Any ideas on what could be causing a hard steering problem? The car seems to turn real hard in both directions. However it does seem to ease up on and off thru a turn. Also after making the turn the wheel doesnt return to the straight position with out steering it back into position.
hard steering
chirojoe
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Well I guess I wimped out on the power steering diy. I brought the car to a local trusted shop to have the car inspected. I told the mechanic to have at it and deal with the steering issue. The good news is his take on it is that the pump is bad and it shouldnt take more that a couple hours to do. (lets see how that works out). While I am posting does anyone know how much fluid the power steering system holds?
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In the bestlinks thread, I just did a browser find (control f) for "steering rack" and only found this ... hope it helps:
- Steering Rack replacement (528i/no pics)
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I had similar symptoms, but the effort wasn't consistant enough that I just lived with this intermittent issue until one left turn too many and I heard a load bam/bang under the hood and all steering assist disappeared...ran 3 or 4 lights trying to keep the engine from boiling, not realizing that the serpentine belt was back at the bam/bang spot on the pavement.
Needless to say, I shut the car down when I knew I could coast into Harmony Motorworks...needle never did peg, but it was climbing fast. One power steering pump later, I was cruzin'...I have no idea if I did a fluid change when the prob first reared its ugly head would have prevented this, but @ 90k I guess I got-off easy.
Needless to say, I shut the car down when I knew I could coast into Harmony Motorworks...needle never did peg, but it was climbing fast. One power steering pump later, I was cruzin'...I have no idea if I did a fluid change when the prob first reared its ugly head would have prevented this, but @ 90k I guess I got-off easy.
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1,109 Posts
Old thread - but no one has mentioned here that the stiff steering could come from the lower steering shaft u-Joint. Apparently if one uses some kind of rust remover like liquid wrench or WD-40 and then greases with lithium grease (after an overnight soak in the WD-40) then the stiffness goes away.
Does anyone have any pics of what has to be done to get access to the lower steering shaft on an E39 (1998 528i(
Does anyone have any pics of what has to be done to get access to the lower steering shaft on an E39 (1998 528i(
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25,378 Posts
For the record, the hard steering question came up again today ...
> E39 (1997 - 2003) > Power Steering Failure Symptoms?
> E39 (1997 - 2003) > Power Steering Failure Symptoms?
See also these found by searching titles only in the E39 forum here for "hard steering" ...
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Agree with #2 , my steering rack's leaking , and the mechanic told me that I must fix it ASAP or the steering wheel will be rough
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13 Posts
what points exactly would be good to spray with wd40 to see if it helps?
above #7? are there other joints or bushings not pictured in the diagram that would be good to spray as well???
where would the rack be leaking exactly? at the boot?
above #7? are there other joints or bushings not pictured in the diagram that would be good to spray as well???
where would the rack be leaking exactly? at the boot?
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1,109 Posts
what i did
I cleaned the u-joints off on my steering shaft with a spray and then greased them with lithium grease becasue it sticks, and it is awkward reaching he joints from beside the driver's wheel well.
While I was under the car changing the transmission fluid, I noticd that there is good visual and therefore manual access to the steering shaft from under the car.
I have / had a leak on the right (passenger in northamerica) side of the steering rack itself - there was fluid on the rubber boot covering the inner tie rod which comes from the rack. There is a procedure to replace the seals there without removing the rack. Until I am prepared to do this (it involves taking out little bits of the end of the rack), I drained the steering reservoir beside the oil filter and put in fluid that is supposed to swell up the seals and take care of the leak over 100 - 300 kilometers. I'm still in prcess to see if it works, but my steering is fine at the present time.
what #7 are you referring to?
I cleaned the u-joints off on my steering shaft with a spray and then greased them with lithium grease becasue it sticks, and it is awkward reaching he joints from beside the driver's wheel well.
While I was under the car changing the transmission fluid, I noticd that there is good visual and therefore manual access to the steering shaft from under the car.
I have / had a leak on the right (passenger in northamerica) side of the steering rack itself - there was fluid on the rubber boot covering the inner tie rod which comes from the rack. There is a procedure to replace the seals there without removing the rack. Until I am prepared to do this (it involves taking out little bits of the end of the rack), I drained the steering reservoir beside the oil filter and put in fluid that is supposed to swell up the seals and take care of the leak over 100 - 300 kilometers. I'm still in prcess to see if it works, but my steering is fine at the present time.
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1,643 Posts
Jorgen Automotive in Ann Arbor, MI has pretty competitive pricing for rebuilding late-model BMW steering racks. They quoted me ~$300 last year, which beats the heck out of buying a new rack ($800+).
Although ECS carries reman'd racks from a company called Maval, for $634, including $275 core. Might not be a bad choice if you can't go more than a weekend without your car, while waiting on the rack to be rebuilt by Jorgen.
For me, Jorgen is worth the wait and the slight savings, because they're local
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I was asking where on the diagram to clean and re-grease. Ill search what the U-Joints are because I am a newbie at some of this.
would anyone know of where this thread is about repairing and resealing the rack?? If I cant find it. Ill take a picture of where I think Im leaking.
would anyone know of where this thread is about repairing and resealing the rack?? If I cant find it. Ill take a picture of where I think Im leaking.
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I was referring to this diagram. I do not see U-joints. Are there any places on the rack itself to re-grease?
Again, Im sorry. I must be an idiot.
Awesome idea though whoever came up with the diagnosing of the rack to see if its the pump or the rack or the ball joints.
I had done a similar test the other day when I lifted my front end. All I did though was turn the car on and steer left and then right and left and right and it wasn't rough to turn. I could feel it being not smooth either though. I cant describe how it felt. obviously it was much easier though. I do think I do have leaking at the rack though.
Do I need to do this test with the car off to get an accurate feel to see if its rack or pump?
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1,643 Posts
The U-joint is between the rack and the steering column. See attached.
Attachments
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What would you use to regrease the joint? Any particular interval? (like inspection II)
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I use lithium grease - the thicker clear stuff, not the thin white stuff in a tube. I would imagine once a year after winter would be good to hose the joint down with WD-40 or PB Blaster and then get under the car for better access and lube all moving rotating parts in the compound U-joint.
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