Pulling s52: How to remove steering shaft?

[Krank]

Hey guys, I'm pulling my s52 right now and can't seem to figure out how to remove the steering shaft so the oil pan can clear; my buddy and I tried wiggling it all different ways but I don't think there is any way the pan will clear that shaft. We took out two or three bolts on the knuckle near the actual rack; it's splined both at the top and bottom of that area. How does one remove the rest of it to get the shaft out of the way? The motor is not connected at any other spot, just can't get the oil pan to clear the shaft. Sorry if this topic has been discussed before, all I could find were threads saying it was necessary to remove but none describing how to remove it.

Thanks, guys.

[fcvapor05]

Drop the steering rack.

[m3ltw98]

No need to remove the intermediate shaft in the engine bay. You have to have a friend or 2 tilt the motor so the bulge on the pan clears it then let it swing back into position when clear. Has worked for me all the times I have pulled/installed a motor.

[united323is]

No need to remove the intermediate shaft in the engine bay. You have to have a friend or 2 tilt the motor so the bulge on the pan clears it then let it swing back into position when clear. Has worked for me all the times I have pulled/installed a motor.


+1 I have done this many times... once on my own car.

[MauiM3Mania]

We loosened the bolt/nut on the collar and dropped the motor out the bottom!

http://mauiscca.net/miscpics/swap.jpg

[scottbm3]

Hey guys, I'm pulling my s52 right now and can't seem to figure out how to remove the steering shaft so the oil pan can clear; my buddy and I tried wiggling it all different ways but I don't think there is any way the pan will clear that shaft. We took out two or three bolts on the knuckle near the actual rack; it's splined both at the top and bottom of that area. How does one remove the rest of it to get the shaft out of the way? The motor is not connected at any other spot, just can't get the oil pan to clear the shaft. Sorry if this topic has been discussed before, all I could find were threads saying it was necessary to remove but none describing how to remove it.

Thanks, guys.


No need to remove the steering rack. The motor will come out and go back in without removing. Just undo PS resevior from the bracket and remove pump from engine. Lift motor from front loop by the vanos and through the hole at the back of the block. May need to rock it a bit to clear, but should be no problem.


-Scott

[united323is]

No need to remove the steering rack. The motor will come out and go back in without removing. Just undo PS resevior from the bracket and remove pump from engine. Lift motor from front loop by the vanos and through the hole at the back of the block. May need to rock it a bit to clear, but should be no problem.


-Scott

and unbolt the A/C compressor so you dont have to recharge the system(or poison yourself when the freon releases.

[scottbm3]

and unbolt the A/C compressor so you dont have to recharge the system(or poison yourself when the freon releases.

My car's A/C has been gone so long I forgot to mention that.


-Scott

[Krank]

Thanks, guys. I ended up just pulling the tranny off today while the motor was suspended on the hoist; after numerous suggestions to not drop the steering rack, but rather just take the tranny off. Even with the tranny off, it will be a tight fit out; the pan still hits the steering knuckle although at a lower point. All accessories are off, as well as the valve cover, radiator, fan, etc. I am debating taking the headers off as well and removing the big A/C line to gain a little extra room on the passenger side to turn the motor so the bulge on the pan can clear. For some reason, the motor keeps wanting to rotate in mid-air so the front of the motor points towards the driver side of the car. This makes it a bit more difficult...

I'll have to get another crack at it later, it's too dark now to see anything. :) Thanks for the suggestions, guys.

[S.Lang]

Not to bring back a dead thread, but I found this one while searching for something else. I see a lot of responses saying "no need to pull the intermediate steering shaft" but I think it is wholly dependent on your headers.

With the front of my car removed, I typically pull the engine/trans as a unit. My Kromer headers make it virtually impossible to "twist" the unit enough to allow it to clear the steering shaft. It simply will not be removed with the shaft in place. And the headers certainly are NOT coming off with the engine in the car.....

So, for posterity, remove the shaft at the steering rack by simply loosening the collar bolts both at the steering rack and above at the steering column. Tap gently upwards to slide the shaft up and off the splined steering rack shaft. Don't overdo it, as you can cause problems with the steering column bearing in the firewall if you hammer on it too much. Note you don't remove the shaft at the top, you just remove it at the bottom then swing it out of the way. There's no need to mess with the front subframe or the rack.

It is tempting to use a screwdriver to "spread" the collar. I've found that doing this actually makes it more difficult, as the splines are relatively fine, and spreading the collar can mis-align them and cause them to bind. Same with installation. As long as you use a bit of grease on the assembly, it should go on and off relatively easy. One issue that can cause problems: a lot of cars are of the age that this might have been done before, and whoever did it may have screwed up the splines some, so that makes the job a little harder.

[ScotcH]

I find that removing the engine mount "ears" makes the engine removal a LOT easier. I have the SS long tubes on my car, and even with those it gets past the steering rack. It also helps to have a load tilting engine hoist (<$50 to buy the addition) ... works great and your buddy doesn't get a hernia from trying to tilt the engine :) Tilt is key!

[m3ltw98]

Not to bring back a dead thread, but I found this one while searching for something else. I see a lot of responses saying "no need to pull the intermediate steering shaft" but I think it is wholly dependent on your headers.

With the front of my car removed, I typically pull the engine/trans as a unit. My Kromer headers make it virtually impossible to "twist" the unit enough to allow it to clear the steering shaft. It simply will not be removed with the shaft in place. And the headers certainly are NOT coming off with the engine in the car.....

So, for posterity, remove the shaft at the steering rack by simply loosening the collar bolts both at the steering rack and above at the steering column. Tap gently upwards to slide the shaft up and off the splined steering rack shaft. Don't overdo it, as you can cause problems with the steering column bearing in the firewall if you hammer on it too much. Note you don't remove the shaft at the top, you just remove it at the bottom then swing it out of the way. There's no need to mess with the front subframe or the rack.

It is tempting to use a screwdriver to "spread" the collar. I've found that doing this actually makes it more difficult, as the splines are relatively fine, and spreading the collar can mis-align them and cause them to bind. Same with installation. As long as you use a bit of grease on the assembly, it should go on and off relatively easy. One issue that can cause problems: a lot of cars are of the age that this might have been done before, and whoever did it may have screwed up the splines some, so that makes the job a little harder.


Good point Scott. I just pulled my s54 and that had KK headers. I had to remove the steering shaft to clear those monsters. Popping off the driver side motor mount arm also make a little more room by not having clear the threaded stud.

[S.Lang]

I should have added something - once you've loosened the collar bolts, you have to remove the bolts completely. This is because the shaft has a groove in it, and the bolt nestles in that groove when it's all assembled correctly. In other words, if you loosen the bolt, and try to slide the collar off, it ain't gonna slide, because the bolt's still in the collar!


Good point Scott. I just pulled my s54 and that had KK headers. I had to remove the steering shaft to clear those monsters. Popping off the driver side motor mount arm also make a little more room by not having clear the threaded stud.

I was sorry to hear about your car. Holder told me what happened and it sounds like a nightmare story. Hope you get back out there soon..my understanding is you've decided to rebuild?

[united323is]

In order to disconnect the middle shaft, there are 2 torx bolts, remove those and then pry on the slot the bolt went through to loosne it up a bit, then push the column up towards the steering wheel and it should come loose if i remember correctly, it has been a long time since I have done u-joint on any bmw, but that is how I remember doing them. used to do quite a few on X5's.