tibbs.james

After having a look at Power Steering Hard Lines I have found out the following. 1- you can use the E36 low pressure line, remove the rubber hose, and trim off the mounting tab where it bolts to the E36 rack- if you leave this tab on it will rub against the sump - I am yet to come up with a brackett or something. 2- it might be possible to join the E30 High pressure line and the E36 High pressure line. you can see how I trimmed up and bend the E36 line. I had to bend the E30 hard line quite a long way and its a tight fit in there but this could possibly work. One problem might be that as the lines are different diameter they may be impossible to join properly. I am still thinking that an Entire new hard line may need to be built- however i will attempt to have these 2 connected and see how it goes.

As a matter of referene. I had my M20 cylinder head machined for $400, to get the exhaust manifold machined was $60 New Rod Bolts ( aftermarket replacments ) were $80 Top Gasket Set Was $150, Lower set was $90 By the time i got the Cambelt, Water Pump and tensioner it was close to $800. For my 300zx Nissan block Bored, Crank polished, pistons machined painted and new frost plugs for $500. Mahle Piston rings were $150, Main bearings were $100 Rods were $80 Lower gasket set was $80 This is based on nearly trade prices and all work being completed myself

Steering Joint From a 1990 320i My original one got sloppy so i got this from Pete at Eurorec and it was his best one. I had this fitted for 2 weeks before i realized my Steering Rack was stuffed and switched to an E36 Rack. Looking for $105 and send it anywhere around New Zealand for you. These Joints are about $700 new from Bmw in Germany and need to be special ordered. Could be a perfect spare for a Race Series car. This particular one is virgin and still has the rivets. For a photo see here ( the one at the top ) http://www.bimmersport.co.nz/forums/index....st&id=19961

Hi Guys I did this swap out of concern for reliability not for steering speed. I had 2 FL alloy E30 racks fail on me without warning and they both failed in different ways The steering rack I got was from a 1992 E36 , i think its the 3.2 lock to lock version( slowest of the e36 range ?) Its not a flash one like other people might be after. But i am most impressed with how the rack is beefier in every respect over the E30 steering rack. And the general consensus was that the E36 racks never gave problems, A number of bmw wreckers have told me this & also a power steering rebuild shop. But the test drive will take place this weekend, once my High Pressure hose is built up this week. More Pictures to come soon.

Ok ok , Trolling "An Internet troll, or simply troll in Internet slang, is someone who posts controversial, inflammatory, irrelevant or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum or chat room, with the intention of provoking other users into an emotional response" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll 0/10 If your not trolling, refer to reply number 1.

I should Really get off my ass and make the polyurethane engine mounts for it too BTW the poly rod is 90a duro automotive grade and is the same as what everybody else uses for bushings ect. It is 70mm diameter and 300mm length . It was $110 from Mulford Engineering Plastics I wouldn't bother going near the poly unless you have a band saw and a drill press. ( Dads garage is good like that ) I have found out the E36 low pressure line ( to the fluid resivour ) can be used if as long as you make a cut where the metal stops and hose clamp the rubber hose to this. I will try and get a picture of this tomorrow - its all cold outside now.

At this stage I am assuming most people who do this are going to loop over the lines and run it as a manual rack. I am going to have custom Power steering lines bent up and retain the power steering.

Hi Guys I should say this is a conversion for e36 steering rack into E30 could a mod fix the title please ? This is my progress on swapping to an E36 power steering rack. Step one, make sure you have a nice tidy e36 steering rack Step two, Make up some nice alloy spacers, file them nice and round so they match the mounting points on the 36 rack and paint up nice and clean to match. Use one spacer top and bottom each spacer is to be 6mm Step three, mount the steering rack. Step 4, Take apart the E30 & the E36 steering linkages. Fit the Top U Joint from the e30 to the spine on the steering column. Fit the lower E36 U Joint to the E36 steering rack and measure the distance between each face so you know how much polyurethane to cut. In my case it was 33mm. Step 5, Cut and Drill your Polyurethane Rod. I used a Drop band saw to cut it very slowly as the blade tends to wander around otherwise. Then when it came to drilling i used a drill press and a clamp. Once again drill very slowly so you don't make a mess of it. Holes need to be 8mm spacing at 45mm & 50mm Rotated 90deg. Not sure what the center hole was i think it was a 14mm. Step 6, Build up your steering Joint. In the end my poly block ended up being 27mm so it would stay protected by the heat shield and I used another 6mm spacer on top of it at the Steering column end. Make sure you use the bolts use you use are High tensile and are the ones that are smooth where it goes through with a step and threaded part only at the very end. I used washers and spring washers on each bolt so that nothing has any chance of loosening off. Step 7, Fit up your Steering Joint, Take lots of care to make sure you do your own measurements during the whole process as where the pinch bolts go through the splines at each end there is a recess cut for the bolt to go into ant the bolts have to be positioned exactly right or they will not clamp up onto the spline properly.

Ehh I got beaten to it, buy lots Here is the link to factsheet 49 anyway Are there any special circumstances? I've bought a vehicle without a licence You'll only be required to pay from the date you or the seller notifies the NZTA of the change of ownership, not the date the licence was due. The seller is liable for the unpaid fees before the change of ownership date. http://www.ltsa.govt.nz/factsheets/49.html

On lots of cars I have driven it has turned out to be worn shocks making the clonking. Like shocks that still had damping but were making noises. In the Back of my E30 the rear shock mounts caused a fair amount of clonking, as they were all loose and torn. Ball Joints can be easily checked for slop with the car up on stands and the wheels removed, i believe this is part of a wof check as well. And suspension bushes ( the ones you can actually see or get too ) you can see if they are torn or ripped open normally but they might still be hard to get to . Please note all of my experiences are to do with my E30 and my Datsun 300zx ( same front and rear suspension designs ) Good luck finding the problem.

Cool, well the car displayed today was a " no roof " version but it looked a complete running car from how it was parked up however we didn't see the engine compartment.

Hey Guys I am Staying at massy uni over the weekend to see my girlfriend, as we were walking around we noticed a display on the "Hulme Supercar" desgined in part with massy university. As i was explaing to my girlfriend about "inbord pushrod rocker arm suspension" when the guy turned around noticed i had a classic car magazine in my had and asked me if i would like to go have some tickets to this weekends race meeting ! here isthe you tube link of the car i think its a pretty amzing piece of kit seein it in person. check out the youtube link > mods freel free to embed this video as i don't know how. I can't get photo's of the race meeting, but i will let you know how it goes Opps please move this topic if i have it in the wrong section- sorry ! Enjoy your weekends guys ! Bravo - done. Just put the youtube link between [ video]YOUTUBE LINK GOES HERE tags. (just remove the space in the first tag).

I Don't really care how fast each model is. But i have built 2 suburu turbo motors for 2 mates i knew who both managed to destory motors on standard boost without really giving them too much of a thrashing, they both needed new sets of lifters and engine parts were expensive compared to other makes. IMO i would be more worried about the gearbox breaking than the engine popping, as others have said a popped engine isn't to hard to deal with ( engines are easy to refit but they are getting harded to come by as they are all getting pretty rooted from boy racers ) but gearbox's are really really hard to find and could very easily run somebody $2000 to get one fixed unless you take care of the gearbox. Nice cars, i like them but after 2 mates who have owned both single turbo rs 1991 and twin turbo 1995 versions i am unsure if i would own one knowing it was going to driven any harder than relaxed city driving.

You could make it simple and drop in a complete 12valve star ion turbo motor and 5spd box in. sure its not DOHC or an EVO motor but they are a very solid reliable unit and can push some decent torque and hp when setup correctly.

Favourite E30 Rileys 340I, the only thing that would be better was a fully preped race car.

Hankook Z211 road legal semi slicks come in medium and hard and seem pretty good, i got a set for the rear for $360 inc GST which was cost price for me from a retail tire shop. ( probally seems a bit expensive compared to how cheap David got his set of tires for ) Can't comment for them on the track but hell do they stick to the road in wet and dry on all kinds of surfaces.

I have the E30 & E36 rack on my bench right now and the 36 rack seems much beefier in the cast housing and i think the main shaft running through it is a larger diameter also. Looks like a much stonger rack which aligns with the fact most people say the E36 rack is a lot more reliable than the E30 alloy rack.

argh David you beat me too it

I have done a full subframe removal 3 times now, i do it like this. 1. Wheels off and put car on chassis stands, once on give it the sideways push test to make sures its safe. 2. remove shocks and springs. 2aUnbolt driveshaft from diff 2b.loosed the driveshafts where they bolt to the diff 3. unbolt handbrake lines from the handbrake inside the car and pull these through from underneath the car. 4.get some CRC penetrate or similar on any brake line fittings, these can be a total a**hole because if they are stuck they round out and can end up costing more money to get replaced. 5.unbolt any brake lines or fitings that would stop the entire assembly being lowered ( these are normally the 2 rubber lines that connect to the hard lines on the rear suspension arms. 6.place a jack under the diff and place some jacks under the rear crossmember so that when you loosed the subframe bolts it will rest on the chassis stands and you can lower it down gradually and safely. 7. Loosen subframe bolts. 8.unbolt subframe sill mounting plates- you could use an allen key but i used an allen key fitting on a breaker bar. 9. decide if you want to drop the whole subframe or just replace the arms- each way requires the subframe to be lowered by about 100mm, and each method also requires the diff mounting bolt to be undone. 10. From here just tap each side of the subframe alternatily so that it comes down evenly I used a rubber mallet. I suggest having a large trolly jack under the diff at all times, i also suggest having a smaller trolly jack under the bulge in the subframe where the driveshaft goes through. There is a lot of weight in the assembly and it needs to be supported as it comes down.

No worries, I'm not sure if I want to sell but yeah always an option.

$4000 for my 320i 36 quick steering rack Upgraded subframe and rear bushings 325 Rear suspension arms and 3.64 med case diff. 51mm front strurst with Koni shocks front/rear and Eibach springs m3 front offset bushings Grey Leather ok condition 5psd manaul conversion-new clutch and master/salve cylinders. Rebult 731 head, new cambelt water pump and tensionner bearing. 325 front and rear swaybars, front has urethane bushings. Couple scratches on the paint nothing too bad. Hankook Z211 Semi Slick rear tires - Brand new ( road legal with dot number ) if interested i can email a pic and copies of some recepts. Regards James

There is a very high chance I will get it certified, probably throw a 2.5 motor in and make it worthwhile. It will be worthwhile for the sake of not having the e30 alloy rack fail every 4 months. I like things being tidy, If Riley can get a V8 certified I'm sure a bolt in steering rack will fly through, Its just like wheel spacers You do need a cert but so many people do run them anyway. But i do Agree 100% that a cert is really the way to go, I will probably have a Chat with Wayne Martin From Vehicle Certification Services who lives Locally.

I have picked up an E36 Steering rack, looks very very similar it should work no troubles and the bonus is if it don't i can always return it. Big thanks to Nick for finding the RHD Steering Joint Information, from this i have developed a better drawing to send to my engineer to have a spacer made up as a test run. If the install of the steering rack is a success I might consider having a set of 4-5 spacers made to sell on Bimmersport members wanting to do the conversion. This is my proposed drawing to send to the engineer, I am hoping to "TEST" install this setup in the weekend. Don't bother going and having this made untill i confirm the setup works. Otherwise you use my drawing AT YOUR OWN RISK.

After Speaking to Peter At Power Steering Specialists in Chch. The alloy e30 racks seems to have a weakness in the housing where the Teflon rings inside can move up and down and groove out the housing internally, this could point towards the binding I am having. Have been quoted $250 just to have the housing machined and sleeved not including other required parts. Also Quoted $50 for them to dismantle the rack to see if its even fixable as in some cases they are not.

That is very detailed and certainly describes building the correct steering joint very well. Top job finding that nick. But coming back to my earlier questions 5. Can E30 steering racks be rebuilt on your bench top at home, and are the parts available ?