E30 shaking and rattling at anything over 50 mph or so?

[ggill1313]

Hey guys, I have a '90 E30 cabriolet. Just recently it started to shake violently when approaching and driving at highway speeds, so much so, I would consider it completely unsafe as a vehicle for such. This isn't the typical steering wheel rattle or common vibration that the cabriolets are known for, but something that feels far more severe. It begins slowly but then it starts to quickly escalate into what feels like is emanating from the front of the vehicle. What is spookier, is that when I begin to brake, it gets even worse. Today I had my brother record a video of it, and I was genuinely scared that something was going to snap and go awfully awry. What could it be?
Now for quite some time now, the brackets that hold the sway bar in place having been missing. One of the mounts on the driver side has broken off, and the other one seems to be shaken on by the frequent vibrations. However, this is not the same vibration that was caused by the sway bar not being secured. That was more of a clacking, while this is more of a bassy rumbling.


There is a video of the issue



There is a photo of the broken mount I am referring to.

http://imgur.com/BEvuxQr

Thank you!

[IRON-E]

First of all, the picture in the link shows a broken sway bar tab, that needs to be addressed promptly.
2. How is the condition of your brakes and rotors?
3. What wheels and tires are you running?
4. Have you been to a tire shop to see if your wheels are balanced?
5. When did you last do an alignment?

[jlevie]

Before driving the car any more you need to have the suspension inspected by a qualified BMW tech. This could be anything from worn parts to structural failures.

[ahlem]

Typical of bad ball joints. You will probably want to replace the entire control arm on both sides and related parts. Look up the DIY to get the scope of work and what else to change while you are in there.

[haggardfab]

the broken sway bar mount wont make it shake, personally it sounds like you have a broken belt in one of your tires but worn out balljoints could also have the same effects but usually they would do it all the time if they are that bad