[PeaceWalker87]

PS: my F30 which suffers from this, has this issue 1 year into driving it and its a 2012 build date, and my rack hasn't failed, and by fail I mean, you can't drive the car or it's unsafe to do so.

[Hooded]

Originally Posted by PeaceWalker87

PS: my F30 which suffers from this, has this issue 1 year into driving it and its a 2012 build date, and my rack hasn't failed, and by fail I mean, you can't drive the car or it's unsafe to do so.

To be fair, if you rocked the steering wheel side to side on every car on the road I bet quite a large percentage of them make a slight knocking noise.

[PeaceWalker87]

Originally Posted by Hooded

To be fair, if you rocked the steering wheel side to side on every car on the road I bet quite a large percentage of them make a slight knocking noise.

True.. but those cars make such noise, usually, when you purposefully make the rocking motion. In our cars, its more noticeable when making long curve turns with road irregularities, or if you drive over any irregular road.. feels like something is actually loose.

[Hooded]

Originally Posted by PeaceWalker87

True.. but those cars make such noise, usually, when you purposefully make the rocking motion. In our cars, its more noticeable when making long curve turns with road irregularities, or if you drive over any irregular road.. feels like something is actually loose.

From what I've seen on multiple forums over the last for years I think there's 2 different knocking types with the F30 racks.

1) knocking when rocking the steering side to side AND also knocking when driving over irregular roads.

2) knocking when rocking steering side to side only. Some only when the engine is off, others that are slightly worse still knock a little when rocking the steering with the engine running.

I think it the earlier racks like the one in your 2012 car that tend to also knock whilst driving over irregular roads though. BMW modified the rack multiple times.

[motoring_101]

[QUOTE=PeaceWalker87;25019912][QUOTE=motoring_101;25016410]

When you tighten the pre-load tension, you're basically leaving no space between the rack and pinion gears......



Thanks for the clarification, it sounds to me like you think it is not so much the adjusting of the Nut, but the lack of measurement when doing so, which causes the problem.

Looking at the process you posted for installing the repair kit there is some very detailed measuring and aligning going on!!

Mine only knocks when engine off so not too worried at present, will look into further if it starts making noises when engine on.

[PeaceWalker87]

Originally Posted by Hooded

From what I've seen on multiple forums over the last for years I think there's 2 different knocking types with the F30 racks.

1) knocking when rocking the steering side to side AND also knocking when driving over irregular roads.

2) knocking when rocking steering side to side only. Some only when the engine is off, others that are slightly worse still knock a little when rocking the steering with the engine running.

I think it the earlier racks like the one in your 2012 car that tend to also knock whilst driving over irregular roads though. BMW modified the rack multiple times.

I believe BMW is on the 5th rack for the F chassis.. we'd have to find out later on from 2017+ cars if this issue develops again

[QUOTE=motoring_101;25026367][QUOTE=PeaceWalker87;25019912]

Originally Posted by motoring_101

When you tighten the pre-load tension, you're basically leaving no space between the rack and pinion gears......



Thanks for the clarification, it sounds to me like you think it is not so much the adjusting of the Nut, but the lack of measurement when doing so, which causes the problem.

Looking at the process you posted for installing the repair kit there is some very detailed measuring and aligning going on!!

Mine only knocks when engine off so not too worried at present, will look into further if it starts making noises when engine on.

+1.. hopefully it won't get too bad for you. I've also heard that if you use your steering wheel as some sort of handle to get out of the car, it could create unwanted tension on the rack. honestly, that's how I first reproduced the noise when the car was off.. I was getting out of the car and used the steering wheel as leverage.

[SW6Steve]

Originally Posted by sspade

Let us know what they tell you / do to remedy the issue.

Hi
Took car in to dealers. Spoke to a really nice guy, who is the workshop controller.
Showed him the knocking with engine off and he agreed something was wrong.
Mentioned the repair kit available , he said this was for indies to use. BMW does not currently use the kit themselves, they would replace the whole rack.
So car goes in the end of the month! Fingers crossed BMW agree the replacement.
PS : I have extended warranty

[SW6Steve]

So car went back to BMW today, and they agree there is a problem, and a new steering rack is required.
I wonder if it will be refurbed or new?
I had the steering knock with engine off, but also small movements with the engine running, I could feel notchiness as the rack power kicked in, if that makes sense!
Also when driving over small bumps there is a kind of hollow sound from front suspension. I hope this is also from the rack?

[fran]

Hi,
I have an X3 F25 with the same problem and dealer refuses to change the EPS thrust piece. I am trying to find the special toolkit mentioned above (part number 83302458076). BMW won’t sell it anymore. Does anyone have it and would be willing to sell?

Thanks!

[D-reamer]

Originally Posted by DriveS

I recently posted about my steering which knocks with the engine off when you rock the wheel back and forth and also creaks with engine on when maneuvering.

https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...light=steering

I had done some research and found that BMW released a kit in late 2018 to solve this issue. I also read that some people reported eliminating the noise by tightening the thrust plate nut, so I decided to give it a go.

I tried to move the plate with a pin spanner, but it needs to much torque so I ended up buying a special tool that only 1 company in Poland seem to make coded MS00084 so its 50EUR.

You can access the plate by putting the car on ramps and taking the front under-shield off. I tried tightening it by 1/8 of a turn (45deg) as others had said. It certainly got rid of the knocking but stopped the wheel from returning naturally to the centre position when driving.
So I backed it off halfway, so 16th turn from the original position and its perfect. Steering returning to centre, no knocking when engine off and no creaking when maneuvering.

It would seem that the plastic piece you can see in the video about the kit, wears over time. The small turn on the thrust plate compensates for the wear.

I dont need to tool anymore so who wants it for £40 ?

I had this on my F32 2013 plate. After 2.5 hours got a call to say it needed a new rack.Thankfully covered under warranty. Car is like new.

[motoring_101]

Hi all,

The knocking that was present when engine off is now creeping in when the engine is on, mainly when parking but also at slow speeds over rougher ground.

Contemplating fitting the BMW repair kit for the thrust piece (BMW part 32106891974) has anyone done this and can share their experience please?

[motoring_101]

I called my local BMW dealer today to get a price on the thrust repair kit and was initially told that they aren't supposed to sell it to me directly as it is used as part of a recall, i asked is there a recall on my car then, they said no but as the part is for my vehicle as well they can supply me the part even though there is no recall!

So if there is a recall for the same steering rack, but on a different model, and a repair kit available, why isn't the F30 being recalled??

Going in to speak to them tomorrow, does anyone know which models are being recalled for steering rack repair please?

[roarf]

Who has some years/mileage on their car after doing this repair? My M235i has the classic knocking noise over bumps at low speed.

I bought the parts, grease, and tool, then got to reading the ISTA procedure and realized there is a lot more to it than any of the DIYs mention. Apparently you are supposed to open up the inner tie-rod boots and check/set the lash with special tools afterwards? (I guess that's why the kit comes with new clamps) There's also a sleeve tool that keeps the o-rings from getting cut on the threads when you insert the new thrust piece into the rack. What's everyone's take on this? Is it possible to do this safely without the special tools? Did anyone follow the ISTA procedure to a T?

Originally Posted by PeaceWalker87

tightening that thrust nut will result in rack failure later on, no matter small the tightment adjustment is.. I've seen 5+ racks go bad bc of this adjustment.

the issue with these steering racks comes from the thrust piece that controls or monitors the distance between the rack and the pinion. The piece would wear and allow for too much play between the rack and pinion and that's the clunk sound we hear.

the Thyssenkrupp (manufacturer) has released a repair thrust piece [BMW part# 32106891974] here's a description written on the online catalog about this repair piece: This repair kit is only a solution for
vehicles with acoustic irregularities
in the steering gear!
It is mandatory to observe the repair
instructions!
The repair kit is only logical for
Thyssen steering systems (High and
Sport).

but our problems aren't done just yet. the repair work is no easy feat. here is a link for the repair instructions https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/f...nit/1Vnc3X9PQZ

and the most important part of that repair is BMW special measuring tool 83302458076 and the only place I could find it was ECS and they have it on backorder.

Even thou I have most tools and do about 90% of the work on my cars, I decided that the best thing is to bring this information to my nearest BMW service center and save enough money to cover the repair. im probably gonna ask BMW for goodwill, because it's an issue that they're well aware of, and that was never really fixed for the F30 chassis... I know a couple of people with 2018 340i that are starting to show symptoms.

I hope this info helps someone, and hopefully someone on here has the balls (and money) to do this on their own.

This is my concern after reading the ISTA procedure...

[Eddamoo]

I simply tightened mine about 3-4mm on the circumference over 3 years and 40k ago and it's still perfectly fine to this day.

I get the feeling that they were never tightened properly out of the factory.