E71 40D Front Suspension

[djagerif]

Hi All,

I am looking for a reputable suspension tech that knows what he's doing and investigates, not just replace stuff. My story has come many miles and $$$ already and I am at the point where I want to try one more time to fix it or drop it off at WBC. The 600NM smile of the 40D engine is not enough for me anymore, I have a steering/suspension issue that sucks the fun out of driving the car. 2012 X6 40D M Sport. 110 000km on the clock.

My issue is that I spent +R140K on it already. Fixes include new tires, oil cooler housing, power steering pump, front suspension rubbers, front control and tension arms and finally front diff.

All is 'sort off' Ok (new diff sweats oil - yea, don't ask me how) except the car now steers heavier than before, the last bit of steering return to 'centre' is slow meaning you have to turn it back to 12'oclock which is unsafe and then lastly the big one (probably related) when getting up to +80kph the steering wheel feel like the wheels are unbalanced but they are brand new. Alignment was checked twice so it's not that. Scan codes doesn't reveal anything obvious wrong. It also feels like it's skittish and doesn't keep a line. It's very concerning and is no fun to drive at all.

My suspicion is that the Tech that did the suspension components did something wrong - I can't prove it but I also don't want to take it back there as the car has new scratches that I again, can't prove comes from his workshop, but it's new nonetheless. The Tech was not a BMW shop, first time I haven't taken to BMW for a repair as their costs were astronomical for Diff and Suspension. The rest of the stuff BMW did ($$$).

Any help will be appreciated.

Ingo

 

[General.Massacre]

Sounds like your steering rack may need to be investigated for possible wear.

 

[djagerif]

Sounds like your steering rack may need to be investigated for possible wear.

Perhaps. I would have thought BMW would pick it up when test driving the car. They didn't mention anything regarding steering rack however.

 

[Solo Man]

Not sure if the X6 also has the replaceable "piston" on the electric steering rack that the F30 and F25 has which was a common problem on the first F30's where the material on the piston would deteriorate and the rack would start making clacking noises when traversing humps and ruts on the road. BMW came out with a revised "piston" - for lack of a better word) with a different material on the face of the piston which solved the problem. If your mechanic did replace this piston (if it is the same type as the F30) (i also had it on my 2011 F25 X3) then he overtightened it causing the heavy steering and the fact that the steering will not return to 12 o'clock position by itself. Loosen the cap on the piston in small increments untill the steering is back to normal. (When i replaced the piston on my 2012 F30 i had tightened the cap too much so got under the car again and loosened it till the steering was self-centring again. Car drove fine after that with no more knocks from the front of the car) Use this link to see what i mean:

F30 Steering Rack Official Fix??

Ok so I bought my car in November last year from BMW Sandton Auto. It had 75000km and Motorplan still active. Ive researched all F30 issues before buying and had known about the steering rack noise. on the 3rd or 4th day of driving it, there was a faint nose coming from the right side front if I...

www.bmwfanatics.co.za

I apologize if i used the link without permission but seeing as it is a bmwfanatics link i hope it is ok to use it!

 

[djagerif]

Not sure if the X6 also has the replaceable "piston" on the electric steering rack that the F30 and F25 has which was a common problem on the first F30's where the material on the piston would deteriorate and the rack would start making clacking noises when traversing humps and ruts on the road. BMW came out with a revised "piston" - for lack of a better word) with a different material on the face of the piston which solved the problem. If your mechanic did replace this piston (if it is the same type as the F30) (i also had it on my 2011 F25 X3) then he overtightened it causing the heavy steering and the fact that the steering will not return to 12 o'clock position by itself. Loosen the cap on the piston in small increments untill the steering is back to normal. (When i replaced the piston on my 2012 F30 i had tightened the cap too much so got under the car again and loosened it till the steering was self-centring again. Car drove fine after that with no more knocks from the front of the car) Use this link to see what i mean:

F30 Steering Rack Official Fix??

Ok so I bought my car in November last year from BMW Sandton Auto. It had 75000km and Motorplan still active. Ive researched all F30 issues before buying and had known about the steering rack noise. on the 3rd or 4th day of driving it, there was a faint nose coming from the right side front if I...

www.bmwfanatics.co.za

I apologize if i used the link without permission but seeing as it is a bmwfanatics link i hope it is ok to use it!

They didn't work on the steering rack itself. The diff and the control/tension arms (I think that's what it's called) were replaced at the same time and the issue started after that. I will check the link you provided.

 

[AshG108]

Bud, there is a very well know part that can be checked out on the rack that could possibly cause this, it is around R450 at BMW. it is a Steering Rack bush and it originally is plastic but overtime wears down and causes havoc. If you can get someone to check it out, and replace it with the replacement part which is I think Aluminium it could be the fix you looking for.