03 330XI front end shakes when I give it gas but ONLY sometimes??

I have an 03 330xi, when I give it gas(sometimes) the whole front end will wobble and shake at low rpm's but the shake will go away over 3000rpm. The wobble definitely feels scary, it literally feels like the wheels are not tightened and that they are going to fall off. I thought it was control arm bushing, NOPE, changed the bushings and still the same issue. I dont think its suspension related but whats weird about it, is that it comes and goes. So one minute, it will shake and wobble but when I let go of the gas pedal, it goes away and then when I give it gas its fine until maybe a week or a few days later, its weird, I kind of feel that its AWD related, front diff, cv joints...etc. Once again, everything is fine though, CVs are fine.... any ideas?

It's the axles. Probably out of grease.

I'd just replace both with reman axles.

Same issue here..with XI 393 tax in for both from autopartway

So a new halfshaft, they're about $80 each side on ebay, my cv boot is not ripped, should I just try to regrease or is it yoo late

Originally Posted by JaguarS4R

So a new halfshaft, they're about $80 each side on ebay, my cv boot is not ripped, should I just try to regrease or is it yoo late

You can re-grease it, but I would replace with reman shafts, NOT CHINESE SHAFTS FROM EBAY OR ANYWHERE ELSE.

So take the cv boot off, put a bunch of grease and then put cv boot on, how will I know if I actually need the shaft?

so pretty much this is what I need: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-E...Q5fAccessories

Originally Posted by JaguarS4R

so pretty much this is what I need: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-E...Q5fAccessories

No, that's a chinese axle. You want an A1 Cardone reman axle, or new GKN Loebro axle.

how much for those, how will I know if I can just get away with grease??

Originally Posted by JaguarS4R

how much for those, how will I know if I can just get away with grease??

You can get A1Cardone from Rock Auto for less than the Chinese with a core return.

I just checked it, but they oly sell the right side: http://cardone.com/English/club/memb...PARTNUM=609282

My main question is do I need a whole new halfshaft or can I just add grease, how do I know if I actually need a half shaft and not just the grease

Originally Posted by JaguarS4R

I just checked it, but they oly sell the right side: http://cardone.com/English/club/memb...PARTNUM=609282

My main question is do I need a whole new halfshaft or can I just add grease, how do I know if I actually need a half shaft and not just the grease

You won't really know if you just need the grease until after you put in all the grease and see how it drives.

Reman axles are not much more than the boot kits anyway, and you need to take them out to install the boots and grease.

so I need both the halfshaft and the boot kit: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-B...item41532f2439

stop looking on ebay! just look to one of our trusted sponsors. ECS and GAP have these boot kits. for the axles, head over to rock auto for the reman'd a1 cardone's.

You'll also need the bmw crimps to tighten the clamp for the boot. Its easier and cleaner to just swap the axles since they have to come out to put a new boot on anyways.. More than likely you will need a new axle if youve got the issues you stated originally. Regreasing may help for a short time.

Last question, how do I know if I need the right or left? Since the catdone one on rockauto is just for the right

Originally Posted by wdeerfield

stop looking on ebay! just look to one of our trusted sponsors. ECS and GAP have these boot kits. for the axles, head over to rock auto for the reman'd a1 cardone's.

You'll also need the bmw crimps to tighten the clamp for the boot. Its easier and cleaner to just swap the axles since they have to come out to put a new boot on anyways.. More than likely you will need a new axle if youve got the issues you stated originally. Regreasing may help for a short time.

^ +1 it will end up costing you more & giving you more headaches.

how can I check which side I need?

Originally Posted by JaguarS4R

how can I check which side I need?

Are you doing the install yourself?

You may want to buy both . . . otherwise I'd probably ask the shop who is doing it which side to get.

Do symptoms change if you are turning left or right?

If both axles are original, I'd guess it's the passenger side.

make out the axis, the only way to find.
that's what I had
I changed both
By the way, grease does not help

I had a minor shake on my 2002 330xi. Did a quick inspection, and found loose collars on driver side inner boot, and grease spread around surrounding areas. I first cleaned the shaft, tore the two collars off (the larger one was loose), and slid the boot along the shaft to expose the cv joint. It had almost no grease left, and was wet. I cleaned everything off with brake cleaner, bought a cv joint grease pouch from an autopart store, refilled the boot, used regular stainless steel collars (screw tightening type), and got rid of my vibration. All good after a few thousand Kms, for $5 fix ...

You may wanto read this thread --- http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=814964