Hey guys i have a 2006 530i with 93k on it. I started to notice the steering wheel shaking when braking. Not all the time though. Just figured it was warped rotors so I bought a new set of Brembo rotors and pads. Still does the same thing just like before. It will shake the steering wheel side to side. strange it doesn't do it all the time though. I was just reading that the upper control arms can cause this as well if they are worn. i just went out and jacked up the one side of the car and pulled on the tire and it did see a bit of play on the end that bolts to the frame that has the big rubber bushing in it. If that has any movement at all can that possible cause this?

 

Tire balance is both static and dynamic. Static imbalance will make the wheel move up and down While dynamic moves from side to side

Dynamic can be caused by a wheel that is not dynamically balanced by having weights to offset a wheel that is bent or has a "heavy area" cast into it.

You have replaced and balanced the offending wheels so that's out. But, are they true. My guess, however, is that you are losing a radius rod bushing in the front end. A cursory way to check is having drive the car at 2 to 3 MPH and pump the brakes while you watch to see if the wheels are moving slightly fwd and towing out The movement on the towing out may only be an 1 to 1.5 inches.
while normally driving, the shaking may not always be present but can occur when a wheel hits a bump or you were a little more aggressive at braking

Why do I thing so? Been there

 

I went and bought the new control arms. I figured with my mileage and I did have a bit of movement that they are most likely worn. It's funny because today I drove it about 150 miles and it only did the steering wheel shake a few times and that was all. Here is a pic of the one like I ordered. Hope these are the arms that cause the problem.

 

Did you buy new or used parts?

 

My 530 Xi had the same symptom shaking when braking couple years back after a brake job. Did replaced the rotors without any improvement. Ended up replaced the both front calipers and problem solved. My suspect was the guide pins in one of the brake caliper got bend when they were removed by an unfamiliar e60 tech. You can try and replace the guide pins or replace the whole calipers assembly. A bend guide pin can cause the piston not retract and expand properly when brake is applied. One wheel is braking and the other is not.

 

[QUOTE=mvvette97;1581984Here is a pic of the one like I ordered. Hope these are the arms that cause the problem.
[/QUOTE]

I'm thinking and hoping that this was only a representative picture of the control arms that he purchased.

Question for the OP, did you get the full control arm with all the bushings? I had a little shake a while back and the bushings on my CAs were bad. the indy was able to press out the bushing and replace the bushing only. without a press to get out the old bushing, apparently it's easier just to replace the whole CA.

 

Have you looked at one of the guide pins up close. They are substantial. They would be really hard to bend. Something else was wrong, IMO.

 

+1

They are definitely hard to bend. Some replace them on every change which I think the manual says to do. At a minimum they need to be greased on every brake change. That is with any car

 

Youre spot on. I had the same problem and replacing the control arm, tension strut cures it all

 

Just chiming in. I have a lot of vibration in the wheel under braking and at speeds above 70MPH. Brand new tires, wheels are balanced, I was going to look into the brakes, next, since I know the pads are getting close.

Last time I lifted the car up to change the oil, I noticed that if I spin the passenger wheel, it will keep going for a good 2+ minutes. If I spin the driver's wheel, it won't make it past 2-3 rotations. This tells me, either my brakes are dragging (caliper pin) or my bearing is shot.

I've done a touch test to check if one brake was hotter than the other after a drive, it didn't feel like one was hotter than the other, but I should've checked with the IR. If a brake caliper is dragging bad, you will definitely see a brake temperature difference after a light spin around the block.