Mongo

Exact same thing I did. Maybe the stop leak hasn't kicked in 100% or the seal is pretty messed up on the left side of the steering rack, well one of them.

dr bob

That stuff worked great stopping the seepage on the hydraulic cylinders on my MaxJax lift. It's suffered from a little bit of that since new. never enough to deserve taking the whole column apart and repairing/replacing the cylinder. Finally I decided to dd the Lucas stuff when I refilled the fluid reservoir at it's new home. Took about a week for the seepage to trail off to nothing. So no heat was involved, just time and persistence (same as 'use' on a lift it seems). Mybe a little more tim and use with yours will take care of the issue for you.

Pfc. Parts

Never occurred to me. Mine's been leaking for about a year now, same thing, just a little seepage around the cylinder seal, irritating but not worth taking the piston off and re-sealing it so I just put a towel under it.

Did you just add it to the reservoir or change all the fluid? Mine's about 4 gallons, how much did you use?

dr bob

I put two bottles in with the fluid refill (ATF) when I transplanted it to Oregon. No need to change all your fluid, just pull a little out and replace it with the Lucas product. The MaxJax reservoir is less than 4 gals though, someplace north of two plus what's in the lines and cylinders. The bottle lists dosage rates based on system capacity. Two was a little light for the MaxJax capacity per the bottle label, but has done a fine job so far. WalMart sells it for ~$10/bottle.

If your lift uses hydraulic oil rather than ATF, I'm not sure this would be the perfect product. There are leak-stop hydraulic oil products but I haven't seen any as additives; they replace your current fluid. I'd be tempted to try the Lucas stuff in the hydraulic oil anyway. Our local Costco sells the leak-stop hydraulic oil in 5-gal pails in the winter, for the seasonal snowplow guys I guess.


928 Content: My lift has been used for several 928 OPG/MM projects that included dropping the steering rack.

Mongo

Interesting. The leak has stopped just so long as I don't turn the steering full lock left now. Great bandaid for now.

Pfc. Parts

I use ATF, mine's a ProPark 9+ 4 post. It's only had the privilege of servicing one 928 though it has the distinction now of participating in the restoration of an '89 944S2 and the conversion of same to a 3.0L Turbo track car. It's also worked on two Audi A4 1.8L Turbos, a 2000 Dodge Durango and a 2003 Chevy K3500 Dually/Crew Cab 1 ton pickup (which may be why it's blown a seal). My neighbor did a little suspension work on a MG A if that helps

Thanks for the tip. The reservoir is probably a little less than 4 gallons, I started with 5 gallons and had some leftover, that was 5 years ago though, can't remember exactly. I'll check the label, I found it on Amazon with two day shipping, might be here today maybe Monday. I'll post results. This could be a very good thing!

Lizard928

This indicates to me that the main rod which goes through the rack has pitting or damage to the main shaft which will mean that rack will likely not be accepted as a core for rebuilding.....

I would be inspecting the rack boots for damage to make sure no water and or debris can get in to the ends of the rack causing further damage.

Mongo

I was just down there. After wiping off the fluid from the driver side boot, both appear to be very clean. The driver side has a tiny tear of about 1/8" where the ATF appears to be seeping from.

Colin, a while back in this thread someone had mentioned maybe the seal has blown out due to pressure. I'm not sure how the steering rack's main rod would have been damaged as the fluid was religiously changed since the car has been in my family since 2001. The rack is Porsche NOS and was replaced in 2004. Fluid has been changed every 5 years around the same intervals as the ATF in the transmission.

By the way, the car is still leaking fluid when it turns left, but drops, not a steady thin stream as I stated before. My driveway looks like it has the measles with all the red ATF drops though.

Mongo

Bumping.

My rack has officially kicked the bucket. Both boots are leaking as the seals on both sides are toast. New one on the way from 928 Intl.

For my own records, what is the wrench size to get the tie rods off from the rack?

Bill Ball

32mm. Thin profile. (From memory...haven't done a rack in 3 or 4 years).

Mongo

Harbor Freight sells tie rod wrenches. I suppose I can secure one there.

Mongo

Bumping this thread from a while back.

I will begin work on replacing my leaking steering rack on Sunday since the family is sick. Looking at John Pirtle's steps, he mentions a plug that can be removed to identify if the rack is centered or not. I haven't had the chance yet to crack open the box containing my rebuilt rack to see this plug, nor have I looked at it under the car.

Could someone please send me a picture of this plug that's removable to confirm the rack is centered?

Mongo

Also, if anyone is viewing this who owns the WSM, could you please scan in PDF the section for Wheel Alignment for an 87-on 928 S4?

I have decided to take the car in after the procedure is done to have the alignment corrected.

Thanks!!!

wpgshark

Here you go

Mongo

Perfect! Thank you. I would rather present this to the alignment guy so they have a clue on what to do (and what not to do) with the car.