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After a rack swap, problems with alignment and error codes
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Diveintothebluee
- Posts: 57
- Joined: Mon Feb 02, 2026 9:04 pm
My car is a 2011 118D, and I am in need of some advice. My current steering rack started making noises after I hit a body of water in August. I was advised to get a used ZF rack (32106854986) since the mechanic who fixes my engines thinks it's worn. After reviewing the recommendations from Real OEM, I came across a part that was originally from an F36 420d. When I used the donor car's vin number to find the part number, it said 32106889115 as well, but the used EPS rack part number is 32106881270. Therefore, I assumed this would be a good fit. The installer I hired claimed to have coded it and re-used my existing inner and outer tie rods to install it, but the noise I had heard before eventually reappeared. As a result, I went to a wheel alignment center, assuming that was the problem. They complained that the rack seemed to be veering to the right, making it difficult to align the wheels. The os tyre is showing signs of new wear at this point. The control unit is not encoded (023008) and there is an issue with EPS coding (02300B) with the ISTA+ software that I have on my laptop. The vehicle's coding data does not correspond. Why are there problems with alignment and tyre wear? Is it more probable that there are mechanical issues? Perhaps the steering ear was not properly centred when the steering rack union joint was fitted. Furthermore, I'm wondering if there's a problem with the coding because the donor rack is from a 2016 vehicle. Is it necessary for it to be backward compatible?
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ChristousPapous
- Posts: 85
- Joined: Mon Feb 02, 2026 9:00 pm
I don't know if it would work, but the codes make it seem like it was either not coded correctly or is incompatible and won't code.
Is there a crunching sound? If the coding is off, the rack won't be calibrated, and it won't know where to stop.
Is there a crunching sound? If the coding is off, the rack won't be calibrated, and it won't know where to stop.