E36 steering rack stops missing/worn?

[nath 134]

Hi guys

I took the E36 in for a Wof today and they noticed rubbing in the wheel well. The wheels turn to the right all the way to hitting the well. Not to the left. No issues with short travel to the left though. 

Is it possible that limiters/stops have broken/worn out? The car has 90 miles.

It may be just now that I'm focused on it, but It seems like now I can hear/feel a bit of power steering pump or rack noise. The car is mint in other respects, certainly not a sloppy girl.

 

cheers!

Edited May 18, 2022 by nath

[dirtydoogle 383]

The rack stopping is done when the inner tie rod hits the casting in the rack, so no it's not worn 

If it's lowered, has wider tyres (not by much either), different offset wheels, worn bushes or a bad alignment it will do it. Most e36s have some wear there. I have turned up lock limiters for drift cars with modified knuckles, but typically they don't rub hard enough to cause issue

 

Edit, they typically hit the left more than the right 

Edited May 18, 2022 by dirtydoogle

[wrs 120]

Mine failed a warrant a few years ago because there was a new guy at VTNZ who was a bit anal about very minor rubbing on both sides despite having passed for years prior. I made up and fitted 3mm thick plastic clip-on washers to each side by releasing the boot and pulling it back from the rack then clipping the spacer on over the main drive rod between the rack and knuckle. This limits the amount of turn by about 10mm so there is no rubbing. Added a bit of underseal over the rub marks and never had a problem since, even with Mr anal doing the inspections.

I you can buy premade ones like below but I can't remember where from - thought it was VAC or Achilles but they're not shown on their website (they only have solid ones). Obviously the guys below could be a source if you can't make your own.

[nath 134]

Thanks guys that gives me something to base my checks on. A few notes and admissions:

• The new front tyres are 225 (should be 235) and as a consequence of sidewall availabilities they ARE a whistle larger diameter. So naturally that will be contributing to rub, but doesn't explain it fully with no rub on the left.
• The car has offset control arm bushings with BMW part numbers. It is an Alpina B3, but would have 328i gear not M3 I'd have thought? Unsure if these would contribute to rubbing.
• Control arms have been replaced.

I'll have a look this eve perhaps to see if a simple case of re-centering the rack me resolve the issue, despite the tyre sizes? 

[M3AN 4016]

The principle of parsimony (Occam's razor) suggests you check that the arch liner itself is properly positioned and secured before getting too deep into the mechanical side of things.

[NZ00Z3 187]

Off-set control arm bushings on an E36 increases the caster (pushed the wheel forward a bit).  They were only used on the early Z3M's and M3's.  These had special control arms.

I have no idea what Alpina would have fitted.  I've looked as a couple of Alpina Vin Decodes over the years and they do not included any Alpina build data.

A rub on one side and not the other would suggest an off-set center steering position.  

Fit concentric (not off-set) control arm bushings to get the wheel back in it's central position.

 

[nath 134]

5 hours ago, NZ00Z3 said:

Off-set control arm bushings on an E36 increases the caster (pushed the wheel forward a bit).  They were only used on the early Z3M's and M3's.  These had special control arms.

Interesting. Maybe the casual fitment of these (the control arms are standard non-M3) is in line with the replica ACS rear window spoiler and fake Alpina grille badge which were on it when I purchased... Just fluff that the owner bought online perhaps.

*EDIT*: Apparently the B3 3.2 came with offset bushes

Anyway, Upon closer inspection the toe was way out. bringing that back to zero has eliminated rubbing and given around 10+mm clearance full lock(8" front rim width). 

 

Now to convince my WOF guys that no witchcraft has been performed... Unfortunately his opinion is that you would need a huge adjustment in the rack to achieve this- despite the opposite being true.

Edited May 20, 2022 by nath

[M3AN 4016]

That's quite astonishing given it only takes a few mm of incorrect toe to make a car practically undrivable. Good result though.

 

[Statek 87]

Just as an FYI, I had tyre rub on my previous project, and it was due to the inner tie rod having been replaced and the OE lock washers weren't used: