front end problem

[e30:)]

my front end has been feeling a little unstable and shaky for quite some time and i just kinda ignored it but when i was under there i was looking for any obvious problems. If i grab my passenger side tie rod it will spin, the hole thing into the steering rack... is that a bad inner tie rod or do i have a serious problem my steering rack?

[dj01540i6sp]

It should not spin / rotate it should only rock on the ball joint if the inner portion is rotating then the clamp is loose get it checked out. loosing control is bad thing.

[jlevie]

The inner part of the tie rod spinning simply means that the clamp bolt is loose (or missing). Toe is probably wrong at this point and needs to be reset. Fixing that will probably help, but you need to throughly inspect all of the suspension and replace any worn parts for the full fix.

To check ball joints, squeeze the joint with a large (as in 24") pair of channel locks and pry on the joint. Any motion whatsoever in a ball joint is cause for replacement. Check rubber bushings by prying on them with a 24" pry bar. More motion than there should be (this is where experience comes in play) or any cracks are cause for replacement. You can figure on bushings being good for about 6 years or 80k. The rear suspension of an E30 isn't adjustable. Worn Rear Trailing Arm Bushings or bad subframe bushings will result in improper alignment of the rear wheels. In addition to degraded handling, problems there will accelerate wear of the rear tires.

With the car up in the air, grab each front wheel at 9 & 3 o'clock and try to wiggle the wheel. Motion along that line will be worn tie rods. Motion when wiggling the wheel at 6 & 12 o'clock will be bearings or control arm ball joints. Spin each wheel and listen for roughness in the bearings. If the brakes drag, remove the caliper (and on the rear wheels the parking brake shoes) to eliminate sounds from dragging brakes. Any roughness when spinning the wheel is cause for bearing replacement.

Shocks have a more limited life than will be apparent from the way the car feels. Figure on about 60k for OE type shocks and perhaps 80k from Bilsteins. Koni SA shocks will go a lot further as rebound can be adjusted to compensate for wear. Upper strut/shock mounts can only be assessed for wear out of the car, but they will normally out last the shocks. When replacing shocks, just replace the upper mounts and you won't have to worry about them.

The rear shock mounts on an E30 or E36 are a weak item. I always replace them with uprated mounts from Rouge engineering.

[87-325ic]

the e46 cabrio??? mounts are another option, along with the z3 plates to reinforce..

otherwwise, great post above!

[jlevie]

True, those are an option. But in my opinion the Rouge RSM's are stronger and come with reinforcement plates. There's not that much difference in price.