Shakes

Tiny
BODY-ORGANS
  • MEMBER
  • 1993 BMW 525I
  • 6 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 78,000 MILES
Bmw 5251 shakesviolently when I reach 50mph
Monday, July 18th, 2011 AT 3:16 PM

4 Replies

Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,873 POSTS
Vibrations that only occur at higher speeds are usually due to a wheel out of balance. A broken tire belt can cause that but you'll usually feel that at low speeds too. An inspection at a tire and alignment shop should identify the cause.
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Monday, July 18th, 2011 AT 6:50 PM
Tiny
APOLAKAI
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
I had a similar experience with my 1994 525i. There were two issues happening, first I thought it was my tires needing a balance it turned out that my wheel was warped. I replaced all four rims. Then, I discovered my rotor needed to be turned. Once I did that it ran great. It's something you may consider. I hope this helps.
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Saturday, May 5th, 2012 AT 2:11 AM
Tiny
CSTOVER92
  • MEMBER
  • 11 POSTS
My '93 shakes sometimes when I go over 60mph I think it's because the rear sway bar is barely hanging on.
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Monday, June 10th, 2019 AT 4:32 AM
Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,873 POSTS
Absolutely not. An anti-sway bay doesn't do anything when the car is going straight. During hard cornering when the body wants to lean, an anti-sway bar tries to hold the two corners of the car at the same height. They have a designed-in amount of flex, so they only reduce the amount of "body roll"; they don't totally eliminate it.

Nothing about an anti-sway bar relates to road speed or vibration. Any shaking or vibration has to involve parts that are rotating. That includes tires with broken belts, brake drums and rotors that have chunks missing due to rust, or welded-on weights that fell off, or to a lesser extent, half shafts. Half shafts rotate at the same speed as wheels and tires, but because their diameter is so small, they rarely cause a vibration unless they're bent, and I've never seen a bent half shaft except on badly-crashed cars.
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Monday, June 10th, 2019 AT 5:41 PM

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