Is changing the steering rack difficult?

Post Sat Sep 09, 2006 2:26 pm

My touring is making a lovely groaning sound from the front end,and the bellows in the steering rack make squishing noises, indicating they're full of steering fluid.

so it looks like I need a new rack, Is it easy to change over?

Post Sat Sep 09, 2006 2:55 pm

Not too difficult at all - two 17mm bolts & nuts holding the rack on, 22mm and 18mm banjo bolts for the feed & return pipes.

TYou'll find it easier if you carefully bend the lower mounting tabs down a little to remove the rack.

Post Sat Sep 09, 2006 2:56 pm

Chris-W wrote:Not too difficult at all - two 17mm bolts & nuts holding the rack on, 22mm and 18mm banjo bolts for the feed & return pipes.

TYou'll find it easier if you carefully bend the lower mounting tabs down a little to remove the rack.

thank you! thats the advice i wanted to hear

Post Sat Sep 09, 2006 3:09 pm

Messy job though - fluid everywhere.
Don't forget to thoroughly flush out the pump and pipework with new fluid, and set the tracking afterwards.

Post Sat Sep 09, 2006 3:10 pm

Brianmoooore wrote:Messy job though - fluid everywhere.
Don't forget to thoroughly flush out the pump and pipework with new fluid, and set the tracking afterwards.

noted sir

just need to source a rack now and then no doubt do a writeup too

Post Sat Sep 09, 2006 5:47 pm

Brian's quite right on the messy point - I hate PAS fluid even more than I have brake/clutch fluid.

Post Sat Sep 09, 2006 7:24 pm

Here's my 2p..

swears repeatedly... it's a pita of a job to get one back on. There is a guide already for it mate in the tech articles.

although it's easier than a diff lol

Post Sat Sep 09, 2006 8:19 pm

May have sourced a rack, but its fitted to a 318i touring,

will this fit my 6pot touring?

thanks

Post Sat Sep 09, 2006 8:40 pm

Getting the steering coupling off the rack splines can sometimes be a pain too though.
After undoing the pinch bolt and nut on the coupling sometimes good to wedge the slot apart very slightly - being careful as it's aluminium - and tap it off the rack - again not with a big club hammer!
Steering wheel may need removing and centralising afterwards too - after the tracking is done though.
My rack mounting bolts had 15mm heads.

Post Sat Sep 09, 2006 9:44 pm

Having just changed one this afternoon, I might just revise my description of it being easy!!
Track rod ends unscrewed well enough, but the two bolts holding the rack decided they were quite happy where they were!
Nuts unscrewed off the top OK, but the bolts wouldn't budge. One eventually surrendered to a long breaker bar, a lot of working over and back, and a couple of OE spanners manipulated by the missus to lever it down.
The other wouldn't give up, and eventually, after the head had rounded off, I ground the head off. and by putting an increasing number of washers on the exposed thread at the top, and tightening the nut back up, eventually drew the remains of the bolt upwards and out.

Post Sat Sep 09, 2006 11:45 pm

Do not do what I did, bang on the steering coupler. DON'T DO IT! I wrecked the universal, it looked fine, but the steering felt horrible. That was a 200 dollar mistake. The way I would do it now would be to take it off from the top of by the fire wall. We used a screw driver to pry and then pull down from there. You can then get if off the rack when it is out of the car. For us this side was much easier to pulll of then the rack side. My only other advice it make sure you center the rack when you put it back it. You dont want to just pop the steering wheel off and center it. The wheel will then be centered, but the rack will not. Good luck.
Getting the steering coupler off is the whole job.

Post Sat Sep 09, 2006 11:53 pm

I agree the rack should be centred when fitted (ie. track rod ends screwed in the same distance both sides), but if the rack that came off wasn't centred properly (I know what some garages are like when they do tracking - lazy!) or the steering wheel is moved at some point during the change, the wheel will also have to centred afterwards.

Post Sun Sep 10, 2006 12:02 am

I put the steering coupling back together, then reposition the steering wheel so that the wheel turns exactly the same amount of turns in each direction from the wheel straight ahead position. Then I set the track rods for 1mm of toe in on each front wheel.
This should give an equal amount of thread showing on each track rod end. If it doesn't, then start looking for whatever is bent.