Steering box mount fix

stuartinmn · Post by **stuartinmn** » Jun 24, 2009 8:10 PM

A few days ago I noticed my steering wheel wasn't centered anymore, and there was an odd clunking when I turned the wheel. Sure enough, the steering box mounting bracket on the crossmember had broken off.

I went to Ed Raether's website at http://www.mwrench.com/ and ordered up one of his repair kits. They're really slick, and very easy to install. It only took about a half hour, the key is to have a long enough socket extension so you can reach the bolt from above.

There was only one minor issue, and that was only because my car is an M535i: The M535i has a flat plastic undertray or bellypan that goes underneath the engine; it fastens at the front on the rear edge of the spoiler/bumper cover, and at the rear on the crossmember. It turns out that the hole in the crossmember that's used for the steering box repair kit is also used to fasten the rear corner of the bellypan. If you don't have a bellypan on your car there won't be a problem. So, for now that one corner of the bellypan is just dangling there. It won't hurt anything in the short term but I'll have to come up with some other way to secure it.

So, I'd highly recommend Ed's repair kit - it's a well made piece, goes in easy and it takes care of the problem. He ships very fast as well, I emailed him on Sunday night and I had the part in my hand by noon Wednesday.

LandCruzer94 · Post by **LandCruzer94** » Jun 24, 2009 8:14 PM

+1 for the kit too, haven't had a chance to drive on it or weld it for that matter but Ed is a really nice guy and has a great product. Can't wait to try it out!

wkohler · Post by **wkohler** » Jun 24, 2009 10:33 PM

Mine popped off the subframe - very cleanly, actually! I had it welded back in place. Going to put the M5 box in soon enough, so I'm going to order his fix and do it all at the same time. Now that you mention your issue, I wonder if that's where the aggregate protective plate mounts...

BTW, thesixerkid has a pretty cool thread on installing it. I'd just search for "raether" and "thesixerkid" as the author.

stuartinmn · Post by **stuartinmn** » Jun 24, 2009 10:43 PM

wkohler wrote:BTW, thesixerkid has a pretty cool thread on installing it. I'd just search for "raether" and "thesixerkid" as the author.

Interesting. I see he welded the top and bottom; intuitively that seems stronger, but the sleeve fits so tightly into the hole there really isn't any play. For street use I suspect welding it just on the bottom is enough.

wkohler · Post by **wkohler** » Jun 24, 2009 10:46 PM

stuartinmn wrote:
wkohler wrote:BTW, thesixerkid has a pretty cool thread on installing it. I'd just search for "raether" and "thesixerkid" as the author.
Interesting. I see he welded the top and bottom; intuitively that seems stronger, but the sleeve fits so tightly into the hole there really isn't any play. For street use I suspect welding it just on the bottom is enough.

I imagine he went all the way since he had the subframe I sent him. If I had the subframe out of the car, I'd do it too. Of course, I'll have the steering box out, so that will be my course of action.

Post by **Nebraska_e28** » Jun 25, 2009 8:23 AM

I think Ed recently got some free time to start making these again. I inquired about one last year & never received a response. Right before 5erFest I sent another message & got a quick response and quick shipping. I've yet to get it installed but his part is definitely a quality piece! I should've bought 2.

MWrench · Post by **MWrench** » Jun 25, 2009 1:35 PM

I have recently finished a large run and have these in stock for immediate shipment. I travel quite a bit in the summer, timing various road races so there may be a small delay in getting back to anyone interested.

contact me off line at:
(ed at mwrench dot com)
(eraether at comcast dot net)

Welding top and bottom:

This certainly will add more strength but not necessary. I have done it when the subframe was out of the car but only because it was convenient at that time.

The cause of the original design failure is the lifting torque (applied by the steering box at full lock) on the inverted "U" bracket and that works against the weld and to some extent exercises the "U" bracket at all the corners at the bends. This can not happen with the dowel.

Thanks for all you guys support and kudos, I (or George, the sixer guy) will continue to support this issue as long as demand exixts.

Post by **Nebraska_e28** » Jun 25, 2009 1:44 PM

MWrench wrote:
Thanks for all you guys support and kudos, I (or George, the sixer guy) will continue to support this issue as long as demand exixts.

Excellent product & excellent price! Will continue to spread the word.

87royal · Post by **87royal** » Jun 25, 2009 5:14 PM

mercury26 · Post by **mercury26** » Jun 25, 2009 5:58 PM

stuartinmn wrote: So, for now that one corner of the bellypan is just dangling there. It won't hurt anything in the short term but I'll have to come up with some other way to secure it.

Zipties, maybe?

I just ordered a kit, look forward to receiving it.

Cheers,

Chuck

George · Post by **George** » Jun 25, 2009 7:39 PM

All you need to know about fixing the mount

Thanks to Chris for the subframe and Ed for 2 kits.

Post by **Nebraska_e28** » Jun 25, 2009 8:41 PM

thesixerkid wrote:All you need to know about fixing the mount

Thanks to Chris for the subframe and Ed for 2 kits.

Link requires a login.

George · Post by **George** » Jun 25, 2009 9:06 PM

Lets try that again

Sorry Mike!

Surprisingly no one had any comments on the post I made here.

The whole thing can be installed and welded in under an hour.

Post by **Nebraska_e28** » Jun 25, 2009 9:25 PM

thesixerkid wrote:Lets try that again

Sorry Mike!

Surprisingly no one had any comments on the post I made here.

The whole thing can be installed and welded in under an hour.

Do you think an arc welder would be too hot to do the weld?

George · Post by **George** » Jun 25, 2009 9:31 PM

Probably fine. The steel dowel is very thick.

Mannydog · Post by **Mannydog** » Aug 16, 2009 10:27 AM

Another fan of this fix.

My mount broke last Sunday. Called Ed, and got my kit Friday. Installed it yesterday in about a half hour.

Was very impressed with the concept and execution of the kit. It is a simple but elegant solution.

Still have to get someone to weld, it, but it will be tough in the small town I live in on a weekend. Fortunately I have a company car as a commuter, so this can wait a few days until I can work out a good time to get to a shop.

Recommend this to anyone with an E28/E24. Worth doing as a preventive measure BEFORE your mount breaks.

Michael

Azure · Post by **Azure** » Aug 16, 2009 1:42 PM

stuartinmn wrote: There was only one minor issue, and that was only because my car is an M535i: The M535i has a flat plastic undertray or bellypan that goes underneath the engine; it fastens at the front on the rear edge of the spoiler/bumper cover, and at the rear on the crossmember. It turns out that the hole in the crossmember that's used for the steering box repair kit is also used to fasten the rear corner of the bellypan. If you don't have a bellypan on your car there won't be a problem. So, for now that one corner of the bellypan is just dangling there. It won't hurt anything in the short term but I'll have to come up with some other way to secure it.

Looking at the pics, I'd say since you can't insert the "body nut" in the large hole any more, I'd use a slightly larger screw/bolt and tap it directly into the small adjacent hole in the subframe to secure it - that's where the bellypan mounts anyway. I'm going to have to deal with the same issue since my M535i front end is a complete retrofit, complete with bellypan as well.

That, or maybe you could find a plastic "plug" insert to thread the screw into which will let the bellypan screw catch. Actually, that might be a neater solution!

MyE28.com

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Steering box mount fix

Steering box mount fix

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Re: Steering box mount fix