Renier

Good day all.

This is my first here. Probably my second time on forums.

I am in process to get my BMW E60 530d restored and fixed bit by bit.

My steering feels a little stiff, compared to other cars. There are no dashboard steering error, and the fluid level is at the top, yet it is not as smooth as "power-steering" can feel.

Is there anything that I can do to enhance the strength, power and/or smoothness of my steering experience?

You help will be greatly appreciated.

seanjordan20

Welcome!!

Have you flushed the fluid yet?

habbyguy

Another common issue that can cause that symptom is a plugged filter in the reservoir. When this happens, your reservoir will usually be covered in fluid as the back-pressure apparently forces fluid out the vent hole in the cap.

The good news is that replacing a reservoir (which contains that non-serviceable filter) is cheap and easy, and also a great opportunity to do a proper flush. Just pull off the line coming INTO the reservoir (leaving the one that goes to the pump), plug that outlet on the reservoir, and put the loose hose in a bucket / jar / container. Run the engine for a few seconds, shut it off, and refill the reservoir with new fluid. Soon, new(ish) fluid will be coming out the hose, and you're done. Then just swap the (now-nearly empty) reservoir, refill, and ideally cycle the steering wheel from lock to lock a couple times (better if done with the front wheels off the ground), and you're probably good to go.

Renier

Thanks Sean. I have not done that yet. I believe that a mechanic has checked this before. So maybe it is time to do this. I have a bottle of ATF. 500mm. Not sure how much compared to a gallon and also if this will be enough.

Renier

Hallo Habbyguy. Thanks for the advice. These days, I have started to fix my car myself, and will certainly go and have a look your instructions. I still need to find out exactly which steering system my car has. I have checked on my car's spec-sheet and nothing shows there. I also tried to see now inside the engine bay, and I am not sure how to check that. Reason why I ask, is if it is not the Active power steering, can one upgrade it perhaps?

habbyguy

Renier

Mine does not have either. This is what mine looks like . . .



ATF location


Nothing here

This is sad. Will this be able to be improoved. Looks like my 3 series had better steering.

habbyguy

I suppose maybe right-drive vehicles are configured differently (sorry, I didn't know where "Western Cape" was until I just now looked it up). Seems like there should be an obvious power steering reservoir somewhere. You should be able to drill down on the realoem.com website, entering your car's particulars and get to the steering system for your particular vehicle. I believe that there are no non-hydraulic options on that vehicle.

I just took a stab at your specs (should be pretty close) and found these two drawings for the reservoir...


The good news is that both appear to use the same mounting point. The bad news is pretty much the same thing (since your car doesn't seem to HAVE the reservoir). I can only imagine someone hacked it because there was a fatal problem (guessing blown seals in the rack, so the PO probably just deleted all the hydraulic parts to stop the flow of fluid onto the road and/or to make the sale).

wkloppen

Need to change the reservoir as well. Wet all over the place but still enough fluid in there so I guess the actual problem is minorish.....

Renier

I have google some other e60 engines and found that some has the reservoir on the side and other engines, like mine, has the reservoir connected to the actual powersteering motor. I have also noticed that even the M5 comes WITHOUT the active steering, which I find interesting since the flagship 5 series should have all the bells and whistles installed, in my opinion.

Here is an example of another 530d. . .


This one has been blanked off.

So my plan now is to follow the servicing process, and also see what I can do to replace the reservoir.