XSeries-forum

As mentioned in other posts I'm suffering with steering wheel shake while braking at anything over 40mph. I put new track rod ends and track arms on the other day so now the whole of the suspension front and rear has been replaced.
And still it shakes..
I have noticed that the nearside front bearing has a bit of play in it- could that be the cause?
Has anyone replaced the bearing at home as I had a quote yesterday of £230 to do the job. I will replace the discs as well.
Any ideas?

I'd suggest the discs are the cause if you've already changed the lower control arms
Also worth check the pad carriers for sticking inner pads

As a means of checking before spending, I'd be inclined to remove the calipers, remove pads and clean up the mounting points top & bottom refit and try. (Extended service intervals mean more meat in the pads, which tend to get fouled and stick with the accumulated dust that's fried on)
It worked on my last GT, though years after I did replace discs and the difference was night and day!

When you say nearside bearing, is the play notable At 6&12 or 3&9

I had both front bearings replaced on my E53 but the symptoms were a growling noise from the front wheel, not wheel judder. They were replaced by an Indy and they had to use a bearing press from a local HGV repair place as the garage one was not powerful enough to press the old bearing out. I am pleased that I didn't attempt to change them at home.

Yes the play is horizontal and vertical. It's only a fraction- if they were taper bearings it would be ok if you know what I mean.
I'm going to put new discs and pads on soon so I will free up the calipers etc. The shake is most noticable between 45 and 30mph.

Balance still OK?

Ah..funny you should mention that. After I replaced the track arms the other day the steering is shaking slightly at 60-80mph whereas it wasn't before. Wheels front and rear will be balanced, along with alignment check on Monday so let's see.

Here is thee update on this on going saga...
I went to the local Tyre Pros the other day for all 4 wheels to be balanced. On the A14 yesterday a at 65+ the steering shook worse than before. I called them and they said they only did the fronts. Goons. So it's goin back tomorrow.
Anyway, today I thought I would put new front discs and pads on the front. Easy peasy..
Not so. The driver side came off easy. I think the brake shake was because the disc retaining screw area on my the disc had sheared off. The screw wasn't doing anything. When I looked at the mating faces there was all sorts of crap squashed in there. No wonder it was wobbling about. I cleaned everything down and put it all back together. I also noted that the balancing was done by just adding more weights and not removing the old ones first. I shall be giving them a mouthful.
The nearside however, did not go to plan. The top bolt on the caliper to hub cradle is stuck fast and no amount of harsh language would budge it. My impact 16mm socket even broke..
So at the moment I have new pads on the front but only one new disc until I can get it to my local to have the bearing changed at which time he can put the new disc on.
I have yet to drive at 60+ to see if the shake has gone / eased off. Fortunately I'm not doing high mileage next week like I have been doing.
Nothing is ever easy is it...

Just had a blast at 70. No change. Steering still shakes when braking. Getting annoyed now. Its booked in on Monday for wheel bearing, disc fitting and mot. If it doesn't stop shaking then , I don't know where to go.
New discs, pads, wheel bearing, track rod ends, track arms, thrust arms with Powerflex bushes, ball joints and control arms - what's left?

Not good and understand your frustrations

What arms have you replaced ? Item 16, top wishbone?
Items 5 & 10 are the usual suspects though their wear is exaggerated by item 16 as the rest is under tension

That's not a diagram of my suspension. I have replaced all the front suspension arms now.

Oops sorry!

Couple of things left to check
(back to basics)
shocks & top mounts - good bad / originals, worn top mounts can cause steering shudder, though normally identified by grinding motion, as will worn shock absorbers!

Wheels ? Oem fitment ? Correct centre / spigot rings, mating faces clean! Recently refurbished ?

I have wheel spacers on and they are hub centric. I think I will remove them tomorrow just to eliminate that part. I will know more next week when the other disc and bearing are replaced.

Right. Here is the latest..
I had the car MOT last week and there was only the front wheel bearing that needed replacing. That, getting the stuck bolt out and putting the new disc on,mot and all wheels balanced cost me £380.. Anyway, the brake shake has now gone. Wahoo!
So on Monday I had to travel afar and the car felt wrong- drifting to the right and wheel shake at 60 +. Clearly something not right. I went back today and the two 'apprenticees' checked the balance of the front wheels. All ok.

When I got home I thought I would remove all the wheel spacers to help eliminate anything so I jacked it up and took the wheels off. That's when it became apparent why the car felt odd- on the nearside the rear wheel was on the front and the front wheel was on the back! The offside was ok.

I know Steve my mate didn't do it as he told me the lads balanced the wheels. He just did the wheel bearing.

I'm gonna go back and have a word as I actually asked him today if the lads knew what they were doing when doing the wheels and he said yes. Clearly not..

I won't get a high speed run in it until next week so let's see.

If they are anything like our apprentice, he was probably checking his Facebook at the same time

They only 'stagger' most apprentices understand is the one home from the pub!