Hey Bimmer fans, I just bought my first BMW vert for 3 k in SF. I Carfaxed it and it was a clean title. Looks great on the outside all M3 body and wing but drives alittle hard. I mean it squeeks a lot and the steering wheel was shaking a bit over 50mph while driving it home. Also felt this huge torqueing vibration under my seat when I made a slow u turn and whining sound came out too. Bad news? Light says it needs a oil check some I'm going to do that today. I just want to know what I should get checked out or upgrade ASAP? Can I just go to a normal Euro mechanic? Thanks guys. Eric p.s. Gonna take some pics now
Sounds like you need suspension work, power steering fluid and eventually a new p/s pump. Probably has a p/s leak which is very common but easy and cheap to fix.
thanks Hi Jeron, I really appreciate the quick reply since I know jack about BMWs. Ill check out what you said. I tried posting pics but I had some fatal error... Are you in Cali?? thanks
Nope, DFW. Dont usually hear much about squeaks. I would start with the sway bar bushings. Start with tire balance, then tires then bent rims for the vibration. Move the tires around to see if it changes.
Hey Jeron, Took it to get the oil changed, and they said the serpentine belt is cracked and rack and pinion is leaking. Also they said I need to steam clean the bottom because they cant see where the leak is coming from. Have any idea's on how much the belt and pinion would be?? Oh boy...
belt <$20, might as well replace both You can clean the bottom with engine degreaser, time, scrubbrush and water hose in that order. If there is fluid in the boots at either end of the rack then it is leaking. If the fluid is on the outside then it is a hose fitting. There are some great DIY hose replacements writeups online. A new rack is $150 used - $500 new plus labor, plus alignment. Its probably just a hose leak and low fluid.
