Steering adjustment (BMW 3 Series E21)

Remove the steering gear.

Clamp bracket 32 1 100 in a vice and install the steering gear on it.

Loosen the steering shock absorber mounting nut and push in the shock absorber rod.

Remove the rack stop adjusting bolt cover with a hexagonal recess.

Loosen the rack stop adjustment bolt by approximately 12 mm.

Adjusting the rack stop

Remove the safety pin.

Tighten the rack stop adjusting screw to 6 Nm using a 32 1 040 wrench and a torque wrench, then turn the adjusting screw out to the amount corresponding to the length of the edge.

Install adapter 32 1 000 and special device 00 2 000 with a dynamometer on the steering gear, then turn the steering gear left and right and throughout the entire stroke of the steering rack, which should move without jamming.



If the rack jams, unscrew the rack stop adjusting screw again by an amount corresponding to the length of the edge and replace the safety pin.

Check again whether the rack moves freely. If the jamming does not disappear, replace the rack. It is strictly forbidden to unscrew the rack stop adjusting screw again by the length of the edge.

Adjusting the drive gear turning moment

Set the rack to the midpoint position and install the special device 00 2 000 with a dynamometer on the drive gear through the adapter sleeve 32 1 000.

Measure the turning torque of the drive gear. If the turning torque of the gear is not within the specified limits (see "Detailed technical specifications"), adjust it with a hexagonal socket screw. To increase the gear turning torque, turn the screw clockwise, and to decrease it, turn it counterclockwise.

Replacing the steering rack

Disassembly

Remove the steering gear.

Clamp bracket 32 1 100 in a vice and install the steering gear on it.

Bend back the tabs of the locking plates installed next to the protective covers.

Move the steering rack to the extreme position. Depending on the steering design, unscrew the shock absorber rod mounting nut.

Remove the steering rods by unscrewing the left ball joints with a 32 2 110 x 32 mm fork wrench.

Remove the clamps securing the steering rack boots, and then remove the rack boots from the steering gear housing pipe.

Depending on the steering gear version, disconnect the shock absorber from the support sleeve bracket. Remove the support and spacer sleeves of the rack.



Remove the steering rack.

Assembly

Insert the new rack into the steering gear housing tube.

Install the rack support sleeve so that the short spacer sleeves fit into the grooves as far as they will go.

Install the steering damper. Replace the self-locking nuts each time the damper is removed.

Install the steering rods into the steering gear housing tube. Put the protective boots in place so that the flange fits into the groove on the steering gear housing.

Bend the petals of the locking plates of the axial ball joints of the steering rods into the grooves of the locking plates.

Install the steering gear on the vehicle and check the front wheel alignment angles.