S50 swap e36 Power steering issues

[e30s50dan]

88 325 S50 with E36 rack and ps...only when its HOT,it makes a whinnnning noise between 2000-3500 rpms,sounds like low fluid..
I had this rack and ps pump in my 318 with an M50 and didnt have any issues.I moved the complete front cross member, P/S,control arms,etc from the 318 to the 325.

I changed the P/S pump and belt and it is still making a whining noise ONLY between 2k-3.5k sounds like a supercharger(a little).I changed fluid and tried the Lucas P/S fluid shit with no luck

I CANT feel it at all in the steering wheel...its just annoying in 2nd gear around town.

anyone have or had this same issue??

[e30s50dan]

bump. thats right i bumped!

[Gnarles]

my steering makes a lot of groaning and whining noises especially once the engine warms up. Mine is different from yours because I do feel it in the steering wheel. I am using an e36 rack that I had no problems with for a year before the s52 swap, so I am wondering if the pump is going out. I bled the system again a few nights ago just to make sure there was no air in the system and it did not make any difference.

[e30s50dan]

How did you blled yours??

[Adrian_Visser]

The P/S hydraulics is an closed system, it self bleeds all you need to do is turn the wheel back and forth a few times initially.

I have heard of people tracking their cars having overheating issues with the P/S on euro s50's but yours sounds like it might be a tired pump. You are using ATF in it right? Is the Lucas power steering additive even compatible with ATF?

On my brother's car we used auto trans stop leak to get the leaky rack to last a while longer.

[Gnarles]

lift the front of the car, remove the ps reservoir cap, turn the car on, turn the steering wheel lock to lock and watch for bubbles.

[sonnyqm3]

High pressure hoses is common to go out on these.. but i agree with the above 2 posts.

[e30s50dan]

I changed out the pump with known good one and it acts the same way. I didn't think there was a way to bleed them- ie bleed screw. Lucas ps fluid is suppose to be compatible with any fluid ( and they won't return my emails). I am using prestone brand ps fluid. It the same thing I had in the other car. And I have no bubbles. Baffles The hell out of me.

[Adrian_Visser]

Well like I said you don't bleed a closed circuit hydraulic system since the pump is constantly pumping fluid through the system and any air is bled out of the reservoir on the way by.

How tight are the bends in your P/S lines?

I assume you had to bend some of them for the swap I know I did. Maybe a hose or hard line is kinked enough to restrict the flow through it or something.

[e30s50dan]

All lines are good Going to drain completely and go with ATF Dex3. You know this shit didn't start until I put Lucas stop leak in. I have the smallest leak and thought I would try it. I HATE attatives of any kind. I know better. I can live with a small leak. Thx

[Adrian_Visser]

All lines are good Going to drain completely and go with ATF Dex3. You know this shit didn't start until I put Lucas stop leak in. I have the smallest leak and thought I would try it. I HATE attatives of any kind. I know better. I can live with a small leak. Thx

Wait so you put power steering stop leak in an ATF system and immediately had this problem and you are now wondering what caused it?

Cause and effect man come on.

[Danny]

lulz

[e30s50dan]

Wait so you put power steering stop leak in an ATF system and immediately had this problem and you are now wondering what caused it?

Cause and effect man come on.

it's really hard to tell when it started because I was in the middle of the swap. I really don't remember if I was getting engine hot enough to blame the Lucas. I would drive it a little then come in with different problems. Thx

[M3 euro ltw]

maybe helpful, maybe not.

There is a small restrictor in the factory hoses, some people think it is needed, some don't, if you had it, and took it out, maybe?

I dunno. I rather suspect the pump since you're talking about a whining noise, bet the second pump was bad too.

You may want to buy a cheap belt to bypass the ps completely, and be sure the sound goes away, otherwise, maybe its a tensioner? alternator? AC stuff? etc...

Just a thought.

[e30s50dan]

its the power steering,no doubt..installed new tensioner,new alt..no AC ..and yea maybe a second bad pump...strange though,its exactly like the first one..same noise,same RPM's