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slideways

E36 rack blown

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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