Car vibrating (almost violently) at high speeds

[cooa99]

Hi guys,

I tend to drive my E53 D sports mainly at the weekends. I drove it on 2 days ago in the morning on local roads around 30mph but felt something was not quite right but could not put my finger on it. Anyway the tyre pressure monitor came up and I did a visual check which they all seems fine.

Later in the day, I took it on the Motorway and after 20 min at 75mph the car started vibrating and then all of a sudden got really worse and noisy. I could feel the judder through the steering wheel as well.

My Tyres all round are close to the limit (though no advisory on them from MOT a couple of weeks ago) so need changing anyway.

Wondering if this a case of new tyres needed or something else?

Thanks

[X5Sport]

Check for one wheel being warmer than any other. If it is then you may have a stuck brake caliper and as the disc heats up you get vibration, which can be severe. Sometimes hard braking will clear it for a little while.

It could also be a wheel bearing issue (that can also cause a temp rise on a wheel), CV joint, thrown balance weight, suspension fault (bushing). Could be a bad tyre (damaged).

If it is a caliper then you either repair or replace it (I replaced mine) and will probably need new discs and pads on that axle.

[cooa99]

Thanks for the pointers X5Sport,

I'll give it a run this evening and check wheel heat and change the tyres hopefully tomorrow.

[mr angry]

Mine did this and it was a sticky front caliper, in the end they were both sticking, albeit one more than the other. I replaced the piston and seal kit which was cheap and very straight forward to do. My discs and pads were fine.

[weirdfish]

If tyres are close to the limit then change these first, that way you'll have nicely balanced new rubber.

[cooa99]

X5sport was spot on.

I took it for a drive and checked the wheels. The front drivers side wheel was certainly hot, a lot of smelly heat and slight fumes. Is that almost conclusively a stuck caliper issue rather than bearing?

[X5Sport]

Sounds like mine was. As long as the disc isn’t warped you won’t have to change it and that will mean you can use the same pads too,

A wheel bearing usually shows up as a steady rumble or whine that changes with speed, and it would have to be pretty bad to get that hot! Caliper is the most likely.

An easy check is to jack that wheel of the ground and ‘rock’ it at 6 & 12 o’clock. If there is a lot of movement - say 1/4 inch at the rim or more then suspect bearing. If it rotates freely and you can’t feel any serious roughness then the bearing is fine. You might need to gently try to lever the brake caliper to ease the brakes off and it will rotate freely but if cold it probably isn’t ‘dragging’.

Sticky callipers are common, wheel bearings are not.

[Alan Gunn]

I have rebuilt a couple in the last year or so and get the kit from this place.
http://biggred.co.uk/

[cooa99]

Thanks for the link Alan, I was just looking at them on ebay.

so my options are :-
1) repair kit at £18 from Bigred
2) replace the whole caliper with Pagid Caliper from ECP. They have two different ones at £72 and £101 not sure what the differences are.
3) replace the whole caliper with one form the dealers at a whooping £260! --- actually maybe this is not an option.

Both options ( 1 & 2 ) require I take the brake line off the caliper. Would I not end up introducing air into the system?. I have never bled brakes before.

[X5Sport]

Taking the caliper off will ‘open’ the system as you suggest.

I used special clamps in two places on the flexible brake line -

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Amtech-J1935-H ... 145&sr=8-5

as these prevent air getting very far and makes bleeding simpler, and prevent fluid loss. I use a low pressure brake bleeder. It isn’t a tricky process and there are videos on line to help.

Change process using BMW TIS is here....

https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/e53- ... 34-brakes/

I can’t see what the difference between the two options on ECP might be other than perhaps one being a later version, perhaps not as many about and therefore pricier.

You also need a special spanner for the bleed nipple - could be a 9, 10 or 11mm - called a flare nut spanner/wrench. Three different sizes are used depending on who repaired the caliper and what it was fitted with. I bought a set (as I have three BMWs and all different )

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Picture-fahren ... 141&sr=8-5

There are two bolts that hold the caliper to the caliper carrier (see the TIS) which (on mine) use a Torx head. They are tight and must be refitted with some Threadlock Blue to stop them coming loose. BMW recommend that both these bolts are replaced rather than re-used, but that’s personal choice. They need torquing up to the setting stated in the TIS. I replaced mine (coz I’m like that) and BMW charged £7 per bolt

It is a diy job if you have the tools and time (about an hour to change caliper, disc & pads and bleed the new caliper) and inclination, or get an Indy to do it. My disc was warped and so I had to replace both discs (to match the wear) and that meant new pads too. I bought all parts from ECP and used Pagid.

[cooa99]

Thanks X5,

Apart from needing a few more tools to do the bleeding, it is still a bit daunting. It is safe to say this is outside my comfort zone. I just called an indy up for quotes on sorting the caliper. They said they will replace the caliper rather than use a repair kit... and would call me back as to the costs. Thinking they may quote on bmw part prices I tried to dropped into the conversation calipers are available at ECP to which they said those are sh1* . I feel a big bill coming on!

Other option is to use the clamps you suggested after for doing the caliper myself and then driving the car round to an indy to be charged for bleeding or flushing. Its been over 2yrs since the last flush.....

[X5Sport]

The ECP calipers are OEM Pagid, and refurbed by them and in a Pagid box. Hardly sh!t. I would be worried by any Indy making that sort of comment. That sounds like an ignorant person trying to talk up their prowess and charges. There is a Mintex option the same price. They probably both use the same refurb kit anyway. BMW probably use the same parts and just change the box.

The one I had last year looked brand new. I don’t mess about with this sort of stuff given my (and other road users/passengers) lives may depend upon it.

Some ECP offered parts might be unbranded/lower quality but there is always the proper equivalent available.

[cooa99]

i was quote £420 to do the work.

I called costworld earlier for the price on a new caliper and was told £258. So labor charge of £162

[X5Sport]

Ouch! My Indy charges £60/hr. They aren’t in London (Milton Keynes) so don’t have the building charges etc. BMW Dealer was £220/hr last time I used them.

[mr angry]

i was quote £420 to do the work.

I called costworld earlier for the price on a new caliper and was told £258. So labor charge of £162

That is outrageous, go to another indy