How To Guide - E36 Steering Rack Swap

[sharky]

Dont know if its been covered but can I use the E36 tie rods? I have a E36 M3 rack with the tie rods on still and if I can will just use them.

[E30Beast2B]

yes you sure can. just did my swap this weekend. man what a pia but all in all i'd say it was worth it considering i have $45 invested. :)

[sharky]

Thats great to hear, anyone have any issues with the e36 tie rods at all? Will probably tackle this next week

[Fast Frankie]

Take a small piece of 3/8" ID hose, stick it on the banjo bolts then reinstall the bolts. Free and effective. Just make sure to first drain the oil out of the rack.

Awesome, I forgot you posted and explained this. I started to lose my comprehension after 20 pages

Thanks!

[87e30]

Why do I need to purchase 85 dollars in new hoses when they are all already there?

Is ee the point in the new reservoir (filter replacement) but I don't see the point of the new hoses. Trying to save some money here.

[E30Beast2B]

all i bought was rack $38 from the junkyard, about $10 in hardware from lowes, new resevoir $20 and a good bit of time & frustration. I reused my e30 pressure hose turned around although it was hard to put in the banjo bolt because of the angle.

[Quailane]

Why do I need to purchase 85 dollars in new hoses when they are all already there?

Is ee the point in the new reservoir (filter replacement) but I don't see the point of the new hoses. Trying to save some money here.

You don't. I reused my hoses and just replaced the reservoir. Also I don't know why anyone would spend good money for the bits and pieces to do the swap when washers are so cheap at the hardware store.

[jr325es]

just finished mine thnx everyone who contributed to this thread!

[87e30]

My dremel isn't working. So I handsawed off the rivets that hold the two pieces of the steering rack together. They will spin but they won't slide out. What gives?

Edit, I got it. Just had to drill them out more. Since I didn't grind them they were just holding on barely I guess.

Now I need to drill the hole larger anyways for the 7/16 bolt. Which seems to be the same as a trans bolt that I had laying around in a box. :)

[llegos]

I see that everyone says E36 tierods are usable. I am going to be buying new ones, so should I go with new E36 tie rods, or E30 tie rods?

[whysimon]

E36 tire rods all the way

[Wh33lhop]

I got a rack with tie rods attached; is there a good way to check tie rod condition? The rack seems to be in very good condition, the boots are fine with no cracks including the tie rod end boots.

[JGood]

Just a warning to those doing the swap...

I used a 95 M3 rack. Swapped it in about 3 years ago. I got new tie rods for it as well. The locking plate notch on the M3 rack was different, and I knew when I bent it into place it wasn't going to do much. Sure enough, 3 years later, the inner tie rod came loose from the steering rack. It QUICKLY spun out (within 2-3 days of when it began coming loose, it was already near the end of the threads). If that would have came out completely, I'd probably be dead.

If you notice alignment or tire wear problems, don't just readjust your outer tie rods to correct the toe-out. Make sure the inner tie rod hasn't come loose.

[Wh33lhop]

...

Which tie rods did you get, and did you get new locking plates? For which car?

[JGood]

Well, this is from memory from three years ago, and there's been engine swaps, tranny swaps, etc.. in between then and now, so I'm not 100% sure what rods and lock plates I used, but I do know it all was new.

The M3 rack does have the notch for the plate to sit into, but the inner tie rods were too big for the lock plate to bend over. Look at this pic:



Where you are supposed to bend the tab over... either my plate was too small or the tie rod was bigger then normal, because I couldn't bend mine over like that. I could only get a very small bit of the edge to fold over.