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My wheel feels like its going to wobble off my car when i Brake

16K views 22 replies 15 participants last post by  yusmany vicente 
#1 ·
ok guys question for you, both my ball joints/control arms have been done with in the past 10k miles. I am trying to figure out what is causing this new issue. When I brake my front right wheel instantly starts wobbling like crazy and I can hear it like something is loose.

It was doing this only when braking but now its doing it when I hit a bump or even a small dip in the road. Like going down the interstate it will all the sudden just start doing it and the wobble/shake is horrible when it does.

Could tierod ends be causing this? what do you guys think?
 
#3 ·
Probably your rotors. my car does this too to some extent despite seemingly good tierods and control arms (no play detected when car up in the air and using pry-bar method on control arms) I have new CABs too. So I've narrowed it down to rotors or dirty/rusty rotor to hub sufrfaces
 
#5 ·
how many miles on the car?
does this happen at any particular speed? you mentioned that it happens when driving down the interstate.
does this happen only when braking?
where do you feel the vibration? on the steering wheel, on the car?
looks like you have aftermarket wheels. Did this happen right after you installed them? Is the right front wheel possibly bent?
When did you last do your rotors?
 
#6 ·
is definitely not the rotors they are relatively new and it doesn't happen only when braking . the wobble will happen if I hit a bump or when I'm going down the interstate or even at slow speeds on side roads. I also noticed after I stop at a stop light and let of the break I have a large clunk sound that happens like something is loose
 
#11 ·
Check your FCABs (bushings) they could have given out on the right side (which means your left will go out pretty soon also.)
So, jack up your front - get the weight off your front wheels - and see if you can pivot your wheel. If there is any movement rear-ward then it's a sure sign of bushing failure.
 
#14 ·
Doublecheck the wheels tires before moving on.

Spin the wheels slowly and look for a flat spot on the rim...

Especially in the case where all of a sudden you don't feel safe at speed...wheels a good bet...as mentioned.

You're then clamping onto an unbalanced spinning mass...it'll shake worse...but still would be felt at lower speeds when not braking.

Check inside rim...much softer and easier to bend. And just coz a wheel balances, doesn't mean it's in balance. Also, if you only balance with weights in the centerline of wheel, you won't get as good a balance if you go on rims both inside and out as needed.

If flatspotted, swap to rear of car...and change pressure accordingly. Also check pressure now anyway!

Doug
 
#17 ·
could be control arms! If you replaced them with cheap FEBI than most likely its your culprit.

I put on those cheap arms and in 5k I got a hard wobble on the highway, so bad I was getting scared. As soon as I made it home - checked to see the outter ball joint had half an inch play in it! Than I made the switch to Myhle HD and so far so good.
 
#20 · (Edited)
OP,
Instead of guessing. Do the simple test that I mentioned above, it will give you (or at least eliminate) the possible cause. the FCABs (Front Control Arm Bushings) It is a known cause of the symptoms you are describing. Especially when you stated it started with when braking and it's just gotten worse.

Other possibilities as other members have stated:
1. damaged wheel (but, you would know that, if you hit a curb or speed bump badly.)
2. Failed hub/bearings (likely, if you hear a funky -yes, technical term- metal "hum" when you spin your brake rotors.) Do a Youtube search for bmw hub bearing noise.
3. bad tire (look for uneven tread wear - Remove wheel and look at the treads carefully for weird banning on inner or outer tread face.)
4. warped rotors (could happen - you'll need to remove the wheel and give it a spin, seem if it rubs against your calipers unevenly.)
 
#21 ·
Your wobble under braking indicates warped rotors, but you indicate there is noise and a feeling that something is not tight. This indicates that the control arms are not happy about something.

You need to inspect the work that has already been done first, then move on to the brakes. You should consider an inspection of the steering rack also.

So, your issues are (in the most likely order), defective control arm components, warped rotors, steering rack.
 
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