E36 Rack conversion help

[bryn_p]

Evening gents,

I'm halfway through the E36 rack conversion on my track car using bits I got off ebay from Mr Fat-3 I believe, so presumably Mr Haynes supplied them originally.

I've got a couple of questions though...

1) Should I put the spacers for the rack mounting at the top or bottom of the rack.

2) Can I use the E36 track rod ends (ie. complete rack as is) as the E30 ones appear to be a completely different design.

3) Can someone tell me where to use the short flexi pipe and where to use the long metal pipe (at the back of this picture)...

Steering racks

The E30 rack is at the front, E36 at the back.

Good news is I have at least sorted the flexi joint for the steering column

Any help will be really appreciated!!

Cheers,
Bryn.[/url]

[ian332isport]

Evening gents,

I'm halfway through the E36 rack conversion on my track car using bits I got off ebay from Mr Fat-3 I believe, so presumably Mr Haynes supplied them originally.

I've got a couple of questions though...

1) Should I put the spacers for the rack mounting at the top or bottom of the rack.

2) Can I use the E36 track rod ends (ie. complete rack as is) as the E30 ones appear to be a completely different design.

3) Can someone tell me where to use the short flexi pipe and where to use the long metal pipe (at the back of this picture)...

Steering racks

The E30 rack is at the front, E36 at the back.

Good news is I have at least sorted the flexi joint for the steering column

Any help will be really appreciated!!

Cheers,
Bryn.[/url]

Hi Bryn,

If you got it from Mr Fat 3 (Mark), then yes, I did supply the pipes

1) The spacers should fit on top of the rack. You may be able to fit them underneath, but the rack body would get very close to the sump (at least it would on my car).

2) It's easiest to use the complete E36 rack, including the tie rods and rod ends. It is possible to use the E30 rod ends, but you also need to swap the tie rods over.

3) The short flexi connects from the end of the metal pipe on the rack, to the power steering pump. Once the rack is fitted, you will need to cut the metal pipe to length, and then connect the flexi to it. It's a standard hydraulic compression fitting with a nut and olive. Just push the metal pipe into the fitting until it stops, and then tighten the nut with a couple of spanners. This will compress the olive onto the pipe and seal the joint.

The longer rubber pipe is to connect from the power steering reservoir to the end of the standard E36 (6 cylinder) return pipe (you need to remove the original rubber hose first). This is a low pressure return pipe, and can be fitted with a jubilee clip.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Cheers,

Ian.

[bryn_p]

Thanks for your help Ian, I hoped you would come to the rescue!

I was confused by my lack of E36 return pipe, but I will pick one up tomorrow!
One last question, should the metal pipe attach to the top or bottom fitting on the rack.

Thanks again, much appreciated.

Cheers,
Bryn.

[ian332isport]

One last question, should the metal pipe attach to the top or bottom fitting on the rack.

Bryn,

I can't remember off the top of my head. I think it's the top one. It will only actually fit in one place, as the two fittings use a different sized Banjo bolt. It goes to the smaller of the two.

Make sure you get the 6 cylinder E36 return pipe. This has a pipe that has a cooling coil built in. The 4 cylinder pipe that just goes straight across will not work. Even with the 6 cylinder pipe, you will need to 'tweak' it slightly to clear the sump. Here is a picture that shows the correct pipe.



Cheers,

Ian.

[bryn_p]

Thanks Ian, that's brilliant.

Should be finished soon

Cheers,
Bryn.