front axle troubleshooting

# Troubleshooting front axle.

#### Condition

#### Cause

#### Correction

##### Vibration

Unbalanced wheels

Balance wheels

| Bent rim | Replace or repair rim
| Tire out of round | Replace tires

##### Grinding noise (gets louder in turns)

Wheel bearing bad

Replace wheel bearing on outside of curves when noise is loudest.

##### Shake in steering wheel

Unbalanced wheels

Balance wheels

| Bent rim | Replace rim
| Control arm mounts worn | Replace bushing
| Shock absorbers worn or defective | Replace shocks

##### Rattling noises

Shock absorber loose in housing

Tighten collar nut to 130 Nm (94 ft lbs.)

| Ball joints worn | Replace control arm
| Sway bar links worn | Replace links
| Cross member loose | Tighten to 47 Nm (34 ft lbs.) for grade 9.8 bolts; 42 Nm (30 ft lbs.) for grade 8.8 bolts

#### The following situations can be attributed to poor shock absorbers

| Car continuing to sway after crossing bumps

| Car becoming unstable after successive bumps

| Body rising under acceleration

| Wheels bouncing on contact with normal road surfaces

| Car skidding under normal braking

| Car sliding in corners under normal cornering

#### Trouble shooting shock absorbers

#### Condition

#### Cause

#### Correction

Shock bottoming on bumps (knocking) | Bad or missing bump stop | Replace bump stop
| Bad or worn shock absorber | Replace shock absorber
Other noises from shock | Insert loose in housing | Tighten collar nut to 130 Nm (94 ft lbs.)
| Defective shock absorber | Replace shock absorber
Poor handling | Weak shock absorbers | Replace shock absorber
Flat spotted tires | Worn shock absorbers | Replace shock absorber

E30 M3 Repair Manual V2.7. Copyright ©1999-2001 Koala Motorsport & Brett Anderson