[330iE90]

Hello guys, first of let me start that i did use the search function but was not able to yield any success.
I purchased my e90 330i i april and it has this vibration at idle rpm(550-600) that is heavily felt in the seat and kind of center of car. the car drives fine no check engine lights. when rpms go over 700 the engine idles so smooth i can barely tell it is on. from what ive read this engine should be very smooth running engine.

I replaced the spark plugs, coils, cleaned the VANOS solenoids(also changed the gaskets) even though they were not dirty at all, cleaned the MAF sensor, Gas treatment, replaces the belt with tensioner and idler pulley. I am running out of ideas what else to check.. the vibration seems to be strongest on cold starts when rpm settle down, after i drive it around the vibrations get better but are still there. sometimes they dont change. do you guys have any other tips for me of what to check?

also my power steering pump might seem like its weak or kind of failing. it emits a louder than normal hissing when the wheel is turned and the steering is definitely heavy(almost need two arms to turn when going very slow). and the Alternator pulley bearing started to whine more when the belt and tensioner were changed. could these two things be related to the vibration? btw anyone hear of alternator whine getting louder after changing the belt and tensioner? i asked a dealership tech about this he said its because of the "free spinning bearing" something along those lines.

Thanks guys sorry for the long post. Ive been surfing the forums and reading a lot but with all these threads relating to my issues i cannot seem to get a definite answer. I have switched from VW to BMW and i have to say i could not be happier it is the Ultimate Driving Machine .

[GoRomeo]

Originally Posted by 330iE90

Hello guys, first of let me start that i did use the search function but was not able to yield any success.
I purchased my e90 330i i april and it has this vibration at idle rpm(550-600) that is heavily felt in the seat and kind of center of car. the car drives fine no check engine lights. when rpms go over 700 the engine idles so smooth i can barely tell it is on. from what ive read this engine should be very smooth running engine.

I replaced the spark plugs, coils, cleaned the VANOS solenoids(also changed the gaskets) even though they were not dirty at all, cleaned the MAF sensor, Gas treatment, replaces the belt with tensioner and idler pulley. I am running out of ideas what else to check.. the vibration seems to be strongest on cold starts when rpm settle down, after i drive it around the vibrations get better but are still there. sometimes they dont change. do you guys have any other tips for me of what to check?

also my power steering pump might seem like its weak or kind of failing. it emits a louder than normal hissing when the wheel is turned and the steering is definitely heavy(almost need two arms to turn when going very slow). and the Alternator pulley bearing started to whine more when the belt and tensioner were changed. could these two things be related to the vibration? btw anyone hear of alternator whine getting louder after changing the belt and tensioner? i asked a dealership tech about this he said its because of the "free spinning bearing" something along those lines.

Thanks guys sorry for the long post. Ive been surfing the forums and reading a lot but with all these threads relating to my issues i cannot seem to get a definite answer. I have switched from VW to BMW and i have to say i could not be happier it is the Ultimate Driving Machine .

Was the vibration issue happening before you replaced all the parts or after?

[330iE90]

Originally Posted by GoRomeo

Was the vibration issue happening before you replaced all the parts or after?

the vibration was the reason i replaced all the parts but still no luck in eliminating it.

[gunnerxq]

Maybe it's just idling too low

[330iE90]

Originally Posted by gunnerxq

Maybe it's just idling too low

how can that be? it sits around 550 which from what i read is normal idle speed for all of us

[jonluc88]

How about transmission ?

[330iE90]

Originally Posted by jonluc88

How about transmission ?

its a 6 spd manual 90k miles at the moment. it shifts great i doubt its the tranny. besides havent heard of the 6spd going out from normal use.

[MrN1ceGuy]

have you look into replacing the eccentric shaft sensor?

[jonluc88]

Originally Posted by 330iE90

its a 6 spd manual 90k miles at the moment. it shifts great i doubt its the tranny. besides havent heard of the 6spd going out from normal use.

With 90k miles, the tranny fluid is due and maybe the clutch too.

Just a random guess

[330iE90]

Originally Posted by MrN1ceGuy

have you look into replacing the eccentric shaft sensor?

I have actually changed the valve cover gasket with valvetronic gasket and the eccentric shaft gasket. the sensor was not leaking oil like it does when it goes bad. is there any way to test if it is bad?

[330iE90]

Originally Posted by jonluc88

With 90k miles, the tranny fluid is due and maybe the clutch too.

Just a random guess

tranny fluid is replaced.

[snayko]

I've heart a lot about engine cushions.

[330iE90]

Originally Posted by snayko

I've heart a lot about engine cushions.

the engine mounts? thats next on my list to do along with oil pan gasket.

[lichtgelb]

Originally Posted by 330iE90

the engine mounts? thats next on my list to do along with oil pan gasket.

Those will be easy to change when you have the subframe dropped.

Mine is a little noisy when it idles. From what I can tell my AC compressor makes a grinding noise. Seems to work ok though. You may want to do a power steering flush and if you are doing the oil pan you will be right there and can do a complete drain at the rack.

[330iE90]

Originally Posted by lichtgelb

Those will be easy to change when you have the subframe dropped.

Mine is a little noisy when it idles. From what I can tell my AC compressor makes a grinding noise. Seems to work ok though. You may want to do a power steering flush and if you are doing the oil pan you will be right there and can do a complete drain at the rack.

already on top of that. drained the power steering fluid from the rack and changed the whole reservoir because it has a non replaceable filter inside. yeah everything that i do work on this car try to group together so i only have to do it once lol.

[lookalikehuuh]

Having just had issues with my Alternator bearings on my 06 330i the issue may very well be with the Alternator.

Somehow i found that the alternator has a direct effect on the idle of the car. My bearings were so bad it sounded like a loud grinding noise. Since i was in a pinch i bought the only one in town which happened to be from Autozone. Well the car would idle like absolute crap with that alternator. I felt like the car was about to shut off not to mention i had random voltage spikes up to 16volts. Also random sensors stopped working like the engine oil level just showed errors and would not give a reading.

Anyway I ended up getting an alternator from FCP euro and all the issues are gone. Car is back to proper smooth idle and all sensors are working again.

Good luck!

[330iE90]

Originally Posted by lookalikehuuh

Having just had issues with my Alternator bearings on my 06 330i the issue may very well be with the Alternator.

Somehow i found that the alternator has a direct effect on the idle of the car. My bearings were so bad it sounded like a loud grinding noise. Since i was in a pinch i bought the only one in town which happened to be from Autozone. Well the car would idle like absolute crap with that alternator. I felt like the car was about to shut off not to mention i had random voltage spikes up to 16volts. Also random sensors stopped working like the engine oil level just showed errors and would not give a reading.

Anyway I ended up getting an alternator from FCP euro and all the issues are gone. Car is back to proper smooth idle and all sensors are working again.

Good luck!

Thanks man I can really see that being the case. I'm going to take the belt off this weekend and really check all the pulleys. At 90K miles I wouldn't be surprised I need new alternator. It was a Georgia car so air conditioning was always on.

[W37V]

Bmw has updated software which addresses idle issues. Do a whole car update. It might be cheaper than just throwing money at it.

[330iE90]

Originally Posted by W37V

Bmw has updated software which addresses idle issues. Do a whole car update. It might be cheaper than just throwing money at it.

i dont have idrive. i dont think you can update without it can you?

[W37V]

Originally Posted by 330iE90

i dont have idrive. i dont think you can update without it can you?

This is update for ecu. It updates all modules (computers) in your car. It's not related to idrive.

If you get a tune (like AA) they overwrite one of your modules related to engine.

Please note. If you do have a tune, you will lose it. If you get the tune at later time, you will lose your "fix".

[330iE90]

Originally Posted by W37V

This is update for ecu. It updates all modules (computers) in your car. It's not related to idrive.

If you get a tune (like AA) they overwrite one of your modules related to engine.

Please note. If you do have a tune, you will lose it. If you get the tune at later time, you will lose your "fix".

so its either i get the tune or the software update? i was thinking of aa tune later on. wouldnt the tune be better performance wise than software update?

[hassmaschine]

Pretty sure idle should be 650rpm, not 550.