88 735i problems...

Yes its a 88 735i that seems to wander and almost hop all over the road from time to time like it just wants to go its own way all of a sudden. I did try to adj. the stearing box with that screw on top did not do anything...Rear shocks/stuts noisy too car just seams to handle and drive very sloppy. Also car from a dead stop seams like it takes off very slow almost like its stuck or does NOT want to roll smooth...did check tires/breaks calipers ect...DID find the front right caliper locked up and repalced...those are the majors for now...let me know what ya can thanks...Carl = Chicago :thumbsup:

I think you have answered some of the question with the shcok/strut issue. Also, the rear sub frame(beer cans) bushings can give you this problem. I would start with new struts (BOGE or Bilstein), and see how that feels. If that does not solve the problem, follow up with the front outer sway bar links and then the rear dog bones. As a last resort the beer cans (they are pricey so wait on those). My son's 1988 735i was a bit squirrly and new front strut inserts as well as the beer cans solved his cars problem. My 1988 750 would tend to wander and new front strut inserts (Bilstein Touring) helped me out.

Ok i will check into that and see if i can pin point the problem, i am thinking the rears are the issue with the way it feels and the noise i am hearing...NOTE the car seems to drop lower and be loose when given it gas kinda like it wants to do a wheely sort of...? Almost feels like the car is doing the twist too.

ANOTHER NOTE on this car do i have to buy the self leveler stuts for the back, where do ya think the cheapest spot to find them? Ah so many questions...

Dont leave me hangin peeps...anyone?

As long as you have the 735i not the il you do not have self leveling rear struts. Your choice as to manufacturer (BOGE or Bilstein). Try autohausaz or euroweb to name a couple supppliers, then there is the parts bin, bimmerparts, and the beat goes on.

Cool i am going to bring her to the shop soon to see whats up for sure before i start swapping parts out...

Well still have not made it to the shop, But for some more info. the car seems as if it has like four wheel steering sometime and seems to almost drive like its constantly drifting and i can so feel it happeing it freaky werid, and yes still the noise from the rear shocks/strut area i think this is the root of the problem...any mo help? THANKS :dogpile:

check the pitman arm i have a 88 735i that had the same prob
i just tightend the nut and prob gone
it was that easy and cost nothing

Well still have not made it to the shop, But for some more info. the car seems as if it has like four wheel steering sometime and seems to almost drive like its constantly drifting and i can so feel it happeing it freaky werid, and yes still the noise from the rear shocks/strut area i think this is the root of the problem...any mo help? THANKS :dogpile:

Also, with the age of the car, it probably has a significant amount of miles on it, even for a BMW. It may be that the front end is just worn out and needs to be replaced, that would be my guess. A couple of years ago I had an 88 735i which I had had for about 10 years at the time and my mechanic told me that I needed to replace the front end as it was (in his words) "worn slap out". I never got a chance to do that because it was totalled indirectly, due to an accident soon after. I replaced it (two years ago) with a 90 735iL in really good condition but my mechanic has now told me that this front end needs to be replaced due to it now has over 200,000 miles on it. I don't believe it's uncommon that even with the most careful driver (which I'm not) for a front end to be worn out, once you start getting close to the 200,000 mile mark. Again, I understand that BMW's are designed to take a lot of mileage but eventually somethings got to give.

Front end problems are pretty common on E32 7ers. Wandering, shuddering at speeds over 50miles an hour, etc. Sometime it's as simple as a loose bolt. Others aren't so fortunate and end up spending upwards of $2000 just to fix the front suspension.

Warped tire bands can also have a huge effect on the steering. Make sure your tires are filled properly ACCORDING TO THE PSI ON THE TIRE. There's a reason why they stamp a maximum rating on the tire. My 255/40ZR-17's have a max PSI of 44, I filled them to 40 and the shuddering went away on my car. They were at 32!

i am having a problem with my 90 735i. it has a vibration and it sounds like it is coming from the rightrear side of the car. now i have so far replaced the center driveshaft bearing and the rightside passanger side front wheel bearing. now is their any chance that i my have the driveshaft uncentered in the the car.but it sounds like a real deep bassy vibration. well if anyone out their have any idea please shaire it with me.my bmw is a 1990 735i with the 6 cylinder auto tranny.

If you sat in your driveway and turned your wheels either way, does the vibration get better one way and worse the other? Does the steering seem to tighten up when you turn the wheel one way, and get loose when you turn the other?

i am having a problem with my 90 735i. it has a vibration and it sounds like it is coming from the rightrear side of the car. now i have so far replaced the center driveshaft bearing and the rightside passanger side front wheel bearing. now is their any chance that i my have the driveshaft uncentered in the the car.but it sounds like a real deep bassy vibration. well if anyone out their have any idea please shaire it with me.my bmw is a 1990 735i with the 6 cylinder auto tranny.



Does the vibration seem to dissipate as you go through your gears or does it stay pretty much the same at all gears/speeds. The reason I ask is because 8 months after I bought my current 7, I ended up having to replace my driveshaft. It had a vibration that would start off in first gear but as the transmission shifted it would dissipate and eventually disappeared altogether. The noise appeared to be coming from the right rear of the car. I've talked to a few 7 series owners who have had similar problems which were traced back to the driveshaft, which I think is a pretty common problem with high mileage BMW's. As I said earlier, I ended up replacing my driveshaft because it had just worn out over the years and miles. It cost around $800.00 in December of 04 for the work to be done but what a difference it made. It may be that the entire driveshaft needs replacing. It is possible I would guess that the driveshaft may not centered but more than likely, it's time to replace the entire shaft.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=GB43&mospid=47359&btnr=26_0021&hg=26&fg=05

Good Luck!!

Drive shafts are a common problem on these cars, especially after 100,000 miles. Common symptom is a shudder upon accelerating from a stop, i replaced my shaft at 130,000 miles ('88 750) bought it from THRASH in TX for about $360 and had it installed for $150. Center bearings do need a pre-load upon installation, about 4 mm forward push and then tighten. howare the wheel bearings and how about the differential, changed fluid in the differential recently and if it is a limited slip it needs a additive when refilled. If all else fails, cruise over to ROADFLY.com and ask the question, there are a lot of technical experts at that site and I use this site, bimmerwerkz, pelican parts and roadfly as my technical sources.

well the car has about 165,000 miles on it. so it could be the drive shaft but when i took the shaft out to replace the centerbearing it seem to look ok and another thing i forgot to mention the first time i notice the noise i took the right rear drive axle out and put it in the vice to be packed with grease now i dont know if i used the right kind of grease in the CV joints for bmws i just used some red cv grease from oreillys parts store. maybe i could of knocked someting out of wack when i took the axle out because it was really hard to get back in as i remember because i had to pry around a little just to get it to fall into place.......any ideas.

I think that rear CV might be suspect. Go to:http://bmwe32.masscom.net
and take a look at the rear suspension repair items. Also for your car here is another great site: http://www.nmia.com/~dgnrg/page_2.htm

i notice the vibation more when i drive in town than on the highway it seems like after about 65 mph it gets smoother.

My drive shaft only gave me issues at low speed, never at high speeds, how about the transmission support bushings, have they been changed?

i have not yet changed the tranny support bushings. that was my next...? because the support bushings are split.i know i will have to replace the support bushings. but do you think that plays a big part in my vibration problem.

i have not yet changed the tranny support bushings. that was my next...? because the support bushings are split.i know i will have to replace the support bushings. but do you think that plays a big part in my vibration problem.


If the support bushings are bad then yes, it could be causing the vibration. However, I would think if the problem were the support bushings, then I doubt that the speed of the car would have any effect on the vibration getting worse or getting better. Whereas, I know for certain that in my case when the driveshaft was bad, the vibration wasn't as bad once I went through all the gears. It was most noticeable in 1st and 2nd gear and tapered off somewhat in 3rd gear but completely disappeared in 4th gear, which sounds similar to the problem you're having. Again, if I were to guess what the problem was, I would bet on the driveshaft.

What about engine mounts? I read on another forum (can't remember which one) of a guy who was constantly fighting with rear axel vibration. Replace the entire rear end of his E32 750 and it didn't go away. He just gave up on that basically and just parked the car. He changed his engine mounts a few weeks after and low and behold, no more rear end vibration...

So, my point is, tranny support bushing could be a cause...like that guy on the other forum said, who'd a thunk engine mounts had ANYTHING to do with my rear end vibration!

If all else fails, cruise over to ROADFLY.com and ask the question, there are a lot of technical experts at that site and I use this site, bimmerwerkz, pelican parts and roadfly as my technical sources.
Before you ask, use the search feature on the Roadfly E32 forum first. Chances are your question was already answered before you even asked.

http://bimmer.roadfly.com/bmw/forums/e32/

For instance, found this in the Roadfly archives:
http://bimmer.roadfly.com/bmw/forums/e32/1690857-1.html

What about engine mounts? I read on another forum (can't remember which one) of a guy who was constantly fighting with rear axel vibration. Replace the entire rear end of his E32 750 and it didn't go away. He just gave up on that basically and just parked the car. He changed his engine a few weeks after and low and behold, no more rear end vibration...

So, my point is, tranny support bushing could be a cause...like that guy on the other forum said, who'd a thunk engine mounts had ANYTHING to do with my rear end vibration!


Before you ask, use the search feature on the Roadfly E32 forum first. Chances are your question was already answered before you even asked.

http://bimmer.roadfly.com/bmw/forums/e32/




For instance, found this in the Roadfly archives:
http://bimmer.roadfly.com/bmw/forums/e32/1690857-1.html



One thing that I have learned throughout the years of being a BMW owner, is that "anything" is possible.

thank you very much for your advice. i will use that bit of info to work out the bugs. At the least you have given me ideas on what to look for. And i think you maybe right about that driveshaft.( it may just be that) I drove the car to work today and its like you said the vibration just about go's away after 4th gear.Looks like i will have to get back under the car and rassell that one hell of a heavyweight champion exhaust system back down on me. The first time it just about did me in.Oh yeah another question how does one get corroded/striped out bolts out of the tranny crossmember. This is why the first time i did the job i couldnt change the tranny support bushings because of the striped out bolts on the tranny crossmember.

thank you very much for your advice. i will use that bit of info to work out the bugs. At the least you have given me ideas on what to look for. And i think you maybe right about that driveshaft.( it may just be that) I drove the car to work today and its like you said the vibration just about go's away after 4th gear.Looks like i will have to get back under the car and rassell that one hell of a heavyweight champion exhaust system back down on me. The first time it just about did me in.Oh yeah another question how does one get corroded/striped out bolts out of the tranny crossmember. This is why the first time i did the job i couldnt change the tranny support bushings because of the striped out bolts on the tranny crossmember.

That is one tough job w/o a lift. Btw, the exhaust system balances perfectly on a hydraulic jack. I replaced my entire exhaust system this summer and through that experience, I picked up a few tricks. As for removing the bolts, if they're stripped, sometimes the only way to get them off is to cut 'em off.

Good Luck!!

yeah it will be luck if i get those bolts out. I'll keep you posted on how it went.

Do the bolts just spin, or are they frozen, could you get an impact wrench on them?

no just cant get pass the striped heads of the bolt. i dont recall if the bolt head size is a 13mm or a 14mm. anyway it just slips pass the head of the bolt when i try to turn the bolt out. and i dont think i can get a set of vice grips on it. i have a wire fed welder think i can weld a socket onto the head of the bolt and then try to turn it out. or do you think thats a bad idea. i had a jeep grand lerado that i had to do something like this to on the rear wheel rotor bolt that had striped. and no i dont have a history of stripping nuts and bolts it was done before i got to it.anyway if you come up with anything let me know.

no just cant get pass the striped heads of the bolt. i dont recall if the bolt head size is a 13mm or a 14mm. anyway it just slips pass the head of the bolt when i try to turn the bolt out. and i dont think i can get a set of vice grips on it. i have a wire fed welder think i can weld a socket onto the head of the bolt and then try to turn it out. or do you think thats a bad idea. i had a jeep grand lerado that i had to do something like this to on the rear wheel rotor bolt that had striped. and no i dont have a history of stripping nuts and bolts it was done before i got to it.anyway if you come up with anything let me know.
Well, if you've tried everything, nothing has worked, and this your last recourse, the worst that can happen is you're down a socket!:icon16:

no just cant get pass the striped heads of the bolt. i dont recall if the bolt head size is a 13mm or a 14mm. anyway it just slips pass the head of the bolt when i try to turn the bolt out. and i dont think i can get a set of vice grips on it. i have a wire fed welder think i can weld a socket onto the head of the bolt and then try to turn it out. or do you think thats a bad idea. i had a jeep grand lerado that i had to do something like this to on the rear wheel rotor bolt that had striped. and no i dont have a history of stripping nuts and bolts it was done before i got to it.anyway if you come up with anything let me know.


What about using an acetylene torch to cut it off. I once had to have a stripped lug nut cut off with a torch. I didn't do it myself, I had it done at a metal shop, at minimal cost.

well the problem with cutting it off is that how will i get it to fasten back down again. i think it will be just a stud after it is cut off. unless you think a pair of vice grips will do the job after it is cut.

well the problem with cutting it off is that how will i get it to fasten back down again. i think it will be just a stud after it is cut off. unless you think a pair of vice grips will do the job after it is cut.


I'm not real familiar with this area of my car. Is there no way to cut off the bolt without damaging the stud? If you could somehow manage to do that, it seems to me that you may be able to replace the bolt which was cut off with a new one.