Best E30 Steering Rack Swap [Z3 2.7 vs Purple Tag Rack] BMW How-to Conversion Guide | 039

Best E30 Steering Rack Swap [Z3 2.7 vs Purple Tag Rack] BMW How-to Conversion Guide | 039

In this E30 build video, I cover E30 steering rack conversions. The original E30 steering rack is infamously slow at 4 turns lock-to-lock, so people have been doing E30 steering rack swaps for a very long time.

14mm spacers (M10 clearance): https://ebay.us/W6Pyky
Z3 steering rack rebuild service: https://ebay.us/wj9hqU
Purple tag steering rack rebuild service: https://ebay.us/GamWq6
CV Grease: https://ebay.us/SFB9En
E36 tie rods: https://ebay.us/WCFn67

Luckily there are some good affordable options for installing a faster steering rack on an E30 these days. There are quite a few different PAS rack swaps to select from, but in my opinion, there are only two good options.

BMW E46 Clubsport Purple Tag Steering Rack - 3 turns:
Stamped with the obvious purple tag, but also coded "6775067" on the tag. I had one of these purple tag racks swapped into an E30 318is I had years ago and it really transformed the car's handling and made it feel a lot more responsive. So I already know that switching to this rack at 3 turns lock-to-lock is an excellent upgrade for any BMW E30.

The beauty of the purple tag rack is that they are cheap to buy and readily available in good condition too. There are a couple of things to note however, which are the inner tie rods need to be vented, and you can't combine E46 inner and outer tie rods because the overall length will be too long.

The optimal configuration is E46 inner and E36 outer tie rods which go together well. Another thing to note when installing the purple tag rack, which I failed to mention in the video, is there's a black plastic tab up the length of the splines on this rack, it's part of the pinion bearing cover. This needs to be trimmed down for it to pair up with the steering linkage.

BMW Z3 Steering rack from a 4-cyl 1.9L model - 2.7 turns:
Stamped with "1094038" and a silver tag, this is in my opinion the ultimate power steering rack you can fit to an E30 being 2.7 turns lock to lock and a linear rack.

This is the rack I have opted for because I want to make the handling as responsive as possible. I picked up a Z3 rack at a great price, but it was due a full rebuild. But at least now I have a fully rebuilt rack.

With the Z3 rack swap, the inner tie rod venting is not an issue so you're able to simply use E36 inner and outer tie rods, which in my case will definitely be a perfect fit as I'm using E36 front knuckles as part of my 5-lug swap.

The process of installing a Z3 rack and a purple tag rack to an E30 chassis is very similar other than that. For both, you will require a pair of 14mm spacers which take up the space between the tabs on the E30's front subframe and the smaller mounting lugs cast on either rack. The spacers go at the top putting the rack in the lowest position possible.

Theoretically, you can go ahead and use the E30's original steering linkage, it mates up with the splines on both z3 and e46 racks, however in practice, I found that the linkage was slightly too long, taking up the whole spine on both the steering column and steering rack. There was no binding when turning the steering wheel but it still seems too tight.

I took the internet's advice which is to use the inner mounting holes on the E30's subframe. According to a few sources these are the correct ones to use when mounting a power-assisted steering rack for optimal steering feel. But I can't help but wonder if using the outer holes might solve the tight linkage issue. Failing that trimming the plastic pinion-bearing shield could also help.

I noticed that the track rods are on a fairly forward angle compared to what I expected, so the jury is out on whether I will go against the grain and opt to use the outer steering rack holes.

Speaking of the linkage, if you are planning to use an aftermarket exhaust manifold, or even an M52 engine swap like I am, you will have problems with the original E30 steering linkage clashing with it or at least fouling it. Therefore you will need to explore alternative linkage options. I'm planning to use a Vauxhall Corsa steering linkage modified to fit, but there are other ways to do this.

With the PAS lines, they are supposed to run between the rack and the subframe, which means they should have been fitted earlier in the process. Currently, I can't see how they can be modified or bent to meet up with the ports in the Z3 rack, but I will figure this out in the next episode, hopefully it won't involve purchasing new lines.

For more helpful how-to guides and restorations: https://www.spannerrash.com/

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