Poor steering feel

[85Eta]

Good evening everyone,

I have an 85 325e 4 door 5-speed which I have owned for about a year now. The car needed a great deal of work when I purchased it as the previous owner had not maintained it properly. The suspension was in the worst condition and I noticed prior to purchasing that the steering was especially sloppy.

The best way that I can describe the problem is that when you make the steering input for a turn, and hold that same amount of force, the car does not maintain a constant line and it feels as though the front end is dancing a bit. At a stand-still, there is considerable play in the wheel before actual steering force is applied.

I began by taking the car to a local BMW shop to look the car over to ensure that the care was safe and organize a list of what needed to be replaced. Following their guidance, I the following:

Lower Control Arms / Ball-joints
Shocks and Springs

This made no noticeable difference so I started preparing for a new steering rack. The old pump had been going out for quite some time according to the previous owner. Being a college student and funding being tight, I elected to use a de-powered E36 rack (remanufactured). I followed the widely known E36 rack conversion write-up and the flyin miata guide for properly de-powering a rack (complete dis-assembly of the rack and removal of the internal seals followed by greasing the rack). I used an Ireland Engineering steering coupler and modified the knuckle to ensure that there was clearance throughout the steering wheel operational range.

After all of this, the car feels nearly the same. Everything that has been replaced has been torqued to specification and looked over by a professional shop. I have considered that there may have been frame damage, however, the carfax is clean and the car aligns perfectly (aside from some negative camber from being lowered). I am approaching a point of frustration with the car having firmly believed that the new rack would have solved the problem. I retained the E30 tie rods (inner and outer), but have grown weary of constantly replacing parts.

Any suggestions concerning plausible solutions or causes would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[jlevie]

The rack only needs to be replaced if is leaking in almost every case. Does the car have new tie rods? The rear suspension is just as important ans the front. The odds are that new trailing arm and subframe bushings are needed.

[85Eta]

Thanks for the reply. The tie rods are not new and I intend to replace them with E36 tie rods as soon as possible, but I wanted to know if worn tie rods could explain the sloppy steering when the car is not moving.

I completely agree that the rear suspension is also critical, but is it possible that this is contributing to the car's steering when the car is not moving or at very low speed?

Also, I believe that I forgot to mention in the original post that I checked the steering knuckle for play and there was none.

[jlevie]

Slop in the front wheels along the 9-3 o'clock axis when the car is not moving will be from wear in the control arms, tie rods, or wheel bearings. The rack and steering knuckle has no affect on that. Wear in those places, in the rear suspension, the steering knuckle, and rack affects how the car behaves when being driven.

[85Eta]

Thank you. I'll give some new tie rods a chance and see if that resolves the problem and get started on the rear. I appreciate the help