slideways 47 Report post Posted December 10, 2013 Dropped my E30 m325i (fitted with e36 rack) to get a warrant today and she passed no problems but as i was picking her up at 5pm, the guy said the mechanic mentioned something but couldnt remember what. Didnt effect it getting a wof so didnt really matter. As i went to leave, i realsied that the steering was a rather heavy and it felt as if it had very little PS fluid. Just thought id take a look when i arrived home and continued driving. After arriving home, i found all the PS fluid sitting in both steering rack boots which now resemble pumped up balloons. I dont know if they did anything or if it was just bad timing but i do know that all was well this morning when i dropped it off. Now, when one of these racks shits itself, is this usually what happens? What could have caused both sides to fail like this? Is there a valve that could have been stuck open in the PS pump or something? I dont really know much about power steering systems but i'll have to go to pick a park tomorrow and get a new rack to throw in after work and dont want it doing the same thing if its not the racks fault. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FIAT 131R 223 Report post Posted December 10, 2013 Did you bleed the rack when you fitted it. When you fit a rack on the E30 jack up the front of the car just off the ground and turn the wheel from lock to lock quite a lot, say a dozen times to get the air out. Leave the cap off the power steer fluid container when you do it. Sounds like both seals are gone. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slideways 47 Report post Posted December 11, 2013 Yeah i always do that but didnt know its necessary and can cause the seals to go if there is air in the system. I always thought it eventually makes its way out anyway. I went to pick a part in my lunch hour today and got a rack from a 98 e36. It all swapped in and seems to be fine. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FIAT 131R 223 Report post Posted December 11, 2013 Yeah i always do that but didnt know its necessary and can cause the seals to go if there is air in the system. I always thought it eventually makes its way out anyway. I went to pick a part in my lunch hour today and got a rack from a 98 e36. It all swapped in and seems to be fine. The air does get out eventually but if there is a lot of air it doesn't do the pump much good at all. Best to get rid of the bulk of it by going from lock to lock quite a lot of times. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
