E36 1995 2.5 TD Wheel alignment Issue - Advice Needed

[tsam19]

Hello All

1st time BMW owner, had car for about a month now.

BMW 1995 2.5 TD Saloon with now an alignment issue.

1) Had the alignment done 3 weeks ago as the steering wheel was cock eyed to drive straight & car wandered to the left if steering wheel was straightened.

2) This opened a can of worms as it appears the rear control arm bushes had perished causing no 1) but the mechanic didn't check for bush wear 1st before alignment.

3) So yesterday I had the control arm ball joints (inner + outers) changed (kept original arms) also had the Rear control arm bushes changed also had the sway bar drop links - all parts are MEYLE from Germany.


4) Went to get the wheels aligned again this morning,the result was the steering wheel was cockeyed again - hold the steering wheel straight, the car drives to the left?

To keep straight you had to hold the steering wheel to the RIGHT.

5) Took the car back again a few hours later & the mechanic checked the measurements & noticed the original settings had altered a lot.

I was told the car, as it was a BMW have the 4 wheels are set to PARALLEL.

6) Second time round, both front wheels were removed & rebalanced.
The second alignment setting was 6.5 on the back & +2 passenger side / -2 drivers side on the front which I was told would = 0

7) Driving home the opposite happened, the steering wheel, is to the LEFT & if brought centrally the car drives to the RIGHT!

I don't understand?

There's nothing else wrong with the car, the car has 83,000 miles on the clock.

How should the wheels be aligned, what is the correct setting for an E36 alignment?

What would cause the issues above, just by driving 1 mile down the road on a new alignment setting???

Unless the mechanic hasn't a clue what he's doing??

Do I need to tell him how to do his job?

Any help would be welcomed

[wswilburn]

I would try a different mechanic. It is hard to tell from your description if the alignment is set wrong, or something is damaged. You are supposed to let new control arm bushings settle for 30 min. before driving. According to the Bentley manual, caster and camber (front and rear) are not adjustable. Rear toe is also not adjustable. Front toe is. Here are the specs for the standard 318/325 suspension (sport suspension has different camber):

Front Toe (total) 18' +/- 8'
Front Camber -30' +/- 30'
Rear Toe (total) 24' +/- 6'
Rear Camber -1 deg 40' +/- 15'