New guy, and.. Chase Bays Power steering hose and reservoir kit

[rwinter]

Hi, I have not posted for years! I now have a Boston Green 95 M3 lux package 5 speed. Yes the heavy one. But it has lots of upgrades on suspension and engine like the Euro AFM, a Turner tune, lots of suspension bracing, bilsteins, urethane bushings, I could go on and on. So its unique and its an absolute blast to drive for sure.

Been trying to get it to a reliable state with limited success. Upgraded entire cooling system with aluminum where there was plastic, Mishimoto radiator, Stewart pump, fan delete. Cooling system upgrade went great.

Then had dealer fix leaky fuel tank gaskets. That was expensive.

AC electrical gremlin fixed by dealer.

Bought Chase Bays power steering reservoir and hose kit and after install ended up with noisy pump. Took it to a shop and they concluded the pump was bad. They replaced the pump and the new one (not rebuilt) is quite noisy, probably 2/3rds as bad as the original pump. Shop believes the new pump is bad and will warranty it. I just don't know if its really a brand new pump that is defective or if maybe there is a problem with the kit. Does not seem to have leaks except a very slight leak right at the pump itself, so maybe it is a bad pump again. It is real noisy, like almost as loud as the aftermarket exhaust. I do like the AN fittings everywhere with the Chase Bays kit but if its a flawed system I'd much rather have the leaky hose clamp attached hoses at the reservoir that are stock BMW.

Does anyone have experience with the kit and was the kit noisy? I have been communicating with Chase Bays. It of course can be a bad pump or a hose issue, but if the 3rd pump is noisy I guess I'll have to go back to stock. Not wanting to make a hobby out of upgrading my power steering hoses. I'm wondering do I buy a new Chase bays res in case theirs is the cause of the issue before installing the new pump?

Thanks
Rob

[Nova1]

10 posts since 2005? That’s gotta be some kind of record! Welcome back to the forum. There’s really a lot of wisdom available here so I think the group can help sort you out.

For me, and this is just personal, I’m not one to upgrade away from plastic to aluminum nor from rubber to poly. I did in the past, and they were poor decisions. I think BMW engineered a fantastic car, which for many does well For countless miles without issue. I’ve stayed stock with power steering and it’s been a bulletproof. Updated my hoses and reservoir last year, no problems. This isn’t a dog at all to Chase Bays, I just think it’s not really a system that demands a “upgrade”. My 20+ years of ownership, most of what we used to think were “upgrades” are nothing more than changes, some for the worse.

PS You just can’t beat a green E36. How’s your interior and which color? Mulberry? Modena?

[rwinter]

Its tan leather, the name of the color is something fancier than that, escapes me at the moment.. maybe its champagne? Lets go with tan. The interior looks awesome except for wear and even a hole in driver seat. Previous owner did a wood trim wrap upgrade, looks pretty good, you have to see it to appreciate it. All it needs is some attention to that one seat but for now the interior is plenty good enough and I am focused on making the car reliable.

I read that the plastic cooling system parts are somewhat time bombs. Good when less than 10 years old. I actually had a friend who got his face scalded when he pulled to the side of the road to check what was causing a overheat and the radiator exploded as he opened the hood.

The suspension and handling of the car is go kart like, I was surprised for a car this heavy how quick it responds. And when it got sideways, oh my, it took like two corrections of the wheel to control the slide, sublime. I am sure with fresh rubber bushings its still awesome but I've already got urethane and they are staying.

While I like my aluminum radiator and stiff bushings, in hindsight I definitely should have stayed with the stock steering system. I'm about to switch back but dang it I already dumped $400 on the kit so want to see if my problem is common or not. The whole story, if you are interested is the previous owner had already upgraded the rack to z3 recently, and put a rebuilt pump and new hoses on. And even though the hoses were supposedly new, I kept having to retighten them to slow down a leak at the reservoir. So I was a sucker for the ad that said the kit solves leaky hoses for good. I also read that people have problems with PS res puking fluid all over the place if doing track days, which I have been planning to do. Chase Bays claims those issues will be gone too. Maybe pump 3 is the charm??

[jaysonx]

Have you confirmed that the lines are flowing correctly and that the banjo fittings are installed properly?

I am in the process of rebuilding my OE pump as I have been hearing a lot about janky replacements. It is a pretty simple system to be honest, but I did need to use my bearing pullers to get it disassembled correctly. The rebuild kit is less than $50.

[RBNetEngr]

I have the Chase Bays power steering system installed (including the cooler). My power steering pump will occasionally make a groaning noise. The stock system has a restriction in the power steering line to drop the fluid pressure before it returns to the pump. The Chase Bays system has that restriction built into the reservoir rather than the line.

What I suspect is that the Chase Bays system perhaps drops the pressure to a lower level than the stock restriction does, so maybe the pump isn’t happy with the lower fluid pressure. The only time I hear any noise is when the engine is coming off idle and the wheels are being turned (like when backing out of the driveway).

My pump has made a slight noise for a long time, so I just assumed that it may one day die. But that hasn’t happened.

[jaysonx]

I have the Chase Bays power steering system installed (including the cooler). My power steering pump will occasionally make a groaning noise. The stock system has a restriction in the power steering line to drop the fluid pressure before it returns to the pump. The Chase Bays system has that restriction built into the reservoir rather than the line.

What I suspect is that the Chase Bays system perhaps drops the pressure to a lower level than the stock restriction does, so maybe the pump isn’t happy with the lower fluid pressure. The only time I hear any noise is when the engine is coming off idle and the wheels are being turned (like when backing out of the driveway).

My pump has made a slight noise for a long time, so I just assumed that it may one day die. But that hasn’t happened.

This is great info, good to know.

[rwinter]

Thanks for the info!! My issue is much different than RBNetEngr, the noise is tolerable when at low speed but as the rpms increase, it gets extremely loud, and that is just going straight down the road even. The higher the rpm, the more noise. Good theory about the Chase bays restriction, maybe my res has too little or too much.

Maybe this is a clue for someone: in the first 5-10 minutes of driving, the power steering noise is not an issue, only after warmup.

[Boost112]

you are potentially getting air into the system...i have the chasebays kit and it took a lot of tweaking just to get it to be somewhat quiet....i was hoping to make the system less prone to leaking...but all i got was noise...also i went the rebuilt pump route as well...not good...they pumps were not the same...and i ended up rebuilding my oe pump and it was much better.

[jaysonx]

Does anyone have experience with the bimmerworld kit to know if it is any better?

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

[rwinter]

This is what I was wondering about, if there is a tendency for the product to be related to noise. Very much appreciated. No fun right? Did you end up leaving the Chase bays stuff on, or switch back to stock?

Before putting the pump on I'm going to have the shop check for any leaks. Any leaks are so small though that it does not drip. It dripped plenty with stock lines and never got any abnormal noise, but I think there can be a suction side leak that can only suck air and not leak fluid, maybe I'm unlucky enough to have one of those.

Jaysonx, sorry forgot to answer your question. No I didn't verify the flow and only know that the banjo fittings are not leaking and there is no kink or pinched hose.

Hmm. I'm thinking about going back to stock so the saga will end and I can just enjoy the car. Tough call though. Up until I found out Boost112 had a similar issue I figured my unit was defective but now not so sure. I will say that I sent chase bays a recording of the sound and they agree that isn't normal. I bet my pump is bad, its so loud. Was it killed by a bad res? Not sure.

[Steage]

I had pump noise with the Chase Bays power steering setup, it went away when I went back to stock.

They sent me a new banjo bolt for the reservoir-pump line, 3 hole instead of 2. They said that would fix the problem but the new OEM lines + reservoir has been working just fine for a few seasons on the track.

I am tired of spending money for hassles so I’m staying stock for now.

[rwinter]

Steage, much appreciated that you shared your experience and how you resolved the problem! I get it, sounds like you made a wise decision.

[bluptgm3]

…..E36M3 PS Pumps are NLA…..aftermarket pumps are non-existent also.

[rwinter]

Rock Auto seems to have them.

[aeronaut]

I went down the chase bays path, and have had nothing but problems, several pumps, noisy pumps, overheating, etc. FYI, there is no restriction built into the CB reservoir, and maybe that's the problem. I now have a frankentstein setup (and have even modified the CB reservior).

I'd recommend stock, plus the well documented clamp fix on the high pressure hose.

[bmwstephen]

…..E36M3 PS Pumps are NLA…..aftermarket pumps are non-existent also.

there are a couple of used ones on ebay. Probably best to get one of those and buy a rebuild kit than to trust any aftermarket rebuilt one

[Boost112]

Rock Auto seems to have them.

garbage...i bought one of those...and it wasn't even the same pump...after i pulled it out and put the OE pump that i rebuilt back in...i took it apart and the internals were different.

[rwinter]

garbage...i bought one of those...and it wasn't even the same pump...after i pulled it out and put the OE pump that i rebuilt back in...i took it apart and the internals were different.

Oh yikes, well the shop is going to replace the pump with whatever their source is, hope its better than rock. Thanks for the heads up. I'm going back to stock res based on the super helpful input I got here. The CB high pressure hose pump to rack should be ok right? I was thinking I could keep that one.

Thanks.

- - - Updated - - -

I went down the chase bays path, and have had nothing but problems, several pumps, noisy pumps, overheating, etc. FYI, there is no restriction built into the CB reservoir, and maybe that's the problem. I now have a frankentstein setup (and have even modified the CB reservior).

I'd recommend stock, plus the well documented clamp fix on the high pressure hose.

Thank you sir. Comments like this can save a guy a lot of hardship. As for CB well the opposite seems true.

[bluptgm3]

Oh yikes, well the shop is going to replace the pump with whatever their source is, hope its better than rock. Thanks for the heads up. I'm going back to stock res based on the super helpful input I got here.

Quick call the shop….you want the OE pump if it is rebuildable……

[RBNetEngr]

Does anyone have experience with the bimmerworld kit to know if it is any better?

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

I considered the Bimmerworld kit prior to getting the Chase Bays kit, but the Bimmerworld kit says it requires the deletion of the windshield fluid reservoir so the relocated ps reservoir can be mounted there.

[jaysonx]

I considered the Bimmerworld kit prior to getting the Chase Bays kit, but the Bimmerworld kit says it requires the deletion of the windshield fluid reservoir so the relocated ps reservoir can be mounted there.

Thx for this info - looks like leaky OEM is the best solution.

[rwinter]

So to wrap this up, the new pump was bad, they found an internal leak. Did the res cause the pump failure? Seems like maybe but I'm not hooking it up again to find out. I got new stock hoses and res, they put those on with a replacement pump. And.. everything is working as it should. Steering feel is better and no whining. Ahhh.. I like my car again. Thank you members for all the help.