Hi, I just recently joined this forum and I regret I didn't do it long time ago.
I appreciate all of you guy's help..
I got my E39 about a year ago and soon after that, it needed a brake job. Unfortunately, I was stupid enough to take my car to a local shop. Although I paid almost $1000 for pads and rotors, they put cheap generic rotors on the car.
For a couple of weeks, it was fine and then it started shaking and my steering wheel was going back and forth when I hit the brakes. The higher speed, the worse it got.
I kept taking it back to the shop and they kept replacing the rotors - 5 times!!! Finally, I said I would pay the difference for a factory BMW rotors and they put them on. It was only I think $30 a rotor difference - why wouldn't they put them on at a first place??
Well, these held up for a good 5K and now I am back to the same problem.
When I am at higher speeds (60-100 mph) and I hit the brakes, my whole car starts shaking and the steering wheel goes back and forth. Not when I brake easily, only when I hit it harder and keep pressing.
If any of you guys ever had the similar problem or give me some advice, I will greatly appreciate it.
THANKS!!

How many miles on your E39?

Right now, I'm at 98K... When I started to deal with it, it had about 88K..

What kind of rotors were they putting on the car before? BMW does not make rotors - their rotors are made by Balo, Brembo, Ate, etc. I seriously doubt the rotors were the problem.
What kind of pads did they put on?

Right now, I'm at 98K... When I started to deal with it, it had about 88K..

How old are the thrust arm bushings?

How old are the thrust arm bushings?

Bingo! You beat me to it, Mad Dog ;)

On bbk if you don't bed the pads to the rotors correctly it will cause the steering wheel to shake when braking at freeway speeds. However, I have never had that problem with OEM brakes?

I honestly don't know, I am just pretty much telling you what I was told at the shop.
The owner (drives 750i) told me, that when I applied the brakes, the heat caused the generic rotors to warp and then vibrate the whole car.
And as far as I and the dealer records know, the bushings were never replaced.
Thanks

Not a rotor issue. You need the thrust arm bushings, and maybe the entire thrust arm replaced. Take it to a good mechanic to get it checked.

I would also vote for thrust arm bushings - it's a piece of the suspension on the e39 (not sure if the 750 has it or not). When they go bad (at about the mileage you have), it shows up as a brake shimmy.

What am I looking at here? Should I take it to the dealer? What causes the shake (move)? I'm sorry guys, so many questions, but you don't know how greatful I am... And also, how come it stopped for about 5K miles?

What am I looking at here? Should I take it to the dealer? What causes the shake (move)? I'm sorry guys, so many questions, but you don't know how greatful I am... And also, how come it stopped for about 5K miles?

Worn rubber causes the "shake (move)."

Who knows why it stopped for 5k miles. BMW's are very fickle.

Find a good indy shop. www.bimrs.org should help you in your search.

Thanks a lot, guys.. I hope we are not talking about a major repair here...

I was in the process of troubleshooting the exact same issue on my E32 750iL before she was stolen. Dynamic balancing, static balancing didn't help and I had replaced almost every suspension component. No matter what I did, she still had the "shake&brake" going strong. I replaced rotors and pads myself, the thrust arms (entire thrust arm not just bushings) and the problem would disappear then come back strong after a couple hundred miles. Finally had the Indy do it for me (not trusting myself) and had the exact same results. My Bro and I were discussing it and had decided that it could be master cylinder or brake module related but I never had the chance to test the theory before she was stolen.

I would REALLY like to know if you come up with a viable solution 'cause there have been several threads on this exact same issue. As of this writing, I haven't read many that were successful eliminating the problem on their E39's either. If they were successful, it was definitely thrust arm, rotor or wheel related but there have been others who never solved the problem completely. I was curious as to whether it was frame or drive train related (like the cracked subframe issue with the 3-series) but it didn't make sense since it mostly occurred only on medium to hard braking. Hmmm...this problem still takes up space in my brain.

Same exact issue, replaced the arms and bushings...no more shimmy.

First understand that a BMW suspension is very highly tuned and thus very sensitive to minor fault that would otherwise be insignificant on some other make. Slight wear in control arm or tension strut ball joints or bushings, upper strut mounts, tie rods, or shocks can couple with uneven pad deposits on the rotors, bent rims, or out of round tires and produce a lot of vibration under braking. The most common trigger for this is uneven pad deposits on the rotors as a result of a poor choice in pads for the driving conditions/style. If pads with too low a Maximum Operating Temperature (MOT) are fitted aggressive driving can result in the MOT being exceeded. If the car is brought to a stop before the pads and rotors have cooled to well below the MOT of the pads an imprint of the pad will be left on the rotor. That alone can cause minor vibration (usually just felt in the brake pedal), but coupled with minor faults elsewhere in the front suspension can cause steering wheel shake. Low-dust pads are common offenders when used on BMW's, even when the car is only driven on the street.

Re-bedding on the pads may help, but in stubborn cases scrubbing with track pads, sanding of the rotors, or replacement may be required. Since the wear allowance on BMW rotors is only 2mm, turning is seldom an option if there's appreciable wear as after turning the rotors will probably below minimum thickness. And obviously, if there is wear in the suspension or wheel/tire problems unless that is addressed the problem will continue or return.

While very rare, it is possible to have a warped rotor. A dial indicator check will tell if that's the case. But before blaming the rotor you should check to see if the mating surface of the hub has corrosion. Even slight corrosion of that surface (or of the rotor face) will prevent proper seating of the rotor and result in rotor wobble.

Listen to Jim. He usually knows what he is talking about!:D

Why does my car shimmy/ vibrate at between 45-50 mph? (http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7108148&postcount=23)

Since your car is vibrating when braking and at high speeds, I suspect it is not your thrust arm bushings. I had this same problem with my Sienna (shhhh). It turned out that the part of the Master Cylinder that adjusts how close the calipers ride on the brake pads was adjusted too tight. As I drove the vehicle, the rotors and brakes were heating up until the car would vibrate violently. The adjustment was inexpensive.
Please keep us posted.

GL

Most generic brake places use an impact wrench to put your wheels back on. If the lug bolts weren't torqued to spec, 89 ft/lb's I think, then on many disc brakes issues can arise. Replacing the rotors, that are having the problem, and then it goes away and then comes back, seems more like a rotor problem then a thrust arm issue.

I've had a few cars that had brake shimmy....and screwing up the lug nut torque was often a cause. Even my wife's Saturn got a shimmy after a local repair place over torqued the lug nuts. Having them re-torqued got rid of most of the problem.

I say its the ball joints/Thrust arm(they come together as a single piece) The point I'm hearing from you is not only shimmy but side to side motion in the wheel. This sounds like what my car was doing and it was very unnerving at highway speeds. The biggest challenge is that it can be hard to check them in the shop unless its really really bad as you just cant leverage them enough(you just cant simulate the forces involved when a 4000lb car is traveling at 70MPH) You might consider a trip to the dealer and pay for them to check it over. After 5 sets of rotors, Generic or otherwise I have to thing the problem lies elsewhere. I suppose a failed bearing could be causing rapid wear and damage to the rotors as well, but I would get a second opinion from a BMW shop rather than a guy who just happens to own a BMW.

+10 on the Thrust Arm / Control arm bushings. Around 100K miles I replaced all 4 rotors and brake pads as well. Shortly after I developed a vibration during braking. I complained to the vendor and they suggested that I get the rotors balanced and turned. Mind you, these were Brembos and I never heard of Brembos having issues with warping or out of balance. So I searched the web and I discovered a forum posting and came across the 45-55 shimmy post. Sure enough, I replaced the upper control arm bushings and the shimmy and vibration during braking went away. Sharing my experience for what it's worth. But at that mileage, even if is the rotors, you should replace the thrust/control arm bushings if you haven't. A shimmy will develop sooner or later.

could be a rear brake problem, causing the fronts to do all the work and causing exsesive heat build up in the front rotors warping them. does the car dive when braking?

This problem is almost universally solved on M5's by either 1) upgrading the thrust arm bearing to that found in the X5 or 2) rebedding pads.

d-

"Warped rotor myth" from Bf.c's E39 FAQ (http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=540888).

Are my rotors warped? (http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_warped_brakedisk.shtml)

Thanks a lot, guys, here is the update:
I just drove almost 850 miles from South Florida to New Orleans and it got worse - right now it's happening even in low speeds and it really depends on how hard I push the brake pedal - the harder the worse it gets.

Usually "warped" rotors (which really just need re-bedding) get better if you push harder on the pedal. I'd suspect your thrust-arm bushing...

But, as said before, re-bedding is something you can do yourself in about 15 minutes and costs nothing to try...

d-

I still think it's not the rotors and more likely the thrust/control arms. Suggest you replace those and then let us know if it still like that. Besides, what's another $250 in parts after spending $1000. You WILL need to start replacing suspension parts soon at your mileage unless the car was driven on perfectly smooth roads for the past 100K miles!

Dude, are you listening to what anyone is saying in here? It will continue to get worse until you ball joints fail or you bushings collapse/crack entirely then you will have metal on metal or worse loss of control. Your symptoms are 100% consistent with a control arm/ball joint failure. My car did all the same things yours was doing before having them replaced, after it was completely gone with all the same brake hardware and pads. The failing parts are allowing a normal vibration that is not normally detectable to amplify and become much more perceivable.

It is important to note that since you have a 528 that your suspension is different than some of the guys who are telling you about the upper bushing. The part that causes this on a 528 is the lowerballjoint/Thrust arm assembly. The parts in this assembly are not individually serviceable, the entire assembly is replaced. They run about $100 on ebay and are easy to replace. The part is shown as number 4 in this diagram;

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=DD63&mospid=47585&btnr=31_0617&hg=31&fg=05

The geometry of the suspension means that under braking small changes in the amount of braking force cause the wheel to actually move forward and back in relation to the car. This is what leads to the side to side movement of the wheel in conjunction with the shudder. If it were the brakes then there would only be a pulsing feeling and that would normally come through the brake pedal or throughout the entire car as a surging feeling. Visually all of these parts can look perfectly fine. They are subject to enormous forces when in use and a 200lb mechanic simply cant exert enough force to see the deflection which is causing the problem, unless it is very very bad.

The geometry of the suspension means that under braking small changes in the amount of braking force cause the wheel to actually move forward and back in relation to the car. This is what leads to the side to side movement of the wheel in conjunction with the shudder. If it were the brakes then there would only be a pulsing feeling and that would normally come through the brake pedal or throughout the entire car as a surging feeling. Visually all of these parts can look perfectly fine. They are subject to enormous forces when in use and a 200lb mechanic simply cant exert enough force to see the deflection which is causing the problem, unless it is very very bad.

A good way to check if the thrust arms are the cause, is to hit a decent bump with your brakes pressed. The wheels should feel like they will practically fall off and you will not be happy.

If the above is the case, pull the thrust arms....actually pull all the control arms.

I appreciate all the information... Yes, I'm definitely going to do that, the problem is that I can't do it myself - I'm constantly on the road now and pretty much live in hotels. I have to find a good shop to do it.

Hey, NNY528I, is this it?
bimmerpartswholesale.com/search/?N=1580+9735+4294967030+5566

Again, thanks a lot everybody, I will keep you updated, I will get it done right after Christmas - I'm leaving for Europe and my car will be parked in Houston...

Actually these are the ones I was thinking about the first 4 on this page.

http://www.bimmerpartswholesale.com/search/index.php?N=1580%209735%204294967030%204294967227% 202279&No=10