X5 Servotronic Retrofit--Success!

[solidsnake227]

The project is done and its great feeling, I did the alignment and all good to go. Thanks again for this great post.

Respectfully,
Sam

[jayrockstar]

Thanks for following thru with an update. Congrats on the new servotronic. Lots of work, but worth it me thinks.

[solidsnake227]

Originally Posted by jayrockstar

Thanks for following thru with an update. Congrats on the new servotronic. Lots of work, but worth it me thinks.

No problem, it was lots of work indeed but it worth it..... another project for the win

[X5only]

Where are you guys getting the servotronic rack and for how much? I think I should do this upgrade since I'm already doing a suspension overhaul including the engine mounts (I'll be raising the engine a bit).

Thanks!

[X5only]

Found the parts at great prices from partsgeek.com:

- Bosch Servotronic part # W0133-1969312 $159.48

- Cardone Steering Rack part #18504-05308893 with Variable Ratio Steering (Servotronic) $253.33

My 4.4 2005 has in the engine bay the two pin servotronic connection. Now this upgrade is part of my summer project!

[solidsnake227]

I got mine via eBay, $190+ $59.99shipping. in California in California there is a lot of reck yards, just make sure the car does not have hard front damage since it can damage the rack.

you can check Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market for local yards, just make sure you ask for a photo or describe it for you, since I got few people said they have servotronic and when they described it for me it didn't have it. just save your self a trip by asking first.

best of luck.

[X5only]

I just decided to order from partsgeek since it comes with 3 years warranty and shipping is free. I would have to return the core though and they don't care if it's regular rack since they sell both racks. It doesn't come with the servotronic motor (part #32106788212) though so that's an extra $159 on $253.33.

[Crowz]

I haven't looked at converting like this thread covers but does anyone on here use rackdoctor? All my bmw's have rackdoctor replacements in them with lifetime warranty. All have been flawless so far.

But all of them have been on cars not the X5.

I just went and looked an noticed the price is double for the servo unit with lifetime warranty so that might be a bit high but I don't know what the prices are elsewhere to compare with.

Its was $691 and I don't know if that's with the motor or not.

[Russianblue]

I've been reading this thread with interest. i noticed my new 2005 Xer has the dangling 2-wire plug which wasn't on my old 2003 Xer. I have the original window sticker from this 2005 model and it lists "Engine Speed Sensitive Power Steering" as a standard option. I'm wondering how that is different from Servotronic. There's nothing about servotronic mentioned in the MDecoder VIN lookup.

but after reading this thread, it appears it is possibly something that can be added although that's a LOT of work! My wife is ALWAYS complaining about the heavy steering.

Interestingly the feedback from most about the e53 Servotronic looks to be fairly positive. A lot of folks don't like it in certain BMWs....saying it makes the steering too numb or something to that effect.

[mr_robot]

I didn't even know my car had this, I guess it's standard on the 4.8is? Option code S216A.

Can't tell the difference lol, then again I haven't driven an X5 w/o it. The only thing I can compare it is to my previous E70 4.8i but the steering feels heavier on my E53 and I thought it was due to the fatter front tires.