E46 M3 BAD tramlining. Need help.

[chalaka]

it's worth checking your "mounting studs" for your front sway bar ..

the issue that i was experienced before...

one day, car starts to develop those "road pulling" experience when passed through uneven road surfaces ..

sometimes it went straight, sometimes it pulled ..

thought it was caused by the old bushing / end-link / or steering arm and etc...

then it ended up to be the mounting studs (which got popped) ..

as shown in the attached image. FYI

[Estoril]

Hate to bump this thread bur just bought a set of 18s (219m) and its still having this issue.

Which tires? It matters.

[thetypicalm3guy]

Hate to bump this thread bur just bought a set of 18s (219m) and its still having this issue. Honestly i dont even know if tramlining is the right word. I would say more sometimes drives straight sometimes veers off the road. I just drive a kia forte that drives better….pretty demoralizing considering how much ive spent redoing all suspension on this car.

[slavik1988]

I replaced this entire arm tierod on both sides. The issue im having happened before and after this change

Possibly the steering rack failed??

[thetypicalm3guy]

Here are my front tires

[thetypicalm3guy]

I circled it.

I replaced this entire arm tierod on both sides. The issue im having happened before and after this change

[slavik1988]

I circled it.

[slavik1988]

What do you mean by the sockets "failed"? You mean the threaded end of the tie-rod thats covered by the boot?

Not the threaded part fails, but once you remove the boot the threaded part is shaped as a cup and the rod itself has a ball. That is the part that had play on mine, not the end link itself.

[FBloggs]

I always replace the tie rods as complete units.
There is an inner ball joint at the rack for the inner tie rod, and a ball joint at the hub for the outer joint..
test 1.
jack up the front of the car and rest on jack stands.
pull the wheels and offer up the floor jack to the tie rod ball joint. Leave a small gap for a pry bar.
lever up against the ball joint.
If worn or loose you'll see up/down play independent of the knuckle.
test 2.
pull out/in on the inner tie rod to find looseness in the ball joint.

[thetypicalm3guy]

From recent experience on a ZHP...

I had lemforder complete tie rod assemblies for a few thousand miles and the inner ball joint sockets failed on both sides. The left one was worse than the right. I had the same feel as you are explaining. Dead on center and tram lining on the highway. When I put it on a lift, I opened up the boot and saw them play. Put on a new set and all was fixed. Worth a look on the inside, even if they are new.

What do you mean by the sockets "failed"? You mean the threaded end of the tie-rod thats covered by the boot?

[slavik1988]

From recent experience on a ZHP...

I had lemforder complete tie rod assemblies for a few thousand miles and the inner ball joint sockets failed on both sides. The left one was worse than the right. I had the same feel as you are explaining. Dead on center and tram lining on the highway. When I put it on a lift, I opened up the boot and saw them play. Put on a new set and all was fixed. Worth a look on the inside, even if they are new.

[thetypicalm3guy]

Ill be the first to ask, since the rotors were on backwards could it be possible the tires are running the wrong direction also?

Checked that too but no they are correct. Going to upload pics of my setup. Just need to justify $1.5k for tires

[jet_dogg]

After all this it's going to be the tires.

[lvm3sm46]

Ill be the first to ask, since the rotors were on backwards could it be possible the tires are running the wrong direction also?

[thetypicalm3guy]

Guys…may have stumbled on something but still too early to tell. I noticed that my front rotors are “directional” and i installed them incorrectly (reveresed the airflow). Just finished swapping the rotors and went for a very hard drive with no issues yet but going to go o a couple more to verify. It is possible that there was air buildup potentially inappropriately engaging the brakepads asymetrically which could cause the vehicle to pull in a direction

Scratch that. Still drives like shit. Wobbling at 85mph and up as well. Really think its tires at this point