Dust Shield, Power Steering, and Valves

#1

As I get ready to lose at VIR in February, I’m going to tackle the following and was looking for any advice:

-Cut the dust shields off. I’ll use a Dremel (unless a Sawzall would be better) to cut through where it’s bolted to the hub. Once I do this, is it possible to remove the sharp pieces that are left over, or do you just have to live with them remaining?

-I’d like to remove the PS pump. I’ve had the belt off it all last season. It looks like there’s a tube that runs to the rack and one that runs up to the reservoir. I assume I need to join these two to form a closed loop (that I fill with PS fluid)? They appear to be different diameters, so any suggestions?

-I’m going to adjust the valves. Do I need the tool Bentley suggests or can I use a coat hanger to rotate the lobes?

Thanks,
Sasha

#2

you just cut straight through it and then bend it open enough to slide the whole thing off.

I’ve seen writeups about the PS delete. maybe at www.bimmerdiy.com

I’ve used a small allen wrench to rotate the lobes.
cheers,
bruce

#3

Sasha Berghausen wrote:

[quote]As I get ready to lose at VIR in February

Thanks,
Sasha[/quote]

Or…you could come and be competitive at CMP with us in early Feb! B)

I used to use the Dremel on the dust shields, but now I prefer a beefy set of tin snips. Just go mandingo on that sucker till its off.

JP

#4

JP Coates wrote:

[quote]Sasha Berghausen wrote:

[quote]As I get ready to lose at VIR in February

Thanks,
Sasha[/quote]

Or…you could come and be competitive at CMP with us in early Feb! B)

I used to use the Dremel on the dust shields, but now I prefer a beefy set of tin snips. Just go mandingo on that sucker till its off.

JP[/quote]

ditto on that, I found tin snips to work better for this job. dremmel takes forever to cut through everything. If you aren’t taking them completely off (I left some portions on to keep heat away from the tie rod end and the outer ball joint), just make sure to check your clearance between the rotor, made that mistake and the brakes were a squealing like you couldn’t believe.

Also an allen key works fine to adjust the valve eccentric

#5

Sasha - regarding the PS pump, jump remove the pump, reservoir, etc. You will have to creat a loop. I just got a brass elbow, made a loop over the subframe, and used hose clamps to connect it together. If you don’t drain the rack there should be plenty of fluid left to lubricate it.
Ed

#6

For the PS, some say you can run it dry. I decided to drain as much fluid as I could and just plug the two lines.

#7

On my other track car, I run it dry. Haven’t had any problems for the past two years. There is less resistance running it dry than wet.

#8

Good set of snips should do the job. Alternatively, if you think that your front wheel bearings might need replacement soon, you can do them now and just unbolt shields. Front wheel bearings are easy to do…

I removed PS pump, reservoir, and lines, drained steering rack, and made a loop for the two ports. After bunch of research I also talked to very respected bmw mechanic (who is also a racer), and he recommended running steering rack dry so that’s what I did. I can email you few pics if you want

Yes, you can use coat hanger. I use alen key (of L shape variety) though. Before you start the job make sure you have feeler gauges that can reach in there, and use boxed end of the wrench. You can use diagnostic connector to ‘bump’ the engine, but I find it more accurate to turn the engine by hand using crankshaft nut (if you end up using later technique remove sparkplugs first as it will be much easier to turn)

Igor

#9

I’m not sure that running the rack dry is a good idea. I retained the reservoir and connected the supply and return lines to same. That gives the rack lubrication and provides room for expansion of the fluid.

I haven’t seen anyone mention it in ages on any forum. But back in the days before hydraulic lifters a commonly used tool for valve adjustments was a spring loaded excentric adjuster. Basically a rod with a spring on each end and two different angled pins. Makes adjustments really easy as you place the feeler gauge between the valve and the excentric, load the spring, and tighten the lock. I’ve had one for many, many, years and it works really well. BavAuto used to carry them, but I don’t know if they still do.

#10

Other than weight loss, what’s the advantage of getting rid of power steering?

John

#11

John Haynie wrote:

[quote]Other than weight loss, what’s the advantage of getting rid of power steering?

John[/quote]

It steals some horsepower and I (among others) prefer the feeling of the steering w/o power assist.

#12

More Horsepower, and the steering will no longer be super soft and spongy at high speed. Mostly more horsepower.

Powersteering isn’t a disadvantage if it works right. We run electric pumps on the pro cars.

#13

And one less thing to leak. My hoses leaked at the top and the bottom. This is a notorious problem with the cr@ppy pressure fit lines.

Also one less thing cluttering up the engine bay. It is amazing how easy it is to work on stuff on the car when you don’t have all the extra cr@p in the way.

#14

On the valves, I too use an allen key (L shaped) and a feeler gauge. Make sure the engine is stone cold.

And to turn it, I park on a flat surface, put it in 5th gear and will push the car ver so slightly to get the cam to turn the lobes.

As to the PS pump, call me chicken, but I’d be hesitant to run without fluid. I like jlevie’s idea.