Just bought an 98 M3 sedan (its Alpine White with a Magma interior). So far I love it. I've been going through everything and making a list of maintenance needs, and to do's. Everything's pretty straight forward, but I'm having a weird issue with the steering. Wondering what all I need to replace.
Right after I start the car, I go to turn the steering wheel and it binds really badly. Feels like I lost power steering all together, and then if I keep turning through it, it'll suddenly free up and be okay (till it sits again over night). Seems like its only happening when I turn the wheel left. I can normally back out of my driveway (turning it to the right) and its fine, but when I turn it to the left to get going that's when its really hard to turn.
I was already going to replace the lines, but wondering if i need a new rack too? Or does this sound like a pump issue?
sounds like leaking lines letting air into the system.
oldtin
UltraDork
3/30/13 8:34 p.m.
usual e36 suspects are the trombone line and reservoir line. It's also cheap to replace the reservoir. Is the fluid brown instead of red?
bmw did a really good job on designing their PS system to work on it. I really like the external resevoiur
The trombone does look a little worse for wear, I'll add that and the reservoir to my list.
The trombone, etc and factory reservoir are a constant source of pain. If you are a track rat do not bother replacing them with factory - you will just end up going around in your own oil eventually. These guys have a kit you can spend money on but if you look at the parts... not too hard to DIY either. They don't overheat w/o the trombone even in racing conditions.
E36 PS upgrade kit
EDIT: Re-reading the OP for actual issues... that does not sound like a hydraulic issue. Check the linkage over carefully as the guy below me says. It could be the rack itself too - did the car ever get hit in a front wheel in a fender bender?
flogger
New Reader
3/31/13 6:53 a.m.
Check the bearing at the bottom of the steering column. Lift car and check for binding. There's a way to lube it with a bunch of straws (access is horrible) and a can of tri flow. Search bimmerforums for tricks on this.
HTH
7pilot
Reader
3/31/13 7:35 a.m.
What happens when the front suspension is off the ground and the steering wheel is turned?
That test may help rule out the influence of worn front suspension components.
A bad top strut bearing can also cause steering bind.
You can rule that out by lubing one with a little oil and checking for bind, then lubing the other and checking for bind. When they bind they often make the car "hunt" in a straight line causing the driver to make small corrections...A condition that has several other causes.
m
Sounds like a bad valve in the rack. We in the trade call it "Morning sickness"