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Thread: BW power steering kit

  1. #1
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    BW power steering kit

    Is there a better solution?

    https://www.bimmerworld.com/Suspensi...ing-Kit_2.html

    I'm tired of the power steering fluid mess.
    Is the mess usually caused by a leaking hose joint, or by churning oil coming out of the seep hole in the reservoir?
    (I've already done the common replacement of the clamp on the end of the high pressure hose.)

  2. #2
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  3. #3
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    Saw that kit.
    - Couldn't tell if it could use the OEM cooler or not.
    - If the magic is in the baffled reservoir, I can just buy the reservoir.

    https://www.chasebays.com/products/c...21425802936398

  4. #4
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    Pretty sure you cannot use the OE cooler with the kit.

    The OE power steering system leaks from everywhere. No magic about their reservoir. If you buy just the reservoir you're still in for the lines that connect up.
    Last edited by E36forever; 01-18-2020 at 11:15 AM.

  5. #5
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    Hmmm...not sure I'd want to go without a cooler, and not sure I'm interested in a $420 solution. Ug.

    Assuming 30 min sessions, track only. Is a cooler needed?

  6. #6
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    The cooler is nicely compact and IMO a much better solution vs OE. Money is always a concern so you have to weigh it out.

    No idea which cooler is better or worse for cooling. In the end it's all about not leaking and staying that way for hopefully the time you own the car.

  7. #7
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    I’m gonna pick up a chase bays kit in a trade for a wing. I’ll let you know how it goes

  8. #8
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    I just installed a Chase Bays Kit with the optional cooler. Very Nicely put together and seems well thought out. I have not raced with it yet bit it seems like the overkill kind of solution I was looking for.

  9. #9
    NeilM is offline Member BMW E36 M3 Expert
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    Quote Originally Posted by E36forever View Post
    The cooler is nicely compact and IMO a much better solution vs OE.
    A nice solution would be some kind of heat exchanger with cooling fins that could be clamped around one tube run of the stock trombone 'cooler'.

    Thinking about it, you could probably cut a couple of lengths of aluminum sheet, say 3 or 4 inches wide and whatever length works, then lightly form each of them around a bit of steel rod to make a partial longitudinal groove to accommodate one run of the stock trombone tube. You'd sandwich the stock tube between the two aluminum pieces, then use through bolts or pop rivets to clamp them in place around the tube. If you made the aluminum flanges wide enough to extend well past the fasteners, you could bend them apart like X-wings to further increase surface area exposed to airflow.

    If you want to get a bit fancy with it, use some electronics thermal compound (e.g. Arctic Silver) between the tube and your aluminum heat sink to improve heat transfer.

    Material cost would be negligible, plus an hour or two of your time.

    Neil
    Last edited by NeilM; 01-20-2020 at 10:16 AM.

  10. #10
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    we've been running 2 AN lines, pump to rack, to reservoir. No coolers, no issues. The OE lines are garbage unless you change them every few years.
    Check out the 8legs Racing page: https://www.facebook.com/8legsRacing/


  11. #11
    NeilM is offline Member BMW E36 M3 Expert
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    Quote Originally Posted by ScotcH View Post
    we've been running 2 AN lines, pump to rack, to reservoir. No coolers, no issues. The OE lines are garbage unless you change them every few years.
    Wait, surely that can't be right? 2-AN lines are ⅛" ID, about 3mm, or smaller. PS hose is usually 6-AN, sometimes bigger. I don't think I've ever seen 2-AN hose or fittings for sale for automotive use, since even brake lines are 3- or 4-AN.

    Neil
    Last edited by NeilM; 01-20-2020 at 12:37 PM.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by ScotcH View Post
    we've been running 2 AN lines, pump to rack, to reservoir. No coolers, no issues. The OE lines are garbage unless you change them every few years.
    Thanks for the feedback on no coolers.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by NeilM View Post
    Wait, surely that can't be right? 2-AN lines are ⅛" ID, about 3mm, or smaller. PS hose is usually 6-AN, sometimes bigger. I don't think I've ever seen 2-AN hose or fittings for sale for automotive use, since even brake lines are 3- or 4-AN.

    Neil
    I think he meant he's using 2 total lines of some size of type AN. AKA, 2 AN lines.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by ScotcH View Post
    we've been running 2 AN lines, pump to rack, to reservoir. No coolers, no issues. The OE lines are garbage unless you change them every few years.
    So, lines 5 and 8 (arrows) you've replaced with custom AN lines, and line 1 (circled) you use the OEM line?

    Screenshot_20200120_130852.jpeg

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by NeilM View Post
    A nice solution would be some kind of heat exchanger with cooling fins that could be clamped around one tube run of the stock trombone 'cooler'.

    Thinking about it, you could probably cut a couple of lengths of aluminum sheet, say 3 or 4 inches wide and whatever length works, then lightly form each of them around a bit of steel rod to make a partial longitudinal groove to accommodate one run of the stock trombone tube. You'd sandwich the stock tube between the two aluminum pieces, then use through bolts or pop rivets to clamp them in place around the tube. If you made the aluminum flanges wide enough to extend well past the fasteners, you could bend them apart like X-wings to further increase surface area exposed to airflow.

    If you want to get a bit fancy with it, use some electronics thermal compound (e.g. Arctic Silver) between the tube and your aluminum heat sink to improve heat transfer.

    Material cost would be negligible, plus an hour or two of your time.

    Neil
    Yea, heat transfer is most efficient when the temperature delta is highest, so the best place to put a cooler is at the outlet of whatever is heating the fuild the most. I guess that's the steering rack, although I would have thought it could have been the pump.

    Either way, another place to add more surface area would be to put some finned metal around one of the metal aftermarket reservoirs. Not ideal, but could be done cheap and likely plenty good enough.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by aeronaut View Post
    So, lines 5 and 8 (arrows) you've replaced with custom AN lines, and line 1 (circled) you use the OEM line?

    Screenshot_20200120_130852.jpeg
    Correct. On one car we used teflon -6 PS lines from aeroquip, and on another car a custom made hydraulic hose (way overkill ... rated for like 10k psi lol). We actually replaced #1 as well, but that's just a low pressure supply hose ... any good quality rubber hose rated for PS fluid will do.
    Last edited by ScotcH; 01-21-2020 at 09:36 AM.
    Check out the 8legs Racing page: https://www.facebook.com/8legsRacing/


  16. #16
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    Thanks, good info.

  17. #17
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    With Scotch's setup, seems like it would be easy to plumb a small inline transmission cooler if you were worried about temps.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by olemiss540 View Post
    With Scotch's setup, seems like it would be easy to plumb a small inline transmission cooler if you were worried about temps.
    True. Those hoses aren't cheap. Assembly comes close to the Chasebays setup, sans cooler ($320).
    I *think* i'm going to go with that. If cooling becomes a problem, I'll try finning the reservoir.

  19. #19
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    Follow this old thread. Used this setup on my E36 for 5 years. Worked great. Running the same setup on my new track car Z4 M Coupe.

    https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...Power+steering

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Michael9218 View Post
    Follow this old thread. Used this setup on my E36 for 5 years. Worked great. Running the same setup on my new track car Z4 M Coupe.

    https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...Power+steering
    Looks like a good option. And parts cost quickly adds up to something near the chasebay solution, so I don't see a strong reason to not go with chasebays.

  21. #21
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    I installed the BW kit last year. It leaks. F everything.

  22. #22
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    Well THAT bites!

  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by aeronaut View Post
    Looks like a good option. And parts cost quickly adds up to something near the chasebay solution, so I don't see a strong reason to not go with chasebays.
    Well, used to be no other option. That Chasebay kit looks pretty good. So I would agree with you. Just go with that. Maybe use a frame cooler in place of the heat sink.

  24. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by OCRentAPopo View Post
    I installed the BW kit last year. It leaks. F everything.
    I installed the BW kit 3 years ago, doesn't leak a drop. Weeps from the cap after a few races but no biggie.
    Dave
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  25. #25
    NeilM is offline Member BMW E36 M3 Expert
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    Quote Originally Posted by aeronaut View Post
    I think he meant he's using 2 total lines of some size of type AN. AKA, 2 AN lines.
    Ah, makes sense. Hence the existence of the word 'disambiguation.'

    I'd have written 'a pair of AN lines' — if I'd thought of it, which I probably wouldn't have ;-)

    Carry on.

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