E30 Zone

Hi was wondering what experience folk had had with steering racks. Mine's been replaced once to my knowledge with a recon unit, but this appears to be failing. Anyone got any clues about cost of a new one or for that matter the cost of a recon one.

think gsf do recon units £155-195

zimmerbimmer1 will give you a price for a new one, but I don't think you'll like the reply
It's essential when fitting a replacement rack to THOURGOUGHLY flush out the old fluid from the system.
Hunt around a scrapyard for an E30 with what looks like a recently replaced one.

Look around a scrappie for an E36 BMW and look for a good one

I think i remember enquireing the price of a new rack at BMW and IIRC it was circa £700

From my experience of recon. racks,buy carefully, as i think quality can vary as can warrentys.Most i came across came with a six month warrenty,but i eventually bought one that came with a twelve month one

Good time to fit new TR ends thou!

Yep... £700 is not somewhere i wish to go...

Are the E36 racks the same shape and size? - forgive my ignorance here its not something that I've had much experience with as a rule.

Certainly would have flushed everything through before installing... I've not got round to reading the notes on this site but was amused to find a DVD on E30 steering racks! Guess its pretty common!

The symptoms I'm getting are very stiff when the engine is cold usually it goes away after you've turned the steering to full lock both ways. Also steering seems a little imprecise... though that was someone elses comments (think I'm just used to it!).

i just picked up a 2nd hand rack off a zoner as a spare

ow and i dont think e36 racks are a straight swpa as u will need a adapter for the UJ betweent he steering wheel and rack

The E36 racks are externally the same apart from the ports being a slightly different angle.
The advantage of them is a shorter steering ratio hence more weight to the steering and feel.
Also them being out of a newer car is an advantage.

You don't need the UJ coupling if you mount the rack on the front holes on the subframe.
What car is it?

Could always get the kit to convert it for an E36 rack off me... (Shameless plug )


The inpercise steering is normal for an E30 rack. Take nearly a 1/4 of a turn to have any effect on direction...
Being stiff on start up is more than likely the oil needing a change since it has gotten thick. I bet it'll be black as the ace of spades when it comes out

Fit an E36 rack, the best mod you'll ever do to an E30. The E30 rack is ridiculously low geared and the E36 one transforms the car.

Most E36 racks have plenty of miles up them now though,

Ive recently changed my E36 rack for an E46 and its ten times better

A BMW breaker will charge about £80 for a decent E46 rack, recon for an E30 rack is over £100

You dont need a special linkage, you just mount it in the forward most holes on the subframe as the manual rack is

dont the pas pipes have to be bent to fit a e36/46 rack

Yes, dead easy, get a bender

You dont need a special linkage, you just mount it in the forward most holes on the subframe as the manual rack is

Is the E30 PAS coupling long enough?

Its what I fitted to mine 2 years ago

Nice one Dan

What model E46 did your rack come from? How many turns lock to lock?

from a 320i, its 3.4 turns lock to lock, much more feel than the old E36 lump could ever dream of giving

Thanks for clearing that up, as far as I know the 330 rack is 3.0 turns lock to lock, was wondering whether they were the same across the e46 range.

AFAIK the 330i started to use the 3 turn rack 2004ish onwards, its fitted to other models with certain suspension packages but its not a dead cert

Best thing to do is 'try before you buy'

What's a 320i rack from a 95 E36 worth?

Depends how sloppy it is, the one I took off mine at the weekend was shagged, oil was dark grey and pissing out the ends.

As a comparison the bit of oil that came out of the E46 one was clean as a whistle, piss thin!

The oil that came out was very clean!

Fit it then and get rid of some of your slackness

You been talking to pacerpete about my 'slackness' ?

I haven't got it... Yet, just wondering how much it's worth.

Are the E46 racks Identical to the E36 rack Dan?
As in to the pipes bolt on in exactly the same position???

I was playing with a friends new E46 316 the other day. It seemed to be the same as a Z3 for turns lock to lock

I must fit some new control arm bushes to it in a few days so I'll be able to get a better look at it then

Dave_M3 wrote:Are the E46 racks Identical to the E36 rack Dan?
As in to the pipes bolt on in exactly the same position???

Near enough yes, the small pipes are routed slightly different, but thats soon solved with a bit of persuasion

Cool. As long as they are roughly in the same postion on the rack, I'm fine.
I ust have a closer look at that one in the 316 today and also make sure I wasn't imagining things when it felt like 2.5 turns lock to lock

Cheers for all that... Might investigate it when the time comes (next couple of months).

On the fluid issue, its not particularly dirty in the reservoir... though i've not had a good firtle about with the steering yet... have other issues to resolve!

I was imagining the 316 being 2.5 turns anyway, It's more or less the same as the E36 rack, only newer.
I'll have to look out for a cheap one

I was imagining the 316 being 2.5 turns anyway, It's more or less the same as the E36 rack, only newer.
I'll have to look out for a cheap one

im still after a new pas rack for me touring, can we get this straight ! can i fit an e36 rack without modifiying nything but the pas pipes??? im lost in all this rack talk! lol if i have to modify i think ill just stick to the old e30, nyone got one near teesside???

I think that's what they were getting at... infact you can drop an E46 one on instead...

Have to admit that thought this might be odd as the newer cars are much wider, are the bolts really in the same place and where does one get one from

What's the cost of the conversion kit? as it does appear that the only other potential issue is the universal joint.

Also do people reckon that it would be possible to exchange the old rack for the new one? And would they take the E30 one as a swap for a reccon E36/E46.

Any known side effects... apart from better handling?

Cheers

Well todays the day... Car goes back on the road after upgrading to an E36 Rack... just got the tracking to sort and put some new tyres on...

For those who are still wondering it was a straight fit for the rack as expected, though the pipe work to some bending. In fact a lot of bending to get it where it needed to be.