manual steering rack?

[drifty30]

anyone have one in their car? did any E30 ever have them? has anyone made one from another car work?

[nando]

why? they have an even slower turn ratio, (4.4 vs 4.0 with the power rack) and require a lot more effort at low speed. A real upgrade would be an M3 rack or one of the E36 racks. (3.5 on the E30 M3 and I think 3.0 on the E36 M3).

[Old'n'Slow]

I have one. I love it. Oddly, it feels a hell of a lot tighter and quicker than the stock power assisted 20.5:1 rack. It's not THAT much slower at 21.5:1! Parking lots aren't bad- it's not an issue unless you're turning the wheels at a dead stop. At highway speeds there is no numb on-center feel like the power racks have. The car goes exactly where you point it. I've driven the M3 rack and also a couple of E36 conversions. If you must have power steering, they're the way to go. But I rather enjoy the purity of the feedback at the wheel rim. No leaks, either!

I got mine brand new at the dealer for <$300. Apparently there are about 90+ left in some warehouse in Dresden!

[drifty30]

what model/ year bmw was it out of? did you need new linkages all around? pics?

[Borat]

I have one as well, Love it. no problems at all parking. Anyone who tells you so really needs to harden up, i looking for a smaller steering wheel so will be interesting to see what its like to park then. The slow rack is a pain sometimes but as its been said its only marginally slower than power racks. They come in all sorts of cars, mine out of a euro M10 318i, i've also seen a fully optioned euro 320i that had one. Lots of people who race over here have them.

[mikeedler]

The non power racks came on the majority of the euro cars here in germany. for every p/s car I see, there are at least 20 non p/s cars. all years.

[drifty30]

does anyone have a picture of their manual rack? I'd love to see if it will solve my problem

[ACHTUNG]

sorry for my ignorance:

I was going to remove my power assisted steering pump on my 89 325i. Can I do this or do I need to get a manual rack?

[318driver]

I have a manuel rack on my 318i and i dont like it much, I think there is something wrong with it tho. The wheel does not snap back toward the return position fast at all, I actually have to pull it back myself. Anyone know what the cause of this could be. One of my tierod boots is busted but could it be anything else?

[drifty30]

does anyone have a picture of their manual rack? I'd love to see if it will solve my problem

before this thread gets too much more hijacked... :roll:

[redhatpat]

I have a manuel rack on my 318i and i dont like it much, I think there is something wrong with it tho. The wheel does not snap back toward the return position fast at all, I actually have to pull it back myself. Anyone know what the cause of this could be. One of my tierod boots is busted but could it be anything else?

Sounds like alignment. You need more caster. It will increase steering effort, but also return the wheel to center more.

[Old'n'Slow]

I have a manuel rack on my 318i and i dont like it much, I think there is something wrong with it tho. The wheel does not snap back toward the return position fast at all, I actually have to pull it back myself. Anyone know what the cause of this could be. One of my tierod boots is busted but could it be anything else?

Sounds like alignment. You need more caster. It will increase steering effort, but also return the wheel to center more.

Can't set castor or camber on these cars. I'd say it's far more likely your toe is way off. Or, the rack itself is bent. I've seen that happen. Makes for heavy steering and no return. These cars will drive OK even when the toe is fairly whacked, but the steering will feel really weird.

[Old'n'Slow]

sorry for my ignorance:

I was going to remove my power assisted steering pump on my 89 325i. Can I do this or do I need to get a manual rack?

You can just take the belt off and try it to see if you like it. It is not the same feeling as a real manual rack, though. Unless you're trying to save weight, I'd leave the system closed-in other words, leave the pump in place even if there is no belt.

[mikeedler]

i dont have any pictures, but it looks really similar to the power rack. the only other part you would need to replace is the steering column shaft that connects to the rack(small shaft with a few u-joints on it.)