E28 Power Steering Problem

[Richbauch@xxxxxxx]

Fellow Digesters:

My power steering pump has recently been whining to me.  There is an 
intermittent noise and vibration right in front of the firewall on the 
driver's side.  I can feel vibration when turning the wheel, especially to 
the right.

I've heard from a fellow digester that there is a filter on the 
power-steering system.  I called the local BMW dealer this morning, but the 
parts guy had not heard of such a filter.  He is presently researching one 
for me.  

Anyone else had this kind of experience?  Might I have to replace the 
power-steering pump?  Could the whole rack be going bad?  The car has 178,000 
miles and never had any power-steering work done.

TIA,

Richard
'87 535i

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