E36 Z3 Steering rack swap question airbag or not?

[Hoffbrohaus]

I will soon be the proud owner of a 1990 Hellrot 325IS. I put a deposit down & will be picking it up in a few weeks.

One of the things it needs is a new steering rack. I have read through the DIY & FAQs and ran searches. I saw kits on E30Tech too.

There seems to be a difference for airbag vs non airbag. The E30 I am buying had the steering wheel replaced so I don't know if it had an airbag or not. How can I tell? & does it matter if the steering wheel was replaced?

[mohamed...]

90 and up have airbags. i have no idea about the rack but im interested in the answer.

[Hoffbrohaus]

90 and up have airbags. i have no idea about the rack but im interested in the answer.

So all 90's did? I thought it was an option. I had my local service guy & parts guy run the VIN and they couldn't tell me anything. Their thought was if it had an airbag and a non-airbag steering wheel was put on then a mil light would appear. However they may have shorted the light. So I should look for the airbag control unit.

From all the threads I have read it looks like with airbag = firewall mod + 2 spacers (no knuckle spacers). Non airbag = 4 spacers ( 2 on knuckle)

My research notes:

This is for all E30 cars. The only extra step needed to install the rack in an E30 that has an air bag is to fabricate a new plate at the firewall that moves the steering column over a bit.

Air bag cars are even less trouble. Search the forums for the firewall mod. It bolts in using the coupler on the car. No modification necessary.
It's an improvement in steering response and the lowest cost if you need a rack. WOW an E30 mod that costs less than replacing the OEM part.

Just an added tip.

The spacers didn't fit for me - it was a bigger gap.

So, I went to Home Depot, got a little piece of pipe that would fit snugly around the bolt, and cut it down with a dremel so I used each half on both sides.

Didn't budge even with the bolts out!

The only extra step needed to complete Z3/E36 rack swap on an E30 with airbags is to fab a new plate for the firewall to move the steering wheel over and down like 1 inch or so. If you have access to sheet metal and the proper tools it should be easy as pie.

You will need to modify your steering knuckle first to help determine the best position of the steering wheel hole to avoid binding. A little binding is ok because you can grind out some excess aluminum from the knuckle to take care of that. What you don't want is excessive bindage.

[Hoffbrohaus]

Also I found these diagrams that will help me determine whether or not it had an airbag at one time.

Components

https://www.bmwtechinfo.com/repair/main/561en/htm/599.htm

Airbag diagnosis unit

https://www.bmwtechinfo.com/repair/main/561en/htm/616.htm

[Hoffbrohaus]

I had the seller take a pic of the mil lights. It shows SRS. So that's how you know it had an airbag.