this is unbeliveable

[dambro24]

REPLACED ON MY E46:
1.) front bushings(both)
2.) control arms (both )
3.) tire rods (both)
4.) ball joints (both)
5.) Front struts (both)
6.) car aligned 5 times 4 diferent rep. shops.
7.) tires stock and pressure to spec.

WHAT SHOULD I DO NEXT???

car was in an accident on the left driver side . fairly good hit. car will run straight , but steering will kinda jumps all over the road at times . also pulls at times , but not any specific direction.(both directions)

the body shop i just took it out of to install my brand new bmw struts said the way the car is aligned. the car should be running smooth and perfect.So in my mind then the caris all up to specs on being straight , so it has to be a component i have not replaced yet.

Only things left and i can think of is :
1.) steeering rack . very possible , WHO HAS HAD A BAD RACK BEFORE WHERE EXACTLY DID IT GO BAD AND WHAT DID YOUR CAR FEEL LIKE?


2.) Rear bushings. maybe but car only has 51k onher. they are suppose to make it to around 100k. also had checked and they did check out OK.

3.) REAR SHOCKS.


ANYONE WANT TO THROUGH IN THIER TWO CENTS BE MY GUESS. ILL BE HERE ALL NIGHT .
PM 'S
EMAIL
ANYTHING

[TheSilentChamber]

Any vibration or anything?

[dambro24]

Nope No Vibrations At All.

[Moppie]

Has the chassis been checked?
A hit hard enough to damage suspension parts could easily damage thier mounting points as well.

[abaird]

I know from experience that GM vehicles have a sensor located on the steering shaft that controls your power assist for different driving speeds. Mine started going bad about 80k but didn't get bad enough to replace until later. It caused symptoms like you described, the steering wheel will sometimes get a real loose feel or almost like it jumps to one side or the other. May be a place to look.

[dambro24]

here is a link to a disucsion. this is my thread statred and it answers alot of question that might help you help me. thank you soo much guys
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthr...84#post3972384

[curtis73]

I agree with what someone said over at the E46 forums; steering rack. BMW racks are some of the nicest engineering this side of Italy, but they are a bit fragile. Your E46 rack is better than my E30 rack, but not by much.

I also agree with Moppie. The problem with unibody crumple zones is just that... they are designed to take all the impact. Its quite possible that your left and right control arm mounts are no longer on the same plane. That would make very odd camber, caster, and toe characteristics during deflection. An alignment is incredibly simple and doesn't have any bearing on what the suspension does at other points in its travel. Alignments are only valid if the suspension hasn't been altered outside of its original engineering. Alignments are like static compression ratio. Its only a vague indicator of actual cylinder pressures while the car is running based on all the thousands of other factors that affect it.

First, I would do a comprehensive test on the rack. That is the most obvious part that you didn't replace, but took a terrible hit. Steering forces are much greater than most people think. Combine that with an impact from a collision and I can't possibly see how that rack could have survived. It could also be something as simple as a torn or cracked rack mount.

Usually if you have a wrecked front end with problems like that, I suggest this test: Add a little more toe. Factory spec is probably about 1/16" toe in. Try 1/4 toe in and then try 1/4 toe out. Don't leave them that way for more than about 100 miles or you'll scuff and cup the tires. If either one solves or helps the steering wander, you have some more chassis straightening to do. You can't throw parts at a wrecked car. You have to fix the wreck. If both of the toe changes make the condition worse, try this test. Return the alignment to factory spec and take the springs out. Run the suspension all the way from full droop to full jounce and I think you'll find the only place your alignment is equal on both sides is at ride height. My guess is that when you go compression on the driver's side you'll get an almost instant move toward negative caster (less rear lean) and more toward positive camber (top of the tire out). This is usually accompanied with more toe-in which could be causing your wander. Either test will tell you if the chassis is straight up front.

If that fails, have someone with a good eye (like someone from a good alignment shop) follow you while you drive the car. If the car crabs to one side it will never be right no matter how straight the front is. The parallel planes you established by the wreck repair are not travelling in the same line as the car. The thrust angle needs to be parallel with those planes or the toe gets thrown off. Again, back to the chassis bed for some straightening.

The bottom line is, the problem was there after the wreck, you put a bunch of new parts on, but didn't recheck the frame straigtness or the rack. (at least from what I read... forgive me if I missed it)

[dambro24]

So, basically what you are saying is that the car can have a perfect alignment but still be all out of whack when the car is actually driving? As for the steering rack being replaced, you think I should replace it since the car only has 50k miles on it. And of course it is only costing a 100 deduct and an alignment.

So I guess one more freely new part will not be a bad thing. But you are saying you think not?