Steering Rack leak

really simple fix, there is two o-ring in there, they get hard and leak, I bought and o-ring kit and one of the sizes fit well and it worked, no more leaks. plus many more available for future jobs

https://www.amazon.com/Orion-Motor-Tech-Assortment-Automotive/dp/B07GSKKHQM/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=1QOLGQ4QP3U5W&keywords=o-ring+assortment+kit&qid=1669613726&sprefix=o-ring%2Caps%2C143&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFBM0ZaQVFGVVVORVgmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA1NjQyNjgyOFkwNkhETElKUjImZW5jcnlwdGVkQWRJZD1BMDA3OTU0NTJDVzJCMlVWWUJKQ1omd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

but you do need to loosen the rack to gain access

Rino924 wrote

Wanted to bump this. I think I have a leak on mine. Shop said not to be too concerned with it but if I have some free time and I start by replacing an o-ring where the small hard lines go in, it seems like a no brainer. Checking youtube, etc for more info but there isn't much. Really don't want to pull the rack out.

pulling the rack is actually quite easy. inner tie rods, steering shaft, main rack bolts, servo connector, lines off and ur done. About 1hr for your first time.

For anyone that's curious, the pinion seal for the power steering dimensions are 20-30-5/6 that correspond to 20mm ID, 30mm OD, with the inner and outer lip being 5 and 6 respectively.

P/N: CORTECO 01016544B
For the ZF racks: ZF 0770080273, 0770198130 (maybe others, too)

I ordered mine from the UK and I'm waiting for a good time to tackle this annoying leak.

Working on this as well. I pulled the rack off this weekend but I just checked back on this thread just now. I could have pre-ordered the seal. But I didn't realize you guys figured out the seal part #. Well my seal arrives Tuesday. Not feeling confident the seal will solve the leak. wondering if the other pressure for the servotronic is leaking. As well

Anyone have success with the seal curing the leak? I'm wondering if the Teflon seals also need replacement.

I was able to replace the seal on the input pinion shaft. Ran the car for 10 min and refilled the power steering system. So far leak free.
Ordered from Amazon:

EAI Oil Seal 20mm X 30mm X 5mm (2 PCS) TC Double Lip w/Spring. Metal Case w/Nitrile Rubber Coating https://a.co/d/etjMqjP

Small mirror to see the back of the pinion shaft housing.

What was the old seal like? Was the rubber very hard?

RocketyMan wrote

What was the old seal like? Was the rubber very hard?

Yes. And the ID was slight larger than new seal. Worn out.

Yeah. That def sounds worn out and no longer pliable.

another confirmation, I have now done 200 miles after replacing just the seal. it is still leak free. so you dont have to worry about the Teflon seal inside.

to make the rack leak free the two small o-rings on the pressure lines and the input pinion shaft seal (20-30-5) is all you need.

takrdown wrote

Where you will need o-rings is the two o-rings on the servo controller. A new servo controller does not come on the rack doctor steering rack so you will have to use your old one.

Thanks for your posts, takrdown .

Stupid questions:

1. Which part on the rack is the servo controller?

2. Does it come on the Bosch/ZF reman? (this one)


EDIT: Is it this thing on the side? (if pic is accurate, looks like it does come on the Bosch/ZF reman)

IamFODI wrote

Thanks for your posts, takrdown .

Stupid questions:

1. Which part on the rack is the servo controller?

2. Does it come on the Bosch/ZF reman? (this one)


EDIT: Is it this thing on the side? (if pic is accurate, looks like it does come on the Bosch/ZF reman)

I'm sincerely sorry, I haven't been on the forum in awhile as I sold my M3 and I'm waiting for an i4. You are correct though, the servo controller is the section that pokes out of the steering rack and that is the correct part if you want to purchase a reman from them based upon this link:

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=PM93-USA-08-2009-E90N-BMW-M3&diagId=32_1734

Bottom line, everything in that picture is what I received when I purchased the reman from the rack doctor and it worked great

tlrid3r wrote

another confirmation, I have now done 200 miles after replacing just the seal. it is still leak free. so you dont have to worry about the Teflon seal inside.

to make the rack leak free the two small o-rings on the pressure lines and the input pinion shaft seal (20-30-5) is all you need.

Reopening this thread as their is not much information out there other than what you provided in this thread (tlrid3r). Do you have a Instagram where I can contact you about my power steering rack leak? Also noticed you are in SJ just like me. lol

chrislacedup wrote

Reopening this thread as their is not much information out there other than what you provided in this thread (tlrid3r). Do you have a Instagram where I can contact you about my power steering rack leak? Also noticed you are in SJ just like me. lol

I honestly don’t have IG or Facebook. DM me on here and I can share my # to text.

tlrid3r wrote

I honestly don’t have IG or Facebook.

^ This guy gets it.

tlrid3r wrote

another confirmation, I have now done 200 miles after replacing just the seal. it is still leak free. so you dont have to worry about the Teflon seal inside.

to make the rack leak free the two small o-rings on the pressure lines and the input pinion shaft seal (20-30-5) is all you need.

I have the same leak I believe. It’s either the pinion shaft or one of the two hard lines below it. I used Lucas oil stop leak to see if it will help, but I’m not holding my breath it will.

Couple of questions I was hoping you or someone else could please answer.

1. Did you find instructions on how to replace the pinion shaft seal?
UPDATE: I found an answer to this one via YouTube. I am guessing the process is the same as this video?
2. For the leak at the hard line, did you use o rings from the Amazon kit linked earlier in this thread or were you able to find a part number?

houtan wrote

I have the same leak I believe. It’s either the pinion shaft or one of the two hard lines below it. I used Lucas oil stop leak to see if it will help, but I’m not holding my breath it will.

Couple of questions I was hoping you or someone else could please answer.

1. Did you find instructions on how to replace the pinion shaft seal?
UPDATE: I found an answer to this one via YouTube. I am guessing the process is the same as this video?

2. For the leak at the hard line, did you use o rings from the Amazon kit linked earlier in this thread or were you able to find a park number?

The video is exactly what I did. I used a socket and only replaced the bottom o-ring and the shaft seal. To add looks exactly like e9x steering rack the e6x shares so much from the platforms.
Also yes I used the Amazon kit for o-ring replacement for the hard lines. It worked great so stopped worrying about part #s

tlrid3r wrote

The video is exactly what I did. I used a socket and only replaced the bottom o-ring and the shaft seal. To add looks exactly like e9x steering rack the e6x shares so much from the platforms.
Also yes I used the Amazon kit for o-ring replacement for the hard lines. It worked great so stopped worrying about part #s

Thank you! I was pretty bummed my rack was leaking in that area and thought my only option was to invest in another rack. This has given me a new outlook!

Will give the Lucas oil stop leak a few weeks to see if it works and if not this is the route I will go.

houtan wrote

Thank you! I was pretty bummed my rack was leaking in that area and thought my only option was to invest in another rack. This has given me a new outlook!

Will give the Lucas oil stop leak a few weeks to see if it works and if not this is the route I will go.

Honestly it was a lot easier than I expected. I drained the power steering fluid and dropped the steering rack from the car. Completed in 5 hours. Mainly because mine was leaking for a long time and I did lots of cleaning.

Parts are on the way.

Quick question, did anyone reuse the orings for the two hard lines? I’m pretty sure my leak is from the spindle but I am thinking the hard line o rings should be replaced since they are out.

Does the solenoid have to be removed when removing the cover to replace the spline seal? In the YouTube video he does not remove the solenoid but a shop I spoke to said the solenoid has to be removed.

Thanks.

Just reposting some information I shared on 1addicts. Thanks for this thread!

I did more research and found a shop on the east coast that could do a full rebuild and another that keeps the spindle seal and hard line o rings in stock because they see the leak so frequently.

- Full rebuild: https://bairesdriveline.com/
- spindle seal/ hard line o rings: https://www.woodwardmotorsport.com/

Update 06JUL2023:
It's fixed!!!! So glad it worked out.

So i ended up ordering the spline seal and hard line o-rings from woodward motorsport in addition to the o-ring kit and EAI seal from amazon.

Once everything arrived I compared everything. The EAI spindle seal probably would have worked, but I noticed the Corteco seal I got from Woodward had a raised lip on the inner hole which matched the OE seal, so I decided to use the Corteco seal. Others have used the EAI seal so that should work, but EAI could not confirm. Link to the EAI seal: https://www.amazon.com/20X30X5-EAI-S...s%2C132&sr=8-1

WRT the hard line o-rings, there was a size in the universal kit (R-03) that matched the woodward part, but the universal o-ring was slightly thicker, and the OE o-ring was more smiliar to the woodward part, so that's what I ended up using. Again, others have used the o-ring from the universal kit and I do think it would have worked as well.

Finally, I was hoping the uiversal o-ring kit would have the correct size to replace the seal between the spindle cover and the rack. It had the correct size diameter, but the seal was too thick unfortunately. The OE seal is really thin so I reused the original. So far so good.

Below are some additional pictures of some of the items discussed.

Thanks for sharing houtan!