E36 M3 Steering problem

Just bought an 98 M3 sedan (its Alpine White with a Magma interior). So far I love it. I've been going through everything and making a list of maintenance needs, and to do's. Everything's pretty straight forward, but I'm having a weird issue with the steering. Wondering what all I need to replace.

Right after I start the car, I go to turn the steering wheel and it binds really badly. Feels like I lost power steering all together, and then if I keep turning through it, it'll suddenly free up and be okay (till it sits again over night). Seems like its only happening when I turn the wheel left. I can normally back out of my driveway (turning it to the right) and its fine, but when I turn it to the left to get going that's when its really hard to turn.

I was already going to replace the lines, but wondering if i need a new rack too? Or does this sound like a pump issue?

sounds like leaking lines letting air into the system.

usual e36 suspects are the trombone line and reservoir line. It's also cheap to replace the reservoir. Is the fluid brown instead of red?

bmw did a really good job on designing their PS system to work on it. I really like the external resevoiur

The trombone does look a little worse for wear, I'll add that and the reservoir to my list.

The trombone, etc and factory reservoir are a constant source of pain. If you are a track rat do not bother replacing them with factory - you will just end up going around in your own oil eventually. These guys have a kit you can spend money on but if you look at the parts... not too hard to DIY either. They don't overheat w/o the trombone even in racing conditions.

E36 PS upgrade kit

EDIT: Re-reading the OP for actual issues... that does not sound like a hydraulic issue. Check the linkage over carefully as the guy below me says. It could be the rack itself too - did the car ever get hit in a front wheel in a fender bender?

Check the bearing at the bottom of the steering column. Lift car and check for binding. There's a way to lube it with a bunch of straws (access is horrible) and a can of tri flow. Search bimmerforums for tricks on this.

HTH

What happens when the front suspension is off the ground and the steering wheel is turned? That test may help rule out the influence of worn front suspension components.

A bad top strut bearing can also cause steering bind. You can rule that out by lubing one with a little oil and checking for bind, then lubing the other and checking for bind. When they bind they often make the car "hunt" in a straight line causing the driver to make small corrections...A condition that has several other causes.

m

Sounds like a bad valve in the rack. We in the trade call it "Morning sickness"