Steering Rack Rebuild ??

[heinzboehmer]

Also, just did a decent chunk of research for my rebuild recently and thought I'd post the most important bits:

• This video is pretty useful for familiarizing yourself with the process: https://youtu.be/W9drVXzCOuM
• There's a bunch of seal kits available online and none of them are OE, so I went with the one from LPSR in Australia since they seem well liked
• There's three bearings inside our racks: Open CN 6001 bearing, F-208801.4 needle bearing and 363215 B (stolen directly from some reddit thread). Needle bearing is INA, the other two are SKF. I had tons of trouble finding the needle bearing, but I was able to order the other two.
• ZF has an official document for servicing steering racks. I've attached it to this post.

I'll share more info when I actually go through with the rebuild

[heinzboehmer]

I started down the rebuild path. One thing I’d like to share is that many people seem to place the dust cap back incorrectly and end up with off-centered alignment. I did a full tear down with notes on torques and noticed this when turning the rack to the extreme “lock” position. The dust cap actually had a little triangle/marker which protrudes from the cap and lines up with one of the pinion seal tube spines.
I rebuilt the rack, “locked” the steering rack to the extreme, and then placed the cap back on just as shown here - wheel was nice and centered when installed.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for that note! A steering rack rebuild is in my near future...

[0-60motorsports]

I started down the rebuild path. One thing I’d like to share is that many people seem to place the dust cap back incorrectly and end up with off-centered alignment. I did a full tear down with notes on torques and noticed this when turning the rack to the extreme “lock” position. The dust cap actually had a little triangle/marker which protrudes from the cap and lines up with one of the pinion seal tube spines.

I rebuilt the rack, “locked” the steering rack to the extreme, and then placed the cap back on just as shown here - wheel was nice and centered when installed.

Hope this helps.

Excellent, what kit did you use for the rebuild?

[davidinnyc]

I started down the rebuild path. One thing I’d like to share is that many people seem to place the dust cap back incorrectly and end up with off-centered alignment. I did a full tear down with notes on torques and noticed this when turning the rack to the extreme “lock” position. The dust cap actually had a little triangle/marker which protrudes from the cap and lines up with one of the pinion seal tube spines.

I rebuilt the rack, “locked” the steering rack to the extreme, and then placed the cap back on just as shown here - wheel was nice and centered when installed.

Hope this helps.

[bigjae46]

I see you have not rebuilt one! There is a seal buried in the middle of the rack that is a huge pain in the ass to remove. It will most certainly involve making a custom tool in the moment (that’s what I did for mine). If you’re not super confident with mechanical work, leave it to a pro for sure. This is probably the least straightforward job on the e46, including and not limited to an engine rebuild or vincebar install. Word to the wise.

Fair enough, I didn't get that deep into it.

[Bry5on]

I don't think it should be that difficult. Bench vise, small seal pullers, and a properly sized snap ring plier. Maybe a press or seal driver.

I see you have not rebuilt one! There is a seal buried in the middle of the rack that is a huge pain in the ass to remove. It will most certainly involve making a custom tool in the moment (that’s what I did for mine). If you’re not super confident with mechanical work, leave it to a pro for sure. This is probably the least straightforward job on the e46, including and not limited to an engine rebuild or vincebar install. Word to the wise.

[bigjae46]

I should clarify, based on my skill / tools / and available time to mess with it. Others may have different successes. There are inner seals, certain fasteners, certain adjustments and so on that I just don't want to tackle.

I can't recall where I found the ZF repair pdf but it's online floating around if you search. Of course, that document covers pressure testing and a plethora of other things that one probably doesn't HAVE to do, but a rebuilder likely would as a matter of liability.

I don't think it should be that difficult. Bench vise, small seal pullers, and a properly sized snap ring plier. Maybe a press or seal driver.

[9kracing]

When i bought mine from CMP Everyone seemed to be buying purple tags at the time for some me reason, but i chose yellow. Cost me between 6 to 700$.

When I got mine from RackDoctor he had actual ZCP blue tag racks for $600. Granted, it took literally 6+ months to actually get it, plus two tense email conversations where he threatened to cancel my order... but I did eventually get it lol.

[Drewrivera]

This is a difficult task in my "Rack and Opinion"🤣🤣🤣. You would definitely need the right tools and skill for this. I personally ordered mine from CMP. I chose them because i didn't want to deal with that people's reviews and real life stories that were on rack doctor. When i bought mine from CMP Everyone seemed to be buying purple tags at the time for some me reason, but i chose yellow. Cost me between 6 to 700$.

[PSUEng]

thank you for the reply.

so, sounds like this is not DIY friendly as PSUEng explained ..

I should clarify, based on my skill / tools / and available time to mess with it. Others may have different successes. There are inner seals, certain fasteners, certain adjustments and so on that I just don't want to tackle.

I can't recall where I found the ZF repair pdf but it's online floating around if you search. Of course, that document covers pressure testing and a plethora of other things that one probably doesn't HAVE to do, but a rebuilder likely would as a matter of liability.

[9kracing]

Looks like RackDoctor is out of business. Or maybe the website just needs updating.

https://rackdoctor.net/

Too bad, they had such stellar customer service

[chalaka]

Power Steering Rack and Pinion Seal Kit for BMW E46 1999-2002 ZF Rack | eBay

It was a long time ago and I only did the pinion seal. I'm pretty sure you need a small snap ring plier. Probably a seal puller or something to pull blind seals.

thank you for the reply.

so, sounds like this is not DIY friendly as PSUEng explained ..

[PSUEng]

I'm subscribing to this, and interested. I'll be picking up a 712 steering rack with ~60K miles, so will be doing a full cleaning and evaluation/potential rebuild if it's needed.

I did some video watching and reading of the ZF rebuild manual, I think I'm going to just find a pro to rebuild this thing. I'm in contact with a place that will do it, but hesitant due to pricing and the fact that I don't want this thing sitting too long uninstalled after a rebuild; my current stock rack is still going fine. Anyway, quite a few special tools needed, technique, and so on. BTW, the Gates kit is NLA per my inquiry to them a few weeks ago.

[bigjae46]

Hi bigjae46, can you share which repair kit did you get from ebay?
any special tool is needed to perform the repair?

thanks

Power Steering Rack and Pinion Seal Kit for BMW E46 1999-2002 ZF Rack | eBay

It was a long time ago and I only did the pinion seal. I'm pretty sure you need a small snap ring plier. Probably a seal puller or something to pull blind seals.

[chalaka]

I bought a seal kit from eBay since I had a leaky pinion seal. It was kind of a pain, just pay attention to what parts come out in what order.

I think it is worth rebuilding especially if the rack is going to sit. The rubber is hard because of age then it will just shrink up and crack. Then you know it is ready for whenever you need it.

Hi bigjae46, can you share which repair kit did you get from ebay?
any special tool is needed to perform the repair?

thanks