Steering issues....might go hydraulic

[MikeyH]

Yes, I had the same as you, on one particular bit dual carriageway on the way to Torquay it would drag the steering left and then right. I found that the tyre pressures were quite low so after advice on here and a little experimentation I put them at 31f and 33r. This and a hunter 4 wheel alignment improved it a lot. I also have a little sticky steering problem but it comes and goes around 23 Celsius and then only just noticeable, at the moment it's fine

 

[Southwestz4]

Makes sense

Not too fussed about the sport button

Surprised the eps motor stays as it’s a lump!!!

The motor could be removed but then it would need coding out to prevent eps error light on dash, car can be coded to ignore the eps system, I'm sure there would be someone more than capable of doing it on here....I have the software and cable etc but could never get it to communicate with the car!
Another way is to remove the motor and also remove the bulb in the instrument cluster but an error would always be present if car was scanned in the future ( to me this way is not the best solution)

 

[Southwestz4]

Yes, I had the same as you, on one particular bit dual carriageway on the way to Torquay it would drag the steering left and then right. I found that the tyre pressures were quite low so after advice on here and a little experimentation I put them at 31f and 33r. This and a hunter 4 wheel alignment improved it a lot. I also have a little sticky steering problem but it comes and goes around 23 Celsius and then only just noticeable, at the moment it's fine

 

[Southwestz4]

I have just dug out the Hunter alignment data sheet for last alignment and it is headed as a e89 ...are the settings the same for e85/e89??

 

[bigwinn]

I’ve got working inpa/ista etc I’m sure between us we can figure it out

 

[Southwestz4]

I’ve got working inpa/ista etc I’m sure between us we can figure it out

 

[Rockhopper]

36 is way high for the rear tyres. Also make sure the rear trailing arm bushes are good.

 

[Southwestz4]

36 is way high for the rear tyres. Also make sure the rear trailing arm bushes are good.

I have knocked them back to 30/32 ...see what it feels like tomorrow

 

[Southwestz4]

Ok , I dropped the tyre pressures down to 30/32 and can't notice any improvement.
I might try tightening the steering on eps ring ...maybe I loosened it too much in the summer ?

 

[bigwinn]

Ok , I dropped the tyre pressures down to 30/32 and can't notice any improvement.
I might try tightening the steering on eps ring ...maybe I loosened it too much in the summer ?

Which way did you move it?

I found on the blue car that moving the ring toward the front of the car (the classic direction) made no difference but when I moved to the rear- that’s when it sorted the issues

 

[Southwestz4]

I initially tapped the top of the ring towards the engine bulkhead but that made it way too tight so I then tapped the bottom of the ring towards the engine bulkhead which got rid of the stickiness....mine was quite bad in the hot weather...could put the steering wheel in one position in a corner and it would say there !
I have quite a dead zone in the middle at the moment and when you hit an odd camber the car pulls to the camber ...It all feels rubbish at the moment .
Also I noticed last night that it wonders more on a worn road surface...not potholes...just a even rough surface.
:headbang:

 

[Southwestz4]

The car is in for Mot today so I will see if it throws up any problems

 

[Southwestz4]

As per a previous post does anyone know if geo settings for the e85 are same as the e89 ... 8)

 

[Southwestz4]

Ok , so the car passed mot with no advisories so all seems ok . I have tightened the eps ring a bit and things feel a bit tighter ...having said that there is a slight clonking when rocking the steering with engine off ...I'm thinking maybe slight play in inner track rod arms or maybe the rack/ lower uj shaft....has anyone fitted a recon rack from this lot ??

https://www.lionautomotive.co.uk/product/bmw/z4/bmw-z4-e85-03-09-manual-eps-rack

Cheers

 

[ARCS]

As per a previous post does anyone know if geo settings for the e85 are same as the e89 ... 8)

Asked a friend who has a hunter machine and this is what he sent me. Hope it helps

 

[enuff_zed]

So the machine should be selected to the correct model then, but in fact if you allow for all the tolerances they are broadly similar.

 

[Southwestz4]

As per a previous post does anyone know if geo settings for the e85 are same as the e89 ... 8)

Asked a friend who has a hunter machine and this is what he sent me. Hope it helps

20221024_170609.jpg

20221024_170626.jpg

Thanks for that , I will dig out the last alignment readout and see how it compares

 

[Southwestz4]

These are the current settings

 

[Southwestz4]

Ok so to kickstart this tread again I have had horrific sticky steering on a trip back from Plymouth so I have removed the steering column and sent it off to bba-reman in Rochester for a refurb. The column has returned ( within 1 week ) and I was planning to refit yesterday but I'm trying to shake off covid first :headbang:
Hopefully I will have a nice steering car soon.
Apparently my local Bmw indy use bba-reman so that's a good sign