Track rod ends

[driftwood]

Was under my 325i the other day and noticed there is very little clearance between the track rod ends and the wheels. I have mims alloys fitted at the moment and there is a rub mark on the inside of the rim. I know the previous owner fitted a quicker steering rack but I don't know which rack. He fitted new track rod ends as well. The car has been lowered quite a bit. There is clearance between the rod ends and wheel rims but as stated, there isn't much. Are there different sizes of track rod ends available?

[Grrrmachine]

I bought some MiMs and never fitted them because of exactly this issue - it seems that their design is very very snug with the E30 trackrod setup.

Some people have said that different track rod ends are marginally different in size, but I never heard a definitive answer about which ones are small enough for Mims. You might, if you're brave, take a grinder to yours and try to shave off a millimetre around the lip of the track rod to improve the clearance, but make sure you have a steady hand.

[driftwood]

Hmm. Maybe I'll use a file. Don't want to remove too much material.

[Prey]

yes they are - i had oem trackroad on mine, schmidt ml fitted no issues, changed the rack and got new rod ends - i *think* they were e36 ones cause theyre a chunk bigger and the schmidts no longer fitted

[driftwood]

So I need to find out which rack I have. Are the tie rods and track rod ends interchangeable between e30, e36 etc?

[Prey]

the rack doesnt matter. i had an e30 rack, then got an e46 purple label, ordered new e30 inners and rod ends, which fit fine and do the job just the rod ends are bigger - so from a bit of looking round i suspect theyre actually e36 ones