Kobra

The project went on hold for a few months while I settled into the new place. The touring was able to drive around under it's own power, but the power steering system was still not happy. At first I assumed the new purple tag rack was damaged, so I swap the E36 rack back in, but the problem persisted. Then I tried using the original high pressure hose that I had bent to work. That didn't work either. I was starting to run out of ideas. Meanwhile, I'd managed to piece together the bits I needed to build the differential setup I wanted. A 2.93 gearset and LSD center were assembled into an E30 medium case housing. This should pair nicely with the 1:1 ratio 5th gear in the ZF 5 speed gearbox. Looking at around 2600rpm at 100kph which, if my 328i E36 is anything to go by, should result in pretty good fuel economy. I gave the case a good clean and fresh coat of paint. Paint drying by the heater. The new diff is good to go, so yanked the stock 4.44 small case from the touring. Interesting to compare them side-by-side. Diff about to go in.

I came across a solid deal on a purple tag steering rack from an E46 compact, so I picked it up. This rack will swap directly with the E36 rack that I already had, so the install was a breeze. I wanted to redo the high pressure power steering line to move it away from where the exhaust would need to go. I ordered some AN fittings and some hose to make a custom solution. I got the system back together, but something wasn't right with the power steering. The system was no longer providing much assist, and seemed to lag behind the steering wheel input. No leaks were found. Will have to investigate further. It was time to move house once again. I'll miss having a nice warm dry garage to hide from the weather in.

Yep, it did seem daunting at the time. However, the prospect of having a practical car which was also a blast to drive was too good to let go. Also yes, Because Touring. I'm afraid the coupe has already found it's new owner. More updates to come...

Sorted out an oil catch can. It's just a cheap unit from ebay which I stuffed with iron wool. I made a bracket, and mounted it under the intake manifold. Installing the driveshaft hoops was the next task. Marking and drilling holes from inside the tunnel turned out to be far more difficult than I anticipated. But I got there in the end. I also had to replace the crank position sense as it had died somehow while sitting. Things are slowing coming together. Intake on. M20 coolant overflow tank mounted. First time out of the garage under it's own power. Front end back on.

While not shown in earlier posts, I did also swap the E36 steering rack and Audi brake booster from the coupe. Engine bay ready to receive the M52 Engine ready to go And just like that, it's in. I slightly slotted the booster holes in the firewall to move the booster down and away from the engine. The intake to booster clearance is tight, but better than it was in the coupe. Now I'm almost back to the point I was at with the coupe.

Time to get the touring back in the garage. I decided to investigate rust situation a little further, this is what I found. Not looking so great. I decided to remove the worst of it, and then hit it with some rust kill paint in an attempt to mitigate damage until I can have it repaired. I forgot to take photos of most of this, but I did get a photo of the battery tray. Painted black I'm happy with the result.

With the touring tucked away awaiting it's new engine, it's time for the coupe to go under the knife. M52 out Mission success. Now to insert the mighty M40B18. All buttoned up. Almost ready to be road legal again.

Once I had moved, I was given access to a spot in an insulated garage. This enabled me to work on things in the evenings after work. Some good progress was made. Picked up an engine crane Lid off Disconnecting all the things Out she comes

For a couple months, I didn't get much done as I was moving house. However, some shiny silver rings found there way into my gauge cluster, along with a new set of plastic odometer gears, and a couple of fresh lithium cells for the SI board. I also scored a set of 16" Style 5 Wheels for dirt cheap. These may come in handy at some point...

Well, I certainly haven't done a great job of posting regular updates... better late than never, I guess. Late one cold evening in June, a humble little white car rolls into a parking spot. I had finally made it back home after 2 days of driving from Auckland to Christchurch. (Sorry for the potato camera) The car was an NZ new 1992 318i in manual. It ran well enough to get me back, but it certainly had a few issues. A few days later, a new set of rims arrived. They were wrapped in some fresh rubber, and hastily fitted on. TRM C1 15x8 ET20 Wheels with 205/55 RE003s Tyres. I only really had the time and funds to support one project. So this was basically the point when I committed to moving the drivetrain and suspension from the Coupe into the Touring. The coupe would be reverted back to stock until I could figure out what I was going to do with it. It was going to take a bit of effort, but I honestly couldn't wait to get started. The first thing I decided to tackle was swapping the suspension between the cars. During this process, we realised the fact that new wheels didn't clear the front struts. It seems the coilover sleeves were welded higher on the strut tube than the manufacturer intended (to comply with cert rules). This means the lower adjustment nut sits right where the inner edge of the rim wants to be. I was running out of daylight, so for now, the factory bottle caps will go back on. The new wheels ended up on the Coupe.

Oops, forgot to add a price. Asking $300.

For sale: Set of 4, ATS DTC 17x7.5 Wheels 5x120 Stud pattern, ET30 Offset (Perfect for E36/E46) Come with decent 225/45 Bridgestone MY02 tyres with about 4mm tread left on each. German made, and very lightweight. Located in Christchurch. Asking $300 for bimmersport members

Sunroof panel still available?

The fluid certainly seems to stay clear now, no aeration. So not sure what that was all about. I'll try adding a restrictor to the return hose tomorrow. If that doesn't help, I'm thinking it's dirt stuck in the system. Thanks for your help, M3AN.

Actually, It looks like the high pressure line I choose should be fine. I found a picture of an OEM one cut apart. Fairly small I.D. on the actual inner part. Also, I found a few popular E36 AN hose kits that use -6AN fittings for the high pressure.

I'm not sure about the restrictor. Last weekend, I ran it for a few minutes going from lock to lock quickly. Even moving the steering wheel at slow speeds was difficult. But the fluid wasn't getting aerated at all. Perhaps the aeration I saw was from the initial bleeding of the system? The air bubbles in the reservoir could have pushed some fluid out of the vent. It feels like the system cannot flow enough fluid. I'm thinking the hose/fittings could be too small on the I.D. 3/8in. vs 1/2in. for the factory lines (not sure on this) I could still try the restrictor easily. Perhaps a hose clamp around the return hose, and tighten it a bit.

The hose was made from -6AN "full flow" fittings\banjo bolts with 200 Series stainless hose from Aeroflow. I'm no AN host expert. I don't think it'll flow any less than the factory one, but I do think the hose could be a little small. The symptoms make me think there is a flow restriction somewhere in the system. The rack was filthy when I picked it up, It could be dirt in the suck in there somewhere. I took the belt off to check the P/S pump. It feels perfectly smooth, no noise. I'll probably swap the E36 rack in this weekend to see if that fixes it. Otherwise it's the hose.

Bump. Has anyone else got any ideas?

My return line looks exactly like this. No restrictor in sight.

Sorry, updated the image link. I didn't create a new return line. It's still just a regular E36 one. The only new line is the high pressure line from the pump to the top hole on the rack. Also, from all the research I've done, I've never heard of using a restrictor in this power steering rack swap. The leakage from the vent was only after the initial drive. Certainly hasn't done it since. I thought it was just caused by some air bubbles rushing into the reservoir. Maybe this is something to consider.

Very cool car. Hopefully someone local buys it to keep in NZ. GLWS.

First, a little context; I have an M52B28 swapped E30 touring project car. I originally had a regular E36 rack installed. It was hooked up to the P/S pump with a stock E36 high pressure line, which was [poorly] bent to fit (routed around the back of the subframe). The return line was stock E36. I had no issues with this setup at all. A few months ago, I got my hands on an E46 Purple tag rack. With the install, I figured I would replace the bent high pressure line with a custom one made with AN fittings. The new line routes between the subframe and sump, next to the low pressure cooling loop. Everything seemed to go smoothly with the install. I bled the system by going from lock to lock with the front wheels in the air, first a few turns without the engine running, then several more with. I dropped the car on the ground and did a few more turns. At that point in time, with the car not moving, I believe the P/S felt fine. I took the car for a quick drive around the block, and that when I started noticing the issue. It felt like the power steering assist was "lagging behind" my steering wheel input. And it seemed to be getting worse as I drove, so I quickly went home and turned it off. I assumed it was just a leak at one of the banjo bolts, but they all looked fine. I noticed some fluid had managed to get out of the reservoir via the vent hole. The fluid looked cloudy with lots of tiny bubbles. Perhaps it's just air trapped in the system? I attempted to bleed the system again, but nothing changed. I left the car to sit so the air bubbles would clear out of the fluid. After more testing, the steering is still very heavy when turned, but if turned and held at a position, the power assist seems to "catch up" and the steering wheel goes light again. Possibly the result of an "air spring" somewhere in the system? The power steering pump doesn't seem to make any noise, although it is hard to hear with only headers for an exhaust. I ran out of time to work on the car, and left it for a few months. Last weekend I started her up again, hoping the issue had magically resolved itself. It hadn't. So I'm thinking the issue exists with the purple tag rack, or my custom AN line. I threw away the old high pressure line, I can't easily swap that out. I still have the old E36 rack though, so I could swap that back in. But before I go through all that effort, I wanted to ask the community for input. Has anyone seen P/S behaviour like this before? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Great! Pm'd.

No, sorry. Just looking to upgrade.

Fantastic, Thank you.