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F31 330D xDrive
- Thread starter Whitetac
- Start date
Well that was very easy, 10 minutes out the front of the house and the oil & filter is changed. Now running 5W40 as it approaches 100k miles.
£30 oil extractor definitely worthwhile as I don’t have access to ramps for a year or so. Will try and alternate changes through extractor and sump to avoid sludge collecting but it seemed to get the majority out anyway.
£30 oil extractor definitely worthwhile as I don’t have access to ramps for a year or so. Will try and alternate changes through extractor and sump to avoid sludge collecting but it seemed to get the majority out anyway.
Played around with ChatGPT and it’s made me realise I need (want) some springs and spacers…not as low as this but couldn’t finesse the chat prompts. Think eibach do some decent springs but need to do some research as I think xdrive is slightly different. And then there’s the whilst you’re there jobs like Meyle HD control arms, tie rod ends etc..,
Matt Cup
ClioSport Club Member
Iceberg 172 Cup
That’s too much lowz for me, would want a more subtle drop, spaced well, to keep as a useable daily, but ChatGPT would only drop it on its arseThat looks like a coilover job there to dial in that fitment
Couldn’t resist a subtle mod…
Used OEM part but I’d say £50 well spent.
Have done about 2,000 miles in 3 family trips and it eats the miles comfortably and effortlessly.
I still want to do a refresh of the front end with either a Meyle HD or Lemforder kit at some point, hoping the in-law has a 2 post again soon and then I’ll do it myself (with his assistance I’m sure), if not I’ll have to pay. It had an advisory last year for worn front lower susp arm so hopefully will be worthwhile. MOT is next month so see how that goes first.
Will that make him quicker on the way to work?
4x new Meyle/Meyle HD front arms (and driveshaft bolts, hopefully) arriving today, would like to change them myself but just not possible at the moment. Is it acceptable to ask that they ensure the bolts are torqued at ride height or is it condescending and teaching them to suck eggs? Just read so many horror stories…
Also think I have the common worn steering rack bush symptoms, has anyone changed it for the updated part? OEM replacement is £140, eBay special £30 or so, any ideas if it’s worth the extra for OEM or much the same and anything better than what’s in there now.
Also think I have the common worn steering rack bush symptoms, has anyone changed it for the updated part? OEM replacement is £140, eBay special £30 or so, any ideas if it’s worth the extra for OEM or much the same and anything better than what’s in there now.
F31 35d, Skoda Yeti
I have just had those oil filled bushes/control arms replaced on mine. Didn't realise there was an alternative to the oil filled bushes though
I have an F30 335d which started off with the original front control arms that I updated first for polybushed items. Those arms were an improvement, but for the last year I have had VAC monoball front upper control arms. I had them delivered from the USA, and they have made an incredible difference to how the car turns into a corner. They take away all the vagueness from the setup of the x-drive cars, and make the steering really responsive. Expensive items, but definitely worth the money.
Regarding the steering rack bush, I swapped my original bush for an eBay replacement to start with. This item was fine, however I was for a long while chasing a front end suspension rattle, and after a year I eventually fitted the BMW bush as I was working through possible causes of the noise. (Turned out to be anti-roll bar bushes as the cause of my rattle). In short, both bushes were up to the job, the eBay item obviously being a lot less money.
Regarding the steering rack bush, I swapped my original bush for an eBay replacement to start with. This item was fine, however I was for a long while chasing a front end suspension rattle, and after a year I eventually fitted the BMW bush as I was working through possible causes of the noise. (Turned out to be anti-roll bar bushes as the cause of my rattle). In short, both bushes were up to the job, the eBay item obviously being a lot less money.
So…..
All new susp arms fitted. Went to a generic garage who could fit me in and were happy to fit supplied parts. Asked him to fit the F30 steering rack fix kit and this is where it got painful.
I’m told upon collection it’s been test driven, all perfect, no knocks, steering is lovely. I get out onto the road and notice immediately there’s about 20° play in the wheel now and it knocks horribly. Great. Reassuring that he looked me in the eye and said he’d test driven it and it’s sorted.
Take it back be checked/tightened. Booked for 1430, wait around an hour whilst he does other cars, I get called into work for 1630 so have to leave without him touching it, but he states it was tightened to its max and he’s happy to try tighten it more but the threads might snap…so I give up on the £30 generic one and spend £150 on the OEM part in case it wasn’t to spec.
Third time lucky, he takes off the tray, gets to the part and says, oh I can tighten it up actually…FFS! I’ve bought the genuine part so think let’s just fit that to be sure.
*During the removal of the old one, the steering wheel gets wobbled to help pop the old one up*
All replaced, the cars reversed out and I can’t wait to get away. Steering is a little heavier and doesn’t quite self centre. Great. Hopefully it’ll settle, but the main issue now? The f**king steering wheel isn’t straight when the car is! It’s about 35° off centre?
Can I just remove the airbag and steering wheel and centre it? Or does the steering rack part need removing again and the wheel moving whilst that’s not connected?
I know the moral of the story - use a specialist, they’re worth the extra.
All new susp arms fitted. Went to a generic garage who could fit me in and were happy to fit supplied parts. Asked him to fit the F30 steering rack fix kit and this is where it got painful.
I’m told upon collection it’s been test driven, all perfect, no knocks, steering is lovely. I get out onto the road and notice immediately there’s about 20° play in the wheel now and it knocks horribly. Great. Reassuring that he looked me in the eye and said he’d test driven it and it’s sorted.
Take it back be checked/tightened. Booked for 1430, wait around an hour whilst he does other cars, I get called into work for 1630 so have to leave without him touching it, but he states it was tightened to its max and he’s happy to try tighten it more but the threads might snap…so I give up on the £30 generic one and spend £150 on the OEM part in case it wasn’t to spec.
Third time lucky, he takes off the tray, gets to the part and says, oh I can tighten it up actually…FFS! I’ve bought the genuine part so think let’s just fit that to be sure.
*During the removal of the old one, the steering wheel gets wobbled to help pop the old one up*
All replaced, the cars reversed out and I can’t wait to get away. Steering is a little heavier and doesn’t quite self centre. Great. Hopefully it’ll settle, but the main issue now? The f**king steering wheel isn’t straight when the car is! It’s about 35° off centre?
Can I just remove the airbag and steering wheel and centre it? Or does the steering rack part need removing again and the wheel moving whilst that’s not connected?
I know the moral of the story - use a specialist, they’re worth the extra.
Rojer
ClioSport Club Member
You probably can't anyways as it's likely to be keyed.
It needs alignment still since doing the arms, so just take it to a decent alignment shop and they’ll sort it?
Will a normal alignment place be capable or shall I take it to a BMW specialist?
NorthloopCup
ClioSport Moderator
Does bimmer link allow you to restart the steering calibration?
The official bmw way is to remove the power supply plug and the signal wire plug. You’re also measuring the play in the rack bush in microns - there’s a special tool for doing it that we use at work when we replace them.
For the steering wheel to have been straight, then be off on the wonk after it’s been ‘adjusted’ doesn’t sound especially promising.
The official bmw way is to remove the power supply plug and the signal wire plug. You’re also measuring the play in the rack bush in microns - there’s a special tool for doing it that we use at work when we replace them.
For the steering wheel to have been straight, then be off on the wonk after it’s been ‘adjusted’ doesn’t sound especially promising.
Not that I’ve found, will have another look. It’s a lot more basic than ISTA.
Do you know if the process of re-centring the inputs of the steering wheel to the steering rack is a big job?
Im guessing it must have occurred when the steering rack thrust bush cover was loose and the wheel moved to unstick the actual bush, so it’s slipped a little out of alignment as the teeth weren’t fully engaged?
NorthloopCup
ClioSport Moderator
Ah ok.
I just do the eps start up procedure using Ista mate, so the test module just does the bizzo for you.
My real concern here is if the rack has jumped on the drive somehow when the rack was moved to unstick the bush. There is absolutely no reason to do that, as you can pull the bush out with long nose pliers.
Whereabouts are you based?
He was struggling with the pliers, could see it wasn’t going his way, then started wiggling the wheel and then getting back under to check, so I offered to sit in the car whilst he checks so he wasn’t going between. It definitely felt like the steering wheel was close to slipping, hard to explain but you can tell from the feedback. I told the guy and then the other tech took over from me. So I’d imagine it did at some point.
Im in Sussex. It’s really annoying as this was just a whilst you’re there job, and has turned into a right headache. Car drove back fine but it’s just parked up now as don’t want to cause more issues.
NorthloopCup
ClioSport Moderator
Yeah that’s not ideal then mate. You could be into a new steering rack at this rate
Yeah that’s not ideal then mate. You could be into a new steering rack at this rate
