Is it the lower or upper control arm that causes shakes
 

I'm getting a shimmy/shake around 68-78 mph. I can't recall if it's the lower or upper arms that needs to be replaced. Had similar issues with my E39 back in the day but I just can't recall right meow.

or can it be tires needing balanced?

Thanks!

or hell, I should just do both huh?


any issues with the rears I should replace. it's a 4.6 with 95K miles.

Thanks!

Lower control arm bushings/thrust arms.....it only shakes under braking.

You may have a tire balance issue.

^^This.

Had the same issue last year, roadforce balance and Powerflex bushings fixed it.

The bushings can be done on the vehicle, about $100 for the parts, $50 for the hyd press.

Its a little hard to say exactly without seeing how your bushings and tires look but in my case even after I replaced the bushings on all arms and front sway bar end links I still needed the road forced balance on my tires. You might need the balancing too if your tires are worn.

Roadforce balancing is a MUST on BMWs.

NO rim/tire assembly is perfectly round, and NO tire has uniform sidewall stiffness/contact patch carcass stiffness around it's diameter.

I have Classic BMW do my mounting/force balancing, costs $120 a pair.

At speeds over 140mph, no HINT of tire shake.

Those who get the $20 Pep Boy special get what they pay for, sub-standard balancing.

Thanks everyone! I went to a local shop that had road force and it did cost more but it was totally worth it. No more shaking from the front but the rear tires will be replaced as it's some no name whatever brand and has a flat spot even though I've been driving her 400 miles each way for work.

Of all different cars I've driven (been renting cars for work before picking her up) everything felt like a car. Driving the X (or an older BMW for that matter), it feels like I'm driving a machine. Ineffable to those that never have driven such a piece of engineering. Don't get me wrong, I still love driving my 95 Bronco and she serves different duties. Difficult not to bring her in the triple digits when everything works right. Dat torque!

I still talk with the first owner of my 2003 X5. His wife insisted on buying an Acura MDX in 2010 because she liked the "edgy" style. They refer to operating the MDX as "steering", operation of the X was "driving".

Both lament moving on from the E53, they test drove a 2014 X5 5.0i last year, both said the vehicle feels numb when compared to their old E53.

I read up a little about these bushings. How are they holding up?

The Powerflex bushings have held up great, just be sure to grease the sleeve well during assembly.

ECS Tuning had the best price when I picked them up last year (got the FULL set, subframes, sways & CABs).

I just replaced my lower control arms today with Meyle replacement arms (saves pressing out/in bushes).

Has made a vast improvement to the way the car steers - before it was very vague and the steering wheel and the direction that the car was moving in felt slightly disconnected.

Anyway, it handles much sharper now and the shimmy that I used to get under light braking at highway speed it gone.

Took about 2 hours to do from setup to clean up. You will need a ball joint separator. I bought one off eBay that matched the part number for the BMW tool. Unfortunately it was just a bit too small so I had to cut down the bolt that joins to the steering knuckle in order to get the clamp over it. I would have been stuffed without it though, it took a lot of force to get that end of the arm out and when it did finally break loose it shot out with such force it chipped the concrete.

Car needs an alignment but going to wait until I get the Billies/lowering springs in. Good luck!

I wonder if working on the front end is like the E39. If so, I've got all the tools to do it.

Chipped the concrete!???!! Wow!

Yeah it bloody flew out like it was strapped to a rocket. I'm glad my foot wasn't under it at the time. I think the right thing to do is to leave the nut loosely attached so that when the joint separates (ie explodes apart), it catches it.

Probably similar to working on the e39, but I think the steering knuckle on the e53 is just that little bit bigger which made it hard for me to get the jaw of the tool to open up enough to get over the head of the bolt and get a good grip on it. This guy explains it best, skip to around 4:50 to see how it pops!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jotYlVj09xM

This is what I bought.

BGS Germany ALL Ball Joint Puller Shifter Remover 50mm | eBay

Note it says only suits joints up to 50mm, e53 must be >60mm because I had to cut about 10mm off the ball joint bolt to get it to seat. But it's all fun and games - even when you buy the right tools, it's never straight forward!

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/OTAwWDEwND...Tgv2T/$_57.JPG

Best LCA brand? I'm going to stay away from the $25 Chinese ones...

Lemforder, Meyle or OEM are safe bets


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I see Delphi is listed on Pelican Parts website as an OEM supplier, and I believe it for GM products.
Has anyone used their arms?

The trick to using these ball joint pullers is to tighten them up a bit (more than a wee bit) and then take your trusty ball peen hammer and wack the part that has the hole, right near the hole. The vibrations break the joint free and you don't chip your concrete (or worse). No need to crank on these until they nearly self-destruct...

Is it the lower or upper control arm that causes shakes
 

I bought the harborfreight one but had to grind on it a bit to allow-it to open more! I don't think it was much more than $10.


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