Troubleshooting front axle

Condition	Cause	Correction
Vibration	Unbalanced wheels	Balance wheels
	Bent rim	Replace or repair rim
	Tire out of round	Replace tires
Grinding noise ( gets louder in turns )	Wheel bearing bad	Replace wheel bearing on outside of curves when noise is loudest.
Shake in steering wheel	Unbalanced wheels	Balance wheels
	Bent rim	Replace rim
	Control arm mounts worn	Replace bushing
	Shock absorbers worn or defective	Replace shocks
Rattling noises	Shock absorber loose in housing	Tighten collar nut to 130 Nm (94 ft lbs.)
	Ball joints worn	Replace control arm
	Sway bar links worn	Replace links
	Cross member loose	Tighten to 47 Nm (34 ft lbs.) for grade 9.8 bolts; 42 Nm (30 ft lbs.) for grade 8.8 bolts

Car continuing to sway after crossing bumps

Car becoming unstable after successive bumps

Body rising under acceleration

Wheels bouncing on contact with normal road surfaces

Car skidding under normal braking

Car sliding in corners under normal cornering

Trouble shooting shock absorbers
Condition	Cause	Correction
Shock bottoming on bumps (knocking)	Bad or missing bump stop	Replace bump stop
	Bad or worn shock absorber	Replace shock absorber
Other noises from shock	Insert loose in housing	Tighten collar nut to 130 Nm (94 ft lbs.)
	Defective shock absorber	Replace shock absorber
Poor handling	Weak shock absorbers	Replace shock absorber
Flat spotted tires	Worn shock absorbers	Replace shock absorber

E30 M3 Repair Manual V2.7. Copyright �1999-2001 Koala Motorsport & Brett Anderson