Manual steering racks

[VinniE30]

I know that some early e30s had manual steering racks, for manual steering from the factory with no provisions for power steering lines.
But they have higher turn to turn ratios to make up for the increased steering effort.:(
So what I want is a manual steering rack both a low turn to turn ratio.
I found an e36 rack parts diagram that looks like it was designed for manual steering only:

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=CA11&mospid=47434&btnr=32_0019&hg=32&fg=05

Anyone know the turn to turn ratio on this one? Hopefully lower than the e30 manual rack..

Why not just use a regular e36 m3 or z3 power steering rack and plug/loop/whatever the PS lines?
Well thats what I wanted to talk about. BMW must have done things differently with the manual racks to make them more durable or maybe some linkage parts were different. I read somewhere that having a manual rack is better than a converted power steering rack for manual steering but i'd like to find out more about this..

And don't lecture me on not having power steering, in my e30s I like manual steering and so do a lot of people. I just want to do it in the best way possible.

[jlevie]

A manual rack will always have a higher ratio to get the steering effort down to something more reasonable. Other than the ratio, the only significant differences between a manual rack and a power rack are the lower parts count in the manual rack and a provision for lubrication.

You can use a power steering rack without the power steering pump to get the lower ratio and no boost. The rack needs some fluid in it for lubrication, but if you plug the PS fittings the rack can't be full of fluid or it will bind. What I do on my Spec E30 is to route the hoses from the reservoir directly to the rack. By putting some fluid in the reservoir I keep the rack lubricated and provide for thermal expansion of the fluid.

Before replacing the rack, try the car in that configuration with belt off the power steering pump. The steering will be very, very, heavy when the car is stationary or moving slowly. And if you go to a lower ratio rack that effect will more pronounced. So much so that a lower ratio rack may be too much with out power boost.

[mr.vang]

yes a true manual rack is way better then a de-power rack. cut your ps belt and drain the fuild, then drive it. its not fun if you DD the car. that e36 manual rack is interesting though. also in for infos

[VinniE30]

A manual rack will always have a higher ratio to get the steering effort down to something more reasonable. Other than the ratio, the only significant differences between a manual rack and a power rack are the lower parts count in the manual rack and a provision for lubrication.

You can use a power steering rack without the power steering pump to get the lower ratio and no boost. The rack needs some fluid in it for lubrication, but if you plug the PS fittings the rack can't be full of fluid or it will bind. What I do on my Spec E30 is to route the hoses from the reservoir directly to the rack. By putting some fluid in the reservoir I keep the rack lubricated and provide for thermal expansion of the fluid.

Before replacing the rack, try the car in that configuration with belt off the power steering pump. The steering will be very, very, heavy when the car is stationary or moving slowly. And if you go to a lower ratio rack that effect will more pronounced. So much so that a lower ratio rack may be too much with out power boost.

cut your ps belt and drain the fuild, then drive it. its not fun if you DD the car.

I DD the car and it's great. One of my e30's I did just that took off the belt. I'm going to properly delete it and take out the power steering stuff though. My other e30 still has functional power steering but I want to make it manual too because I like the manual steering so much.


I'm mainly interested in finding out if the OE manual racks are really the same except for having no provisions or power steering fluid assist and different turn to turn ratios... or are other things different... like I know the e30m3 rack has a fluid reducer to give it less of a overboosted feel or something like that.
I found that there is a 3.9 turns lock to lock ratio euro e30 manual rack. So to compare this to the regular power steering e30 rack which is 4.0 turns with power steering properly deleted do you think there would be any difference in feel between the two?

[rThor432]

I found that there is a 3.9 turns lock to lock ratio euro e30 manual rack. So to compare this to the regular power steering e30 rack which is 4.0 turns with power steering properly deleted do you think there would be any difference in feel between the two?

I actually measured the other Euro rack at closer to 3.7 turns lock-to-lock. It's physically different from the other Euro racks (doesn't have the hex shaped section on the rack. It also doesn't fit into a standard US subframe without minor modification-- Have to cut off an unnecessary extension of the rack that sticks out too far to allow the bolt holes to line up. Cool part. As for feel, to me it feels virtually the same as the standard 4.0 US PS rack with properly deleted power assist.

[e30leigh]

i wouldnt mind doing a power steer delete on my e30. im not sure what itll be like though with low suspesion, m3 cab's and wider tyres. so ill wait till thats done then remove the belt to see what its like.

[CrusherCurtis]

I understand why you would want manual steering, I've always thought e30's offered great steering/great steering feedback even with an e30 rack. Not numb like a lot of newer cars.

[rThor432]

^^I've driven plenty of my own cars both ways and not having power steering really isn't a big deal-- not like driving an old semi without PS.

E30leigh- For what it's worth, my mother drove my 24v non-PS car for a few days while I had hers in the shop for servicing-- very modified with 225 tires on it and she drove it in city traffic without noticing anything odd about it. I asked her how it went expecting her to say "It's really tough to turn", but all she said was "It really goes when you hit it". I asked if the steering was a pain and she said it just drove like a car.