Well,
How many of us have had to change this little beastie?
Mine finally decided to give up the ghost, after 262k KM and 17 years I think it’s had a good life but as luck would have it, it's died on a long weekend.
My first job was to find a replacement. After ringing around a couple of places in Sydney, it was going to cost me $45 to $50 AUSD for the new (rubber - Jurid) part. I still had to travel 40 mins to get it though.
Then my mate with a M40 powered 318i came to the rescue. He had his done a couple of years ago and the steering place fitted one from a GMH Gemini (not sure what it is in the states if it was released there), and his is nolathane!
Off I went on the hunt and found this part number (
http://www.nolathane.com.au/photos/41025.jpg.
It is very close to the same size as the Jurid coupling our cars came with, and with a little encouragement (but no reworking) it fits into the steering links (including the heat shield) and does the job great.
The only thing extra that I had to do was fit some extra washers under each of the boltholes, to get it the right length for the steering rack connection.
Unfortunately I don't have any photos of the work as my wife has the camera and is away for another day.
If people are interested I will try to write up and FAQ on how to do this.