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Track Rods and Rod Ends

2K views 15 replies 7 participants last post by  THETYRANT 
#1 ·
Had an alignment check carried out on my car and adjusted as necessary, i thought this would cure the loose feeling that i get from the steering wheel, but it has not.
I have just bought two track rod ends, and will replace those to see if the ball joints are gone.

My question is, are there any other bushes/ball joints on the steering rack, or is it just track rod ends connected to the track rods, which then connect to the rack itself?

If the problem persists after changing the track rod ends, then i was going to change to M3 control arms (excuse to do it now rather than later too) and see if this then cures it.

It makes the car horrible to drive, feel like i have to keep adjusting the wheel as it feels twitchy when driving straight.

All help is appreciated,

Sam.
 
#6 ·
Tyres all round are Continental Sport Contact 5's, none run flats as changed away from them.

Fronts are 215/40 ZR 18 89Y XL



Rears are 245/35 R18 92Y XL, the rears also have an MO stamped on them in a circle.



All pressures were set at 2.6bar as stated inside the door a couple of days ago.
 
#8 ·
Sam-w said:
Tyres all round are Continental Sport Contact 5's, none run flats as changed away from them.

Fronts are 215/40 ZR 18 89Y XL

Rears are 245/35 R18 92Y XL, the rears also have an MO stamped on them in a circle.

All pressures were set at 2.6bar as stated inside the door a couple of days ago.
All sounds good to me. I'd probably run them at 2.5Bar cold, but that's personal choice.
 
#12 ·
Fritz said:
Sounds like play in the rack to me, had a similar issue with 325ti
I hope this isn't the case! I'll have to try the control arms and track rods ends first.

marco_polo said:
Have you checked the pinch bolts on your steering column universal joints are tight? There are two E10 bolts (if memory serves), check they're both torqued up. (Might need a few extension bars to reach them)
This inside the engine bay, or inside the cabin? Will give this a try, what is the torque setting?
 
#15 ·
I think I've got something similar going on. A slightly floaty/loose feeling front end. If I grab the front wheel at 9pm and 3pm and wobble it, there's a faint but noticable clunk from towards the centre of the engine bay. This happens on both front wheels identically. I'm fairly sure both TREs etc are fine, and that there's some play somewhere that is common to both. The UJs on the steering column are first on my list, but it may be the rack. Does this sound familiar to you?
 
#16 ·
Check the front tension arms for any play that would be my guess, these are the funny shaped wishbones that go at an angle towards the front of the car from hub, its a fluid filled rubber bush on inner end which degrades over time and lets wheel move backwards and forwards when worn, also if car has had any work done on suspension and these havent been torqued up with car on its wheels (as they should be) that accelerates wear on them as bush is twisted as car is lowered down, it should be in neutral position at normal ride height when bolt is tightened up so only twists under load.
 
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