How To Guide - E36 Steering Rack Swap

[Zambuzan]

Has anyone else encountered this issue?

OEM or bust, mate. Return it and go buy an e46 "purple" rack off RackDoctor.
GL

[bellerto]

Rack hard lines in the way

So I go through all the steps, modified steering knuckle, and get all excited about mounting the new E36 rack into place. Only to find out it wont fit because the hard lines on the rack are hitting the sub frame :o



I figure I would cut the lines shorter so that they are closer to the rack and get enough clearance. But I see this weird flare that doesnt seem to be either bubble or double, so I can't just rent a tool to get it done.



This is very frustrating to say the least and Im unable to finish the job. This rack appears to be generic as it has no plates or part numbers. Got it from buyautoparts.com as "Power Steering - E36 Chassis [New Body Style] Power Steering Rack 1993 BMW 325i"

Has anyone else encountered this issue?

[e304lyfe]

For future reference, I ended up just buying the custom piece from Zionsville auto.

Also for future reference.... As you found out, the manual steering rack linkage is entirely different. To remedy this you would need to purchase a standard early model power steering linkage and shorten it for an e36 rack install. I assume this is the part that zionsville sold you.

[LicensedToM]

You could say that again...oh and the link no worky worky

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Complete-Power-Steering-Rack-Pinion-for-BMW-318-323-325-328-M3-E36-3-Series-Z3/352267086139?hash=item5204c1293b:g:ausAAOSwOYFabnqZ

How's this?

[redearedslider5]

In the middle of the swap now and I left out an important detail before. My car was originally a 318i with factory manual steering. The new rack is mounted and the knuckle piece is way too long, unfortunately. Also, the factory pinion on the manual rack is much smaller diameter than the z3 pinion. All the articles on shortening the length of the knuckle seems to be based on the 'standard' e30 knuckle.

I can't seem to find any info on the manual steering knuckle, has this been documented?

For future reference, I ended up just buying the custom piece from Zionsville auto.

[TeXJ]

You could say that again...oh and the link no worky worky

[LicensedToM]

Hey guys, I have a '91 318 (airbagged) and the rack just went out, so I'm of course looking at the e36 conversion. Any feedback on this on eBay? I'm weary of the quality, but wanted to see if anyone has had experience with these. I'm sorry if this has already been reviewed on r3v.

Thanks!

[ScottSneed]

In the middle of the swap now and I left out an important detail before. My car was originally a 318i with factory manual steering. The new rack is mounted and the knuckle piece is way too long, unfortunately. Also, the factory pinion on the manual rack is much smaller diameter than the z3 pinion. All the articles on shortening the length of the knuckle seems to be based on the 'standard' e30 knuckle.

I can't seem to find any info on the manual steering knuckle, has this been documented?

Try swapping the steering column? May be less of a headache than trying to get your current one to fit

[redearedslider5]

Euro knuckles are plug and play with the rack swap. Just space out the subframe.

In the middle of the swap now and I left out an important detail before. My car was originally a 318i with factory manual steering. The new rack is mounted and the knuckle piece is way too long, unfortunately. Also, the factory pinion on the manual rack is much smaller diameter than the z3 pinion. All the articles on shortening the length of the knuckle seems to be based on the 'standard' e30 knuckle.

I can't seem to find any info on the manual steering knuckle, has this been documented?

[piwko98]

Should be buttery smooth without the rods being connected to the wheels.
The knuckle is likely binding a bit at the joints. Try turning the rack with the knuckle and see where its catching.
It is also possible that it is getting caught on the power steering line depending on how you bent them.

Back in business. It ever so slightly rubbing on the knuckle.
Got the alignment done and everything seems to be in place.

Thanks for all of the help!

[piwko98]

Thanks, I'll take another look to see if I can tell where it's rubbing. I had a hell of a time getting it onto the rack.

I kept the plastic piece (in the holes) when adding the spacer as it seemed to keep the bolt nicely in the place. Wondering if that needs to be removed to give it a little bit more play.

[Mook613]

Getting closer here with the swap. Got the spacers into the steering knuckle and everything back into place. I had a hard time getting the knuckle onto the e36 rack - took a lot of moving around to get it on there. I got the bolt through up top and bottom of the knuckle eventually. I was filling the reservoir with fluid I noticed that turning left/right there is almost a little bump that I go over. It doesn't seem bad but I am wondering if the knuckle itself doesn't have too much pressure on it. Should it be really smooth turning the wheel without the outer tie rod?

Should be buttery smooth without the rods being connected to the wheels.
The knuckle is likely binding a bit at the joints. Try turning the rack with the knuckle and see where its catching.
It is also possible that it is getting caught on the power steering line depending on how you bent them.

[piwko98]

Getting closer here with the swap. Got the spacers into the steering knuckle and everything back into place. I had a hard time getting the knuckle onto the e36 rack - took a lot of moving around to get it on there. I got the bolt through up top and bottom of the knuckle eventually. I was filling the reservoir with fluid I noticed that turning left/right there is almost a little bump that I go over. It doesn't seem bad but I am wondering if the knuckle itself doesn't have too much pressure on it. Should it be really smooth turning the wheel without the outer tie rod?

[redearedslider5]

i'm doing my conversion on an s50 swap that currently has a manual rack. i have to add the PS pump/res/lines as well. the parts i'm sourcing are from rock auto and i currently have in my cart the rack, pump, pump to rack hose, and res to pump hose. my understanding is that i also need a return hose but they all have the coil that we apparently can't use? what replacement part would i use? is there anything else i'm missing? thank you!

[wworm]

Thanks for the info. Just to be clear, I already have a Z3 rack, but I'm trying to figure out if there's something wrong with it, or if it's just not what I expected it to be. Sometimes it seems lighter but with good response and feel (which is what I expected), but most of the time it feels heavier than I would expect for a power assisted rack - like something isn't right. It's pretty easy to turn on center, and then quickly becomes fairly heavy. Personally I think the transition between light and heavy makes it feel kind of sketchy. I've got 9 degrees of caster, so I'm thinking this has something to do with it. I don't find it sketchy at all on the highway, mostly it seems to want to go straight, but I have 1/8" toe in. I've considered that maybe my pump is bad and is giving inconsistent pressure/flow, but I'm not really sure about that.

Also worth mentioning, when I first got my car, stock save for M3 CABs, the steering was really light, and became somewhat heavy (with stock rack) when I lowered it.

I don't have another E30 to compare to, except my own with the stock rack. I'm debating swapping this one out for a 330i rack since they're pretty cheap, just to see what it does.

your caster and toe measurements seem pretty normal for a setup iwth offset CABs. My steering definitely got heavier when I swapped racks and also a bit when i lowered it (tiny amount..just felt like it loaded up better) the z3 rack definitely loads up quite a bit. Thats kind of the point. Extreme corners require more extreme steering input I guess. These cars certainly arent known for their light steering (except with the stock rack compared to swapped ones). If you don't like it then I'd swap it out. Keep the z3 rack in case you hate the 330i one.