Problem after installing M3 control arm

[EDDY_YIYI]

Yesterday, I took my car to dealership to put on TRW M3 front control arm set. After installation, the dealership claimed the car is not drivable. The steering will not reverse after turning either right or left. what is the problem here, any thought? all my other parts of the suspension are stock. Thanks!!

[dailowill]

Did the dealership perform an alignment after installing the front control arms? I'm not sure what you mean by "steering will not reverse", but from other posters, an alignment is a must as the steering wheel will be off center and the car will "not [be] drivable".

When I got my mechanic to install my M3 parts, I told him to perform an alignment so I never got a chance to feel how the car drove right after the install.

[Ingeniator]

Originally Posted by dailowill

Did the dealership perform an alignment after installing the front control arms? I'm not sure what you mean by "steering will not reverse", but from other posters, an alignment is a must as the steering wheel will be off center and the car will "not [be] drivable".

When I got my mechanic to install my M3 parts, I told him to perform an alignment so I never got a chance to feel how the car drove right after the install.

Does anyone drive a car after a modification like this without an alignment. Also I would be looking for another dealer if I was OP.

[BavarianN54]

When you say dealership do you mean a BMW one? Because if you do you need to tear them a new one and get your car out of there ASAP never to return.

[amsnow440]

If what you mean by your steering won't reverse is that the wheel will not return to center after completing a turn, then it sounds to me like your toe is way off. Another member had a similar problem but to a greater extent. As mentioned, an alignment should fix your problem.

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=736368

Oh, and get a new mechanic/dealer.

[Sixle]

When I did my control arms and lowered my car about 1" on coilovers my toe went to -2.5 toe in up front and drove VERY odd when I had to drive it to the alignment shop. I had to man handle the car to turn the steering wheel and would pull hard to one direction...drove fine in a straight line but if i turned the wheel either direction the wheel would the direction of input all the way to lock unless I held it straight.

Alignment shop did have to use a handheld device to align the steering wheel with new alignment config.

I did this install a month ago so the install and issues are fresh in my memory. If you have questions post them here and i'll answer them to the best of my ability

[SfValley335i]

I drove 120miles without an alignment after doing the m3 arms... After the install the steering will be out of wack! 1000 times worse than you can imagine.

Everything is okay until you turn beyond 20% and then the wheel just locks and wants to turn more in that direction, it goes into a full lock... Going over bumps the car has a boat like feel and unstable.

Just take the car from the dealership to an alignment shop or just tell the dealer to do the alignment.

[135Pats]

Originally Posted by SfValley335i

I drove 120miles without an alignment after doing the m3 arms... After the install the steering will be out of wack! 1000 times worse than you can imagine.

Everything is okay until you turn beyond 20% and then the wheel just locks and wants to turn more in that direction, it goes into a full lock... Going over bumps the car has a boat like feel and unstable.

Just take the car from the dealership to an alignment shop or just tell the dealer to do the alignment.

Yea the amount of toe is pretty terrifying, I had to drive home in exactly 33 deg weather with a lot of water on the roads, the car totally wanted to kill me. It was terrible.

[Fidiman]

Thanks for the inputs guys : I will do the job in 2 weeks ~ 1 month ! I won't be impressed of the reactions of the cars regarding to what happend to you ...

Berk Technology said here, the guy "had to go 10 turns toe in on each side to get it kind of close so you can at least drive to an alignment shop".
That could be a good tip to do, not to be so impressed by the car with the alignement off !

[fe1rx]

Originally Posted by SfValley335i

I drove 120miles without an alignment after doing the m3 arms... After the install the steering will be out of wack! 1000 times worse than you can imagine.

Alignment is not rocket science.

As I have posted before:

"Before driving the car, adjust the alignment yourself. Adding the M3 bits results in severe toe in. To get the toe back to where it was before you added the M3 bits, adjust both tie rods by exactly 3.5 turns (longer). Mark the tie rod so you can count the rotations, and make sure you start and finish with the tie rod outer end centered in its range of travel."

More generally, if the alignment is grossly out, getting it close is as easy as running a string (or a 2 x 4) from front to back and adjusting the steering rods until the front wheels point close to straight. The above instructions are very close to perfect if you haven't added camber plates at the same time. If you have added camber with plates you will need a bit more adjustment. Regardless, "10 turns" is a gross exaggeration, if by "turn" you mean "full turn" and not "turn of the wrench".

Driving a car with an alignment that is grossly wrong when it is so easy to make it just a little bit wrong is ridiculous and unsafe.

[128Convertibleguy]

Originally Posted by Ingeniator

Does anyone drive a car after a modification like this without an alignment.

Yes they have, and it's a really bad idea. You need at least a rough toe in adjustment, or the car is indeed undrivable. It doesn't have to be perfect, "stringing" the car should get you close enough to drive to the alignment shop.

[The Transporter]

Originally Posted by fe1rx

Alignment is not rocket science.

As I have posted before:

"Before driving the car, adjust the alignment yourself. Adding the M3 bits results in severe toe in. To get the toe back to where it was before you added the M3 bits, adjust both tie rods by exactly 3.5 turns (longer). Mark the tie rod so you can count the rotations, and make sure you start and finish with the tie rod outer end centered in its range of travel."

More generally, if the alignment is grossly out, getting it close is as easy as running a string (or a 2 x 4) from front to back and adjusting the steering rods until the front wheels point close to straight. The above instructions are very close to perfect if you haven't added camber plates at the same time. If you have added camber with plates you will need a bit more adjustment. Regardless, "10 turns" is a gross exaggeration, if by "turn" you mean "full turn" and not "turn of the wrench".

Driving a car with an alignment that is grossly wrong when it is so easy to make it just a little bit wrong is ridiculous and unsafe.

I followed the 3.5 turn advice when I installed my M3 bits and my "before" toe setting was actually within spec IIRC, just not exactly where I wanted it (0*). The car drove fine to the alignment shop-- no crooked steering wheel or anything. Use a sharpie to mark the tie rods before you move them and there is little guesswork.