Steering Rack

[Guest]

I took my car in for a service only to be told I should be expecting some trouble with the steering rack.

I spoke to another 993 owner who had his serviced at the same place, he was told the same thing.

Is this a known problem area, or has he got a supply of steering racks to get rid of?

It is leaking, so a replacement maybe on the cards.

all the best

Mr VRM

 

[vic cohen]

Sorry to tell you it happens on 993................once its leaking u can keep topping up the reservoir [ in the engine compartment ] but before very long the rack can just let all the fluid out and you may need a pump after that if you ve run it dry![ Makes quite a noise you would know!]

Got a deal with a main agent for abt £ 900 inc full geometry ,was cheaper than it sounds since it went again just within the 2 year parts/labour warranty and they did it all again without a penny from me ,inc geometry..............................dont leave it too long.

 

[Guest]

Hi guys

Was afraid that might be the case.

Just tipped the scales at 60k. Took it to Le Mans the other week with a group of guys from SELOC, the Lotus crowd.
No problems at all, was quoted around £800 for a recon jobbie (fitted) does this sound about right?
VRM

 

[vic cohen]

My first one went at about 45000 miles , the seal one end just let go ,2 nd time abt 70000 was more progressive and leaked a bit ,the car is used for everything day to day to work,cross Europe and Track days .................price seems fair to me as long as they use Porsche Parts etc .............,these things happen
Good luck and enjoy the car.

 

[LK_991GTS]

What actually breaks / fails with the rack?

I notice that a change of fluid does not seem to be specified at any time. Would a change of fluid (if so, how?) be a good idea at a certain mileage ?

 

[vic cohen]

The fluid is simply forced out of the seals at the ends of the rack...............so more or even thicker/newer fluids going to come out ! It has been common for people to use the wrong fluid which hastens failure .

 

[vic cohen]

Likewise ,wont hijack any threads but thanks to the Club Chairman turned out to be a lot of fun .........................could nt relate here but i am sure the stories will circulate!
Good to put a face to the name etc .........

 

[John Maddox]

Thanks Maurice.

Has anyone tackled replacing the rack themselves and how did they get on?

 

[John Maddox]

I would remove your rack and get it reconditioned. You know it's right then. I did this with mine 5 years ago and it is still perfect.

 

[bernard tester]

Try western power steering at Bristol. Berny.

 

[clyde]

Have you used Western before Berny? I've seen them on ebay but they seem too cheap

 

[bernard tester]

No I have not used them but have been told they do a good service.Berny.

 

[John Maddox]

That's who I used 5 years ago. Took it off and drove down there with it and collected it a few days later. Not a very impressive industrial unit but they did an excellent job.

 

[T911UK]

96434700902 goes to 96434700904 and as you say is for a RS

Where did you get that from?

Refurb of your old unit must be the way to go

 

[clyde]

I don't think I can say where I got it from under our stupid posting rules that allows me to praise to the heavens a company that I think has done a good job but have no evidence for other than my own thoughts but at the same time I cannot criticise in any shape or form a company that has not performed as well as it should have done when I have evidence [8|] Suffice to say that it is one of the major Porsche specialists.

I agree with the posters above that reconditioning my rack is undoubtedly the best best way forward but my indi is not too keen on tying up one of his lifts for a week or so while the rack that's on it gets sent away for reconditioning. Not unreasonable as he is a small company and may potentially lose business or income as a result.

So I want to find out exactly what the difference is between the two racks before dismissing the 964 rack. But I'm struggling to find comparative info on the two and think it's probably going to come down to simple logic - The 993 numbered rack is obviously different to the 964 numbered rack,otherwise Porsche would just have used the 964 version in the 993. If they changed it they did so for a reason, after all they're German and don't make changes unless there's very sound reasons for the changes. There's plenty of 964 parts on the 993 after all.

Any info on lock to lock or turning cicles would be gratefully received. Trawling the web has produced some info but much of it is contradictory. My indi tried his Porche contacts but even they couldn't help.

 

[colt]

I bet a lot of people would call that an upgrade!
my service information technik say that the ratio is 17.65:1 (rhd) and 18.25:1 (lhd) for an rs and 2.64 and 2.73 turns lock to lock respectively. and for the carrera 16.60:1 (rhd) and 16.48:1 (lhd) with 2.49 and 2.47 turns lock to lock respectively.
turning circles for the models are within .5 of a meter of each other.
so the rs rack is slower than a std car,i guess to make the rs a little less responsive with the same size steering wheel but the rs has a 360 mm item to the std 380mm unit so i bet the net effect is negligable!.
when you sell the car and mention it's fitted with an rs rack they will be beating a path to your door!!!
If that rack is a quality item , I would say go for it.
C

 

[T911UK]

Did it come from a Shop that sells Porsche parts by any chance?[]

 

[clyde]

Colt - Thanks for that info and you're probably right on the "upgrade" front. If it had been the 04 coded rack then I think I would be happy to use it on the basis that "if it's good enough for the RS then it's good enough for a C4". But it's the 02 suffix rack which was, according to PET, fitted to up to 91 C2 & C4 964s, with the 04 fitted to post 91 cars. From what I can find the ratio of the 02 rack is 18.5:1, with a 2.81 lock to lock, which is obviously slower again. I hadn't thought about the size of the steering wheel affecting things but makes sense and I suppose a new smaller wheel would be an option if I felt that the rack didn't work as well as the old one.

I suppose the bottom line is that it's an expensive mistake if I can't live with it but at the same time I don't want to knock it back if it will do the job.

T911UK - It may have done

 

[Paulbarr73]

ORIGINAL: clyde


Have you used Western before Berny? I've seen them on ebay but they seem too cheap

I've recently used western, fantastic service, quick turnaround and you are right, they do seem too cheap, but they do the job and surely not absolutely every job on these cars has to be prohibitively expensive!
I had to get mine looked at because I knew leaking gaiters would fail an mot, since having it done it flew through an mot even with my loud pipes on! They did get a polite mention though.
Shame is I've now got to sell the car as I've got a different kind of baby coming in february!


sorry if this is against posting rules, just read a post after the one with the quote in, oops!

 

[IndischRot]

I have a new LHD rack as purchased from Porsche to sell - please contact me if interested.