Hello! New member here...

[yitzac1990]

Hey everyone, recently got a 1991 325ix. Have wanted an e30 for a while and got a pretty decent one i think.

I have been working on it almost constantly to fix 35 years of past ownership, but i think itll be worth it in the end.

Current thing I'm dealing with is I think a power steering leak. How common is it that the racks themselves leak, or could it just be the hoses? If i have to replace/rebuild the rack, it looks like the rack is "encased" in the subframe? Does the whole subframe need to come off to get the rack out?

Looking forward to hopefully many years of enjoyment!

[ehrawn]

Had the same issue. Remedy was replacement of the rack and all hoses. In my short period of E30 ownership, I’ve found that replacement is the only way to deal with a failure. There isn’t much that’s designed to be rebuilt, or greased. Good luck.

[2mAn]

Can you upgrade the steering rack on the IX in the same way you would the other E30s?

If so, I would highly suggest doing this while going through everything...

[Lovespeed]

Beautiful car wow! I love the ix body kit. From my experience you have to drop the subframe to remove the rack, it is encased, unlike 325i's where you can just bend the tabs holding the rack into place. It's pretty common to have a leaking rack, I found a shop in Denver that rebuilt them for me. But you could always try to pinpoint the leak, clean the area really well, drive the car and see if it's coming from a hose, or possibly a leak where the hoses bolt up to the rack, in that case you would just need new crush washers.

[Simple_Smith]

If these are standard e30 racks and not IX specific, upgrading to something like and e46 Clubsport would be a big improvement over the stock steering ratio. On non-IX e30s one of the hoses have to be bent a bit to make it work, not sure on the IX since I don't have any personal experience with them. With a car this clean and trying to button up neglected maintenance, I usually suggest replacing lines and a rack while you're in there. Also, be careful on initial startup after replacing steering system components. If air is trapped in the system it can cause pump cavitation and foam up leading to problems with your new rack.

Congrats on the new-to-you e30 btw!

[325isman]

great find...I'm dealing a leaky rack as well.....good luck

[yitzac1990]

Thanks everyone. Yes the ix has a "special" rack and can't easily be upgraded to e36 or e46, etc.

I think what I'll do first is replace all the lines and reservoir first and see if that does anything. Upon further Inspection tonight i did see the return line back to the reservoir is very wet all the way up to the reservoir.

Does anyone know the thread sizes in the rack for pressure and return? How about the pump? Id prefer to just make all my own lines.