Clunking sound & vibration in steering column
 

I get a clunking sound and vibration in the steering wheel each time I clear small curbs on the driveway. Any ideas on what I am looking at?
1990, 325iC

Thanks!!!

clunking sound
 

Y, Have the front struts/springs been worked on? I'm thinking worn mcpherson struts might be the most likely culprit. I did them on my '86 two years ago. I presume these curbs are 3" or so and you roll over them at 5 mph or so.
Guess the front suspension could be checked for looseness too, if this started suddenly. F

Fur,
I suppose that I should have mentioned that I had recently rebuilt the entire front end, including:
Struts
Strut bearings
Upper & lower strut spring pads
Ball joints
Control arm & sway bar bushings
Control arm links
Tie rod assemblies
and entire brake system in the front

This clunking noise was there before and after all the work. It occurs on curbs 2 - 3 inches high at speeds below 5mph.

That makes it tougher! a lot tougher! Your don't suppose it could be simmulated on a lift where you could be listening nearby? ie isolate the noise right to left. Do you know if the car has ever had any major front body work? Is there some kind of laser alignment check that could rule out something the eye can't see/ I'm thinking something obscure like a cracked weld covered by putty and paint. Maybe you need to get on a deeper knowledge discussion group like www.bmwe30.net and ask questions. I have had my e30 for 18 years but I guess I have been lucky. I could also get the email of the NW e30 expert if you want. f

I believe that I have narrowed it down to a specific area, but don't know the exact parts involved.
Getting underneath the car and grabbing on to the steering shaft, I can feel a slight play in it. I am just unsure if there are some kind of bushings involved or whether there is something loose in the steering gearbox itself.

Fixed it by tightening the big nut on the bottom of the steering wheel column.

Wow, 3 years later. Thanks for the update. I'll keep that one in mind. How did you figure it out? Could you tell it was loose?

Jeron,
As I mentioned before, I could tell that the part of the steering shaft at the u-joint by the firewall was loose, but for the longest time I just put up with this frustration, as this is primarily my weekend car. Then one day I finally got fed up and started tightening everything mechanical associated with this shaft. Sure enough this rather large 40mm or larger nut did the trick. It was not loose, but I was able turn it another 1/2 rotation. Go figure...