Ahmedsinc 414 Report post Posted December 11, 2015 Has anybody ever pulled a steering rack from an E36 apart and compared the internals to a newer (i.e. E46 / E39) one? I have an E39 530i m-sport rack from a car I tore apart a while back, and would love to know if the innards will work in an E36 rack housing. Seems on paper to be a straightforward way of getting the quicker lock to lock ratio without shelling out $300-500 on an E46 sport rack. I briefly thought I could use the E39 rack but noticed the mounting tabs are on the opposite side to the E36 so that killed the idea pretty quickly. Bear in mind that my knowledge of these things is nil so any constructive input is useful Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted December 11, 2015 This might help? http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=954523 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ahmedsinc 414 Report post Posted December 11, 2015 Hmm, so torsion bar length will be the first question followed closely by input shaft length. Chances are this will be a total fail, but I'd still like to find out Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
allan 295 Report post Posted December 11, 2015 (edited) Not sure but remember a post about some one playing with the length of the tie rod bars on a e36 and found they have a different method of transferring air/oil pressure inside the rack to a e46. Might be nothing though if the guts of the rack could be fitted inside the e36 casing. Edited December 11, 2015 by tim 325 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ahmedsinc 414 Report post Posted December 12, 2015 Not sure but remember a post about some one playing with the length of the tie rod bars on a e36 and found they have a different method of transferring air/oil pressure inside the rack to a e46. Might be nothing though if the guts of the rack could be fitted inside the e36 casing. I recall seeing that one too. I'll probably need to use E36 rod ends instead of the E39 one as I'm 99% sure the 5er rods are longer. Does anyone have an E36 rack I can use as a test donkey? Stuffed is fine as the guts will be getting biffed anyway. Cheap would be great too Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted December 12, 2015 Not sure but remember a post about some one playing with the length of the tie rod bars on a e36 and found they have a different method of transferring air/oil pressure inside the rack to a e46. Might be nothing though if the guts of the rack could be fitted inside the e36 casing. That was me. Does anyone have an E36 rack I can use as a test donkey? Stuffed is fine as the guts will be getting biffed anyway. Cheap would be great too Yes. Send me a PM if you like, I'm sure we can sort something out. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
