e36 steering rack guts e30 casing

[Gruelius]

Hi all

i had a thought yesterday (and would have investigated myself if e36 racks didnt cost $150+ here) but can you fit the business parts of the e36 steering rack (to get the ideal travel and turn ratio) into a e30 casing?

ive allready got a e36 rack in my car but if i could use the e30 rack casing wouldnt need to get a set of new custom ps hoses and id be able to use el cheapo copy headers.

Thanks

[HairyScreech]

i would expect so, but it wouldnt be easy.

far easier to get a set of cutom pipes.

[Gruelius]

not nessicarily, i havent measured anything but if the housing doesnt require boring out it wouldnt be that hard.

[HairyScreech]

i havent tried rebuilding one of these racks as i havent felt the need, but from experience with other cars racks are not easy to rebuild, and pas just adds trouble.

i assume you have tried dismantling an e30 rack.

[leeparkes]

Wouldnt the pinion sit at a different angle thus the gears not meshing properly.

[Gruelius]

ive looked at pictures online of the rack dissasembly process. Rebuilding may be harder but pulling it apart just requires a impact gun no?

And leeparkes i did a intro year to mech engineering about 3 years ago and from memory some type of helical gearset can mesh at various angles and the picture rings a bell, which is why i was going to try and do it myself but i cant find em cheap here (0 e36's at yards).

**edit**

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gear#Bevel

A bevel gear is shaped like a right circular cone with most of its tip cut off. When two bevel gears mesh their imaginary vertices must occupy the same point. Their shaft axes also intersect at this point, forming an arbitrary non-straight angle between the shafts. The angle between the shafts can be anything except zero or 180 degrees.

the other issue i was thinking of was diameter of the hub connecting the pinion gear or length of the end part but if the thing is disasemble-able could just mean simple machining hopefully.

but yeah saves for me: getting new hoses and having to get a proper custom set of headers but more importantly for my mate allows him to use his m42 stock headers.

[HairyScreech]

worth a shot as i say i havent tried myself, might give it a go myself as ill have a spare e30 and e36 rack soon enough to play with over crimbo.

as for the pinnion the only trouble may be the position of the pinion spindle relative to the rack centreline.
the angle change may not me an issue. as although they are at a different angle relative to the casing whats to say the rack and pinion dont maintain the same angle relative to each other and are just shifted around relative to the case.
(unless the pinion is also at a different angle left to right and not just front to back.)

not really explained that well.

[Gruelius]

yeah alot of thinking, which is why i just wanted to pull em both apart, and see if they would fit without thinking :p

[StuBeeDoo]

Wouldnt the pinion sit at a different angle thus the gears not meshing properly.

Plus, the pinion's longer.

[HairyScreech]

is it? or is it just a longer shaft sticking out the rack body? or a longer torque ring bit?
also the pas gubbins gives me a head ache thinking how it would fit.

pictures of both disassembled is needed here i think.

[HairyScreech]

[Gruelius]

yeah the e30 one does look an awful lot longer where the hub thing is.

Hopefully either the pinion part is removable from the hub or the ratio is decided by the rack.

[baptie0]

I cant see how the e36 rack and pinion can mesh in an e30 casing also. due to the difference in angle, the casing would not allow the bits to even fit together.