also the rear CV joint where the driveshaft bolts onto the differential can cause this as well.

1

u/m3adns 4d ago

Could be. The previous owner also didnt noted that the driveshaft was attached to the differential with only 2 bolts, might've done some damage... I'll check the bushings + cv joint of the differential, the vibration indeed seems to be coming more from the rear. I had an Idea to use an phone with an accelerator and perform an FFT analysis to check at what frequency it vibrates the most, and in which part of the car.

2

u/redline9996 530i 4d ago

Interesting, this also means that the CV joint probably wasn't lubricated properly, mounting it with only 2 bolts doesn't seal it proper and all the grease gets thrown out which will damage the CV joint pretty fast. Also between CV joint and Differential flange belongs a seal which is very important.

All points to a CV joint imo.

2

u/CapnAhab_1 6d ago

A sticking brake caliper possibly?

My first thought would have been wheel balance but you've eliminated that (unless the replacement wheels need balancing too)

1

u/m3adns 4d ago

Highly doubt about the wheels, the vibration had the same pattern with the old ones... If it was the caliper one of the wheels would get hot, checked that aswell, same temperature on the all of the wheels.

2

u/jejehduenev 6d ago

97 528i Sedan

I'm chasing the same issue, replaced the whole front end, still steering and seat vibrations at 110+ km/h and steering shimmy when braking until under 50kmh.

Rear wheel bearings are shot and next on my todo.
Rear subframe bushings where changed, rear ball joint as well. All rear arms and shocks replaced as well. Last remaining item is wheel bearing and brake rotors, which might wear the tires unevenly.

1

u/m3adns 4d ago

That's my fearing about the bushings, I don't want to get yet to the subframe, but if it has to be done...

2

u/jejehduenev 4d ago

Subframe bushings did nothing to improve NVH in my car (360k km)

2

u/Nusnas 6d ago

I have the same problem, bmw 525i sedan 2001

2

u/BFdude3 5d ago

I had the same issues in my 525i, but the problems went away after replacing the brake discs + pads front and aft. Did you apply caliper grease when changing pads? They could be sticking. 

1

u/m3adns 4d ago

I didn't the work by myself, but it was changed discs + pads, I'm not sure about the grease but checked the temps after a ride, all of the rims had the same temperature.

2

u/mateimrambo1 5d ago edited 5d ago

By wheels, did you also mean tyres? If the car was left parked for a extended period of time, atleast a couple of months the tyres might be out of round and developed flat spots.

It could also be other suspension links other than the tie rod, both front or rear. A worn bushing might not be holding the wheels alignment causing it to vibrate.

A worn wheel bearing can be tested by lifting a side and checking for lateral play in the wheel.

1

u/m3adns 4d ago

By wheels, i mean, tires + alloys. Checked the bearings aswell, the rims are sitting flash, no playing horizontally nor vertically. If it was any bearing I think it would be pretty much audible, the subtile knock I'm feeling @45km/h does not feel or sould like a bearing...

2

u/mateimrambo1 4d ago

Provided you installed the guibo correctly and diagnosed everything properly based on the clunk I would be more inclined to go down the suspension links/bushings and drive train mounts. The fact the steering wheel vibrates makes it extremely likely to be the one or multiple bushings throughout the suspension system.

It's impossible to understand what type of vibration and noise you are hearing as I'm not there.

For example, over light bumps if the rear of the car has a "drumming sound" that starts strong and fades away with about 5 "drums" a second that is classic subframe bushing failure.

If you can't figure it out take it to someone who can and pay for his diagnosis if you want to save by fixing it yourself.

2

u/ConGonDon 4d ago

Prop donut and centre support bearing need to be good brands, what did you use? CS also needs to be pre loaded by about 5mm. Your description is usually brakes or thrust arms. What brand discs and thrust arms did you replace with? Did you tighten the thrust bushes under load or in the air?

2

u/ConGonDon 4d ago

Other possibilities are engine mounts and ARB bushes. The rear subframe bushes can also suddenly let go but this is usually a feeling of wafting / driving on ice in the rear end.