Car handling problem - help!

[Electric Leyland]

Hi everyone,

 

Not been on here for ages, lazily only using the A/S Facebook page. Have tons of recent spots, should dump a tonne of them on here too for folks not an FB to enjoy.

 

Anyway advice needed, I’m at my wits end with my trusty 1996 BMW E36 328i. Have had it 3 months now, covered well over 2k in it, and I love it. Except for one thing. The wind.

 

This car absolutely hates the wind on a straight stretch of open A road. To the point where if it’s windy then either an alternative route needs seeking, or the car must not exceed 45mph. At first I thought the problem was going to be easily fixed when I eventually checked the tyre pressures and noticed one of them was under half the others -  slow puncture. New tyre on in the garage, but problem’s still there. Regular checking of tyre pressure (all set at 33 now) but problem still persists. Tread on all 4 tyres looks fine too. Mate I’d bought the car from said tracking was done not that long ago, and the tyres aren’t very old. He’s only ever driven it around London (in the 12 years he’s had it and I’ve known him), and this problem never manifests itself in town or on country roads, just open stretches of dual carriageways. I also wondered if it’s just me being unused to driving a RWD car. The last one (orange 1979 Mazda 323) was a bit like this as well, and also RWD, but nowhere near the same scale as this. Am I just being over sensitive with RWD cars? I hope not, as its pretty terrifying when you feel the car is about to spin out as soon as any wind hits it.

 

The past 24 hours has seen the 2 extremes. Going home up the A1 in last night’s high winds was like driving on a sheet of ice, struggling desperately to keep the car straight, each gust of wind snatching the steering wheel, embarrassed at how everyone overtakes me at 70+ as I couldn’t risk going 50. And this morning, calm with no wind, car effortlessly cruises at 70+ with 1 finger on the wheel without a hitch.

 

Before I start chucking money at the problem has anyone experiences this before?  

[derskine]

Nothing to do with RWD I don't think, could it be a worn steering rack/track rod ends?

[alfetta]

Tried checking shocks, bushings, subframe mounts? I've owned lots of RWD cars and not had this problem.

 

I've never owned a E36 though..

[KruJoe]

Yes please to some spots Richard - I'm not on that Facebook thing, Autoshite is all the social network I need. 

[Bren]

Corrosion at the back of the car? I know some of them have issues where ithe suspension is attached to the body.

[Spottedlaurel]

Not been on here for ages, lazily only using the A/S Facebook page. Have tons of recent spots, should dump a tonne of them on here too for folks not an FB to enjoy.

 

Please do! I'm not on Facebook but would like to see them.

 

Sorry, nothing to offer on the subject of your BMW. Perhaps nail a set of these 'ears' fitted to Sierras onto your rear pillars?

[Junkman]

If there was anything seriously wrong with the car, it wouldn't need wind to show.

So I suspect indeed hyper sensibility.

Also, a car is much more stable in crosswind at 70 instead of 50.

[nigel bickle]

When I had similar sounding issues on my SDi Vitesse, Twas the rear suspension rubbers.

Rear trying to steer the car, slightly. Felt horrid till sorted

[gordonbennet]

With the car parked and parking brake applied, seize hold of each wheel in turn and apply pressure both ways to the tyres in a rotation as if you were trying to turn the wheel to make the car move, set a rocking motion up for and aft if you can and it will really show up knackered bushes.

You should find you can barely move them, but the front lower arm fore and aft bushes are prone to wear on these and that can have a horrible effect on steering as the wishbone moves back which gives a slight toe out situation and changes the caster, if you find excessive movement its time for either new wishbones or new bushes.

The rear should be rock solid, but not having come across wear on one that floats about i can't tell you what to look for.

[John F]

Ditto on the Faceache, I binned that ages ago

 

Re. the handling issue, front wishbone rear bushes and rear trailing arm bushes can both cause woolly handling on E36s - I'd look at those first if the tyres & tracking are not suspect.

[jonny69]

Sounds a lot like a worn joint. Track rod end or something.

But it could also be the tracking. Mine blows around a lot more now I've set it with a bit more tow in.

[barefoot]

I know nothing about BMW's, but my t2 was exactly the same in any sort of x wind, tracking cured it in a trice.

[forddeliveryboy]

Were lots of people overtaking you? If not, then perhaps conditions were bad enough to warrant a low speed. Tracking and tyre make can have a big effect in these conditions, as can everything else steering and suspension-wise.

[meggersdog]

Don't want to worry you too much but we had a compact in a few months ago and the front cross-member was rotted through where the anti-rollbar attached.It's quite hard to spot with the inner wheel-arch liner in place.This would give very interesting handling but not just in wind though.

[vulgalour]

Shitty tyres and bad tracking have done this on FWD cars I've driven so that's where I'd look first because it's the cheapest and most obvious fix.

[lisbon_road]

Many sensible comments above.  Thought to add: swap tyres around perhaps front to back and see if it helps.  Might indicate a tyre issue.  

[garethj]

With a new (to you) car it's sometimes the driver giving the steering wheel a death grip. Some cars need a firm hand on the wheel, others less so. If you're used to driving knackered old sheds then you might have too firm a grip on the wheel so every tiny movement of your arm makes the car dart about.

 

This can be much worse when your shoulders are tense.

 

The checks above are good but can you get a mate to try driving it?

[New POD]

An old cavalier I had was tiresome in the wind, until I fitted new shocks all round.

[matty879]

sounds like rack,p bushes or ball joints,my tr7 was fine till I hit 50,that was rack,but beemers have 2 ball joints on each arm and can drive really sloppy when worn,or p bushes are worn they aint cheap,worth getting the jack out and having a look me thinks.

[mouseflakes]

If it's not one of the wear/rot issues listed above (or below) then it might be worth checking any flexible joints in the steering column. I once had to fix a friends Mk1 R5 that had a 'very' flexible joint in the column (the rubbers were detached from the steel). On a bend it wasn't so bad as the column was turned against the forces on the wheels so taking the slack out of the joint. On a straight it could feel OK as the camber generally took up the slack - but cross winds or the odd bump would suddenly reveal it in an alarming manner.

[Timewaster]

My mate had a 325i e36 and the square mounting that holds the diff in place was shot to bits and the mounting holes were all egg shaped.

It was a big job, tank off, drop axle, lots of welding etc etc.

If he didn't have his own workshop it would have been scrap time.

 

We suspect the cause was his habit of driving like a twat.

[Faker]

Believe it or not, check rear trailing arm bushes where they mount to the floor. They can wear badly in all rear drive bms. Side winds and sudden gusts pushing the car can cause rear geometry to change slightly and cause the rear to steer for itself! You might notice slight movement in the seat of your pants over slightly uneven ground as this too can exaggerate the rear worn bush issue, and cause the rear of the car to sway ever so slightly..

[mouseflakes]

You might notice slight movement in the seat of your pants

Now come on! Scary though it must nave been, I'm sure Mr Leyland maintained full control in that department.

[hauserplenty]

Autoshite. Your motoring is our concern.

 

Oh, dear.

[Faker]

Now come on! Scary though it must nave been, I'm sure Mr Leyland maintained full control in that department.

I deserve that!!!

[daverapid]

Hi Richard...if you want to call in at the garage I'm happy to put it on the ramp and check it over mate.   

[Rocket88]

My Omega has similar symptoms, front wishbone bushes are nadgered. A pair of new wishbones, £58......................probably made out of Chinese cheese, but we'll see.

[John F]

Any feedback on this yet?

[Electric Leyland]

Loads of excellent comments and ideas, many thanks to everyone who has contributed.

 

 

 

So in the evening of the day I posted this topic up, I got into the car to drive home from work, turned the key, and the engine fired up and was suddenly making a noticeably unhealthy noise, like a noisy fan breaking. It increased as I revved the engine. I knew I couldn’t drive it home like this so turned it off and waited til the next morning when it was light to try again, with a mate this time. Turned the key and now the engine won’t even move. Something really bad has happened. Suddenly my handling problem becomes marginal!

 

 

 

I’ve had a mechanic mate out today who has diagnosed OMG BMW HGF! Mayo in the engine cap. Game over he says. He thought it was going to be the timing belt at fault, but you could hear that sounded ok when turning the ignition. No warning lights on either. He says you can tell there is no compression in the engine.

 

 

 

Checked dip stick though and no mayo in there, looks fine. We resigned that the car was a fatality and I was about to scrap it, but the previous owner reckons it may not be completely dead and I should take it to a garage. He thinks it cant be HGF as the dipstick oil is ok. Either way I’m sure it won’t be cheap, it’s an engine fault. Not air-con (doesn’t have it) and not an oil problem, or battery, or fuel.

 

 

 

So strange though as when I parked the car up that morning it was completely fine.

[Electric Leyland]

One thing though, on Friday I did twice hear a sort of split-second clatter in the engine area when I was driving it, thought I'd driven over a tin can or something, but handling unaffected. It must be linked. Another mate (Ex E36 owner) thought timing chain was jumping a tooth and was on tis way out, but apparently its definitely not that according to my mechanic mate.