brake discs.

I am very spurious of the description of warped discs.

If they are warped then you would have major problems with your calipers and caliper cradle as the thing is not spining on its true axis.

You probably just have worn discs and pads.

What is the age of the 5er? 

The E39 OEM parts are ATE discs and Textar pads which can be bought fairly cheaply from Eurocar parts, of which there is bound to be a branch in north west Englandlandshire.

jetsetwilly2000 wrote: And E39s are notorious for needing well-balanced wheels, which otherwise can cause similar wobbles.  Just a thought...

Very true! The slightest unbalanced road wheel can have a huge effect on vibrations in the car.

Ditto all the above, spot on!

It's extremely rare to get warped discs unless you have had a serious track day with the car and used the standard brake set up. Only extreme heat can make the discs actually warp and this would usually only happen if you are declerating quickly several times in succession, i.e ragging the hell out of the beast! I have seen heat cracks appear in discs which can cause vibration. Have a look at your didscs and run your fingers around the face of them. If you can see cracks or feel uneveness then they are needing replacement.

Mike

P.S. I fitted brembo discs and pads to mine from GSF and they are great and reasonably priced.

Edited by 540 V8

What are your symptoms?

I'll let others tell you how to test an E39 for bush wobbles - on an E34 you get a telltale shimmy at 50-60mph which can get quite severe under braking, but I think E39s are different...  Anyway the culprit bush is usually the thrust arm bush, no 5 on this link:

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=DF51&mospi d=47542&btnr=31_0617&hg=31&fg=05

If it looks torn or anything like that, replace both sides. 

You can test for wheel bearings (unlikely to be the cause) by listening for a roar or grumble when cornering.  But first of all, get the wheels balanced by a good place!  E39s really hate unbalanced wheels.  Even cheap tyres can upset them...

Best of luck with it.  By the way, your mechanic dude might be right - just pays to be sure before you shell out.

my symptoms are when driving  theres nothing at all no wobbles or shimmys everything is as it should. but when i brake theres a slight wobble that seems to be coming from the front right hand side, its not a bad bad wobble, more of a tremble if u no what i mean, take the foot of the brake and it goes back to as it should with no wobble/tremble and no noises. if i brake then release then brake it seems to not wobble as much   i can live with it for the moment but its really annoying me.so i shall be keeping my speed down till it is sorted out!

thanks for the jet but i havent got a clue what ones are on it. the guy who looked at it said they are probably cheap ones.i work as a bus driver so ive just put it over the pits and had a good look underneath, nothing looked worn and nothing was loose....i think that im just gonna bite the bullet and get some new discs and pads hope this does the trick.

ECP OR GSF hmmm im gonna look on europarts site. thanks for all the help 

GSF and ECP have local branches but personally I like motormec.  They're friendly and they actually know bmw's (whereas with the others it's hit and miss) and I've had no trouble with them.

http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/p/Car-Parts

You're welcome

well ive changed my discs and pads and all is well with the world again,one of the discs was cracked! just one more slight problem, the brake wear sensor broke, so i replaced it with a brand new one from  ECP, but the brake wear light thingy on the dash is still on, do i have to reset like you do when you have a service?  your thoughts and advice would be mucho appreciated 

once again thanks to everyone who has helped me  cheers

im glad too i am being extremely careful bedding them in...just glad it was nothing serious.....im just going out to try the two methods of turning the warning light out that you have found for me  once again thank you