Hey guys, I'm new to these forums. I drive an 08 535i with the sport package and active steering. I've had the car for about 2 years and have spent a lot money just keeping it running lol. It does have a jb4. I have a power steering leak somewhere on the passenger side and was told it was the rack itself. I understand the active steering rack is very expensive but I love this car and intend of doing it myself. Has anyone done one before? How hard is it? Also I have blown shocks and was considering the Koni Special Active option available on ECSTuning. Does anyone have any experience with these?

Thank you guys in advance for the help!

 

Can't help on the power steering, but would suggest sticking with OE shocks. Aftermarket shocks might be great, but OE resets the clock and gives you original handling. I say this after making the mistake of putting Bilstien B6 on mine...

 

I just picked this package up. getting installed next week. https://iscsuspension-na.com/store/B...sion-p58684308

 

You say, you have a power steering leak somewhere.

Buy a few spray bottles of degreaser, Brakeleen and 3 rolls of quality paper towels.

Clean the underside of your car perfectly.

Once its clean, identify where the leak is and take a picture of it and post it for us to see.

 

So you would say the B6 line hurt handling or just ride quality? Cause I’d be willing to sacrifice very little comfort for handling improvements but if it’s a very harsh ride I’ll take your advice and go Sachs because to me the car handled like it was on rails when it got to me at 93k miles.

 

I’d like to stay away from coilovers. Not sure how true it is on this chassis but seems to me I’ve had better handling and ride quality with a a good shock/spring combo than coilovers. I figure that holds true even more so on a bmw platform because these cars are made with handling being one of the top priority. I figure engineers knew what they were doing.

 

I’ve done this multiple times. Most recently when I did water pump, radiator, and tank. After hours of cleaning, all I could find was a drip leak from the passenger side tie rod boot. That has absolutely zero tears in it. My beautiful but short mother borrowed the car and smacked a curb doing like 40mph. Had cooked the wheel bearing I already replaced there. Steering wheel pretty much has a death wobble under any kind of braking. Walks all over the road while cruising. I know shocks and control arms bushings are gone completely but if I have a leaking rack I’m not sure replacing those would help the wobble or walking/loose steering.

 

You say, How hard is it?

Just watch the level of difficulty.

 

So definitely not something I'll be tackling on the garage floor. Thanks

 

B6 ride is very jiggly but not harsh. Just not compliant. Handling is great though, especially with the M5 rear sway bar.
If your roads are generally smooth, you'd probably be OK with B6. We have a lot of broken pavement around here.