E36 steering rack and M50 ?

Post Sat Oct 01, 2005 6:18 pm

Hello,

i have M50B25 engine in my E30 and a spare E36 steering rack. Will these 2 fit together. I looked under the car today and oil pan seems to be very close, will this be a problem for e36 rack ?

Post Sat Oct 01, 2005 10:26 pm

I think they should fit! its the Exhaust manifold you need to watch out for.

Andrew

Post Sat Oct 01, 2005 10:34 pm

Hi, I have an M52 (M50 E34 sump) and it does appear to fit (the ribs are very close but don't actually touch).

Andy

Post Sat Oct 01, 2005 10:52 pm

I tried one when i did my M50, mainly to get clearance on one of the power steering banjo bolts, but found that the angle of the E36 pinion made the steering shaft foul the manifold instead, so went back to the E30 one.
This was all before I discovered the E30 zone, so I was working blind, and solving all the problems from scratch without any advicefrom anyone who had done these things before.
The manifold was eventually modified, so an E36 rack may now well fit now.
The shell my M50 resides in was only ever intended as a temporary home come test bed. Eventually it will be moved to a fully restored rolling shell, without all the holes cut in the wrong places, so I might well try the E36 rack again then, since it seems it can be done.

Post Sun Oct 02, 2005 1:48 pm

Tnx. Im not from UK and i have a RHD car, so exhaust manifold is not a problem for me. I was worried about oil pan. If you guys say it will fit under there ill try to put it on.

Post Mon Oct 03, 2005 3:20 pm

I have the E34 M50 sump on my S50 with an E36 steering rack and there is enough clearance.

iKst wrote:Im not from UK and i have a RHD car, so exhaust manifold is not a problem for me.

Erm, do you mean LHD?
With a RHD car (same as us in the UK) you may have problems with the exhaust manifold you have used for the M50 conversion, as the E36 rack moves the steering joint closer to the engine block by about an inch.