How long to do e36 rack swap?

[havand]

Like the title says.

[Herr Faust Schinken]

like in hours

[frankie591]

4 hrs maybe

[ZM Blue Devil]

going into airbag or non airbag car?

[havand]

Yes, in hours.

Non airbag car.

Supposed to leave for the track on Wednesday afternoon. Wondering if I can get this done when I get home from work tomorrow. In diagnosing a tire balance issue, I found some play in my steering rack. With the car in the air, I can grab a front wheel and shift is some at the 9 and 3 positions. Not a bad tirerod as the other wheels moves the same. Seems like play between the input shaft and the actual rack. Thinking it is worn? I have an e36 rack with tierod ends in the garage.

Thanks for the replys, guys.

[AndrewBird]

Check the steering u-joint for play. The rubber donut can wear out and create a lot of slop.

[havand]

I had someone move the wheel while the car was in the air. It seemed like the entire u-joint moved together. The shaft going into the steering rack rotated a bit before the wheels moved.

[Todd Black 88]

Took me about 3 hrs the first time, about 1.5hrs the second.

[Herr Faust Schinken]

Yeah 3-4 hours is about right I think it took me and my friend about 4 but we also replaced the res and all the lines too

[jeffnhiscars]

You may want to grab the knuckle adaptor kit from e30tech, especially if down time is short.

[havand]

Ok. Thanks for the time estimates. I am one of those that the 1st time doing something seems to take forever... then the next time it takes about 1/4 as long. Probably tough to pull off in <3 hrs of sunlight outside. Sounds like a project for another day.

[frankie591]

if you do the swap, modify the e30 linkage by drilling the rivets and removing the rubber flex disc. Then you can just bolt the 2 halves of the linkage together to shorten it to the length needed for the e36 rack. The bolt/spacer kits for sale are a rip off.

[future rs]

Whats the major difference in the swap from non airbag to airbag?

I believe my car is an airbag version. (steering wheel was swapped for non airbag though)

Will certain racks not fit? Is there further modification?

[FredK]

An airbag car doesn't need the knuckle to be modified. It, in my experience, has required clearancing the hole in the firewall for the steering column around 1/2".

[future rs]

An airbag car doesn't need the knuckle to be modified. It, in my experience, has required clearancing the hole in the firewall for the steering column around 1/2".

So it puts the steering column at a different angle and needs more clearance? Is this a dremel type procedure?

Sorry for all of the questions. I like to have all my t's crossed before starting a project.

Would a Z3 rack fit in an airbag car? thanks :)