Oldskewel no worries my major worry of having mismatched tires and possible transfer case issues is over at least after tire change although I managed to scuff a front tire wall on kerb maybe total surface 1sqaure inch no rip or tear or threads but a 1mmm layer off the rubber outer wall no strands exposed or wire(yet)!!!!!, as for your points here is what I have and I guess a video would be best to show ya my dead zone? in response to your findings:

I have a 1cm rotational motion of the steering wheel about its normal axis, I reckon. As for it being a dead zone currently can't tell if anything is going on steering rack when I wiggle it 1cm left or right.

With engine off, steering unlocked, parked, etc. ... I can rotate the wheel to the right, let go and the wheel goes back to its original centred spot (if I have parked wheels straight), same for rotating to the left it goes back to where it was(mus be the spring-like compliance?). I'll get a video i reckon, only way, then can see if this could be the reason for my 60 and over wobble....as for getting to from the top, dunno the 3.0d has some pain in the bum features like the air filter replacement needing alot of parts removing so I will wait for other 3.0d owners to chime in....

Mechanic is incorrect there are how to on YouTube to both fix the u joint like wpoll mentioned and for the more difficult slide coupling under the wheel.


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I thought as much oh well there goes my opinion of costa my mechanic who so far has done a good job on the X5.....I will investigate further but will upload a vid as from what oldskewel says my wobble when car is static 1cm left and 1 cm and in both cases wheel ending up back to original axis isnot indicative of the dead zone produced to the coupling in the steering column connections....

A lot of the guessing and wondering will go away if you can get in there and see / feel what is going on at the u-joint. Even while I was doing that repair back in 2015, my first thought from looking in there while my son wiggled the wheel, was that the rack needed adjustment or replacement. But pretty easily and quickly, I confirmed the motion due to a loosened set screw at the u-joint.

You need an assistant, but other than a flashlight, I don't think any tools are needed or anything needs to be removed (not sure on this though - maybe spending a minute to pull out some of the easy in/out intake stuff will allow better access) to do the inspection.

Your description does sound like normal compliance rather than a dead zone, but still, as easy as it is to check, I would do it.

Your description sounds like the tires twisting and sending the steering wheel back to center. If you have slop in the steering it won't return to the same place from both directions.

Eg. Turn right with a few oz of force and It will stay where you left it. Turn left and likewise will stay left of where you started. A "dead zone" that you must cross over any time you go from left to right.

The jiggle you describe could be from a number of things like CV or rotors and it is not normal so something is worn. It's so subtle I doubt highly it will cause wear just use a string to check your toe alignment front and back. Both sides.

Glad the tyres are sorted - one less item on your list - and they needed sorting by the sounds of it.

Re. getting at the steering U-Joint - good luck. Our M57N engine has a little more intake and exhaust plumbing on the top left than the M54 and there's precious little room to get down in there. I was going to re-torque mine when I changed the exhaust manifold and access was still too limited, even with the exhaust manifold out!

You can just see the u-joint above the A/C valve in this image...

http://i66.tinypic.com/jq3r5x.jpg

And in the background behind the turbo compressor outlet...

http://i66.tinypic.com/kd96if.jpg

And at the extreme left of this image...

http://i65.tinypic.com/33xj0cy.jpg

It's dirty from dirt sticking to oil I sprayed on this joint when I first got the car - bad move! :rolleyes:

It may be possible to access it from underneath but I'd confirm it was your actual issue before going that far....

That does look a lot tougher on the right hand drive version. A lot more room on the left side. I guess the problem is the same, but yes a lot tougher to "take a quick look."

Let's not beat around the bush here - it's a pig to get at! :p:

Hahaha probably why my mechanic said was not possible.

Rotor issues cause shimmy only while breaking. This is a non breaking wobble.