HyperMike

Hi all,

Just picked up a very clean, new to me 1990 944 S2. It is seemingly in great shape with low mileage (90,000KM or 56,000Mi). It required a road trip to get it home from where it lived previously so I got a chance to get to know it better!

It seems to me that the steering is remarkable heavy for a car with Power Steering...granted this is the first 944 S2 I've ever driven but I find it hard to believe that a car with PS would have such heavy steering. It does track nice and straight and the steering does self-center...it's just really heavy. This leads me to a couple of questions for the forum's common wisdom:

Does this sound right that it would have such heavy steering?
What things should I start looking at if this situation is not indicative of normal operation?

I'm really looking forward to getting to understand this car better and getting a chance to work on her...I appreciate any guidance that you folks could provide!

Cheers,
Mike

divil

If something has failed in the steering system, it would be extremely hard to steer at low speeds. When everything is working, it's still pretty heavy compared to any modern car. It's hard to quantify, but at parking speeds it's not comfortable to steer with one hand on the wheel. I find the usual technique of pressing my palm against the wheel to make complete rotations when parking is barely doable in the 944. I usually have to hook my fingers into the spoke to get some leverage. Even then it's awkward with one hand. When I first drove my car I was convinced there was something wrong with the steering it was so heavy...but I got used to it. That's just the way they are.

The only other thing I can think of is if someone depowered the rack. That would make it somewhere between a working PS system and a broken PS system. You should be able to tell easily enough - if it was depowered deliberately, they would have removed the hydraulics. If you have the reservoir (with fluid in it!) and the hoses etc., and you can see the PS belt turning, and it's just about manageable with one hand, I'd say it's normal.

HyperMike

Thanks for the response John...I appreciate it! I'm open to the possibility that, like you said, "That's just the way they are". I certainly could not steer effectively with 1 hand at parking lot speeds. At normal highway speeds I could use 1 hand effectively. I'll have to carefully check out the reservoir, plumbing, etc. to make sure it all appears to be there and working.

Cheers,
Mike

Van

Sounds like it's broken.

Jfrahm

I find the 944/968 steering to be a bit overboosted and grocery-getter light and have considered getting a 928 power steering pump from the years where the boost was lower on those. Sounds like your PS might not be working or not working well. It's also possible to set up alignment for heavy-steering.

Otto Mechanic

A correctly de-powered rack is only very heavy at walking speeds, it's hard to tell the difference between power and manual over 5mph.

Did you check for a busted P/S belt? That would do it. A power rack with no P/S pump is much worse than a manual rack.

HyperMike

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it. I've checked everything that I can check visually (I.E. not digging into the PS pump yet!). The belt is in place, the pump is turning while the engine is running, there is fluid up to the first "tick" mark on the PS fluid reservoir cap.

One thing I did check and adjusted was tire pressure...for some reason the PO had tires at what I consider to be very low pressures. The FR were at 20psi and the backs were only a few pound more. I inflated to ~32psi FR and 36psi rear and this made a significant difference to how easily the front wheels could be turned. Ultimately it still feels heavy to me for a car with power steering, but to be honest, I have never driven a 944 before this one so I'm just going to move forward assuming that this is how they are. Perhaps I'll get a chance to meet some other owners around me and if their cars behave differently I'll start investigating more deeply. In the meantime I'm LOVING this thing! Thanks again for all the assistance!

Cheers,
Mike

mel_t_vin

Re: 32/36...thought S2 specs were 36/36.

Otto Mechanic

I've been running 34/36 for a few hundred miles using a de-powered rack. I can't say I've experimented. Willing to share data though. I can inflate to 36/36 tomorrow and report back if you've interested.

Scott.

HyperMike

That's good to know...I simply guessed at pressures to see if it made a difference. The car's now off it's temporary registration so I need to get the Out of Province Inspection completed so I can register it formally. Once it's back on the road I'll play with pressures a bit and try 36/36.

Cheers,
Mike

thomasmryan

recommended tire pressures are on your fuel cap door.

J1NX3D

and in the owners manual. but they are only useful for stock size wheels and tyres.

thomasmryan

38-39 in front and 34 rear works best for my alignment and usage. neutral at the limit to where all 4 loose grip at the same threshold.