Per vers

Hi. Sometimes if you run a car with 0* toe in/out. It can give that "dead" feeling at center.

FRporscheman

The plate on the steering rack just needs to be present and bolted down all the way (bolts backing out would be a culprit). If you want to be thorough, remove the plate and ensure that the piston and spring are present under it.

Last Lemming

jderimig

I drove the car last night and checked by steering. There is no slop, nothing, nada. I move the steering wheel 1/8 inch and the wheels are already turning.

Pin It

I'd be curious to know what amount of caster you are running. Similar to the OP, I have about a 1" dead zone in the center of the wheel at slow/moderate speeds, which seems to have appeared after the entire front suspension was replaced/rebuilt. During the alignment after rebuild, we "maxed out" the caster and my belief is that this contributes to great tracking at speed but also to a dead zone in the center at slower speeds. Logically, it makes sense, as when the steering wheel is turned with high caster, the front wheels are cambering a bit while they are turning. At a theoretical max caster (90 degrees), there would be no steering with wheel inputs but only camber changes.

jderimig

I have my alignment results right here at my work desk. Done by Steinel's
Caster
Left Front: 3.1 deg
Right Front: 2.6

Front Camber: -0.5
Rear Camber: -1.2

Pin It

Interesting...I am running similar alignment specs. Is your rack power or manual? I have not yet rebuilt the rack/intermediate shaft u-joints, nor replaced the inner tie-rod ends, but everything else is fresh. I also usually drive on a staggered set of Boxster rims (16x7 rear,16x6 front w/7mm spacer). But the play is also noticeable on the stock 15x7 phone dials.

Apologies to the OP for the hijack, but I've been trying to sort out this issue for a while and hopefully this is beneficial to all.

jderimig

Power rack. How many miles on the inner tie-rods? Mine had less than 45K (factory rods) and they had 3/4" of play.

Pin It

Almost 70k on the original inner tie-rods. I replaced the original outers when I did the suspension a little over a year ago. My project for winter of 2018-19 will be the steering rack, inner tie-rods, rack bushings, steering shaft, etc. And probably the clutch. And likely the transaxle mounts. And maybe the rear suspension bushings. After that, the car will be basically brand new

You are not far from me...we should swap stories some time. Are you going to 944 Fest?

jderimig

Sure, I hoping to make 944 Fest. Going to Porsche2Ohio also.

Otto Mechanic

Harvey, what you've written above certainly makes sense to me, but my experience with the powered rack on a 944 is very limited, maybe a few miles total. I de-powered my rack as soon as I got the car back to my shop. I have decades of experience with the power rack on my 928 and, like you, I've never had a problem with "play" of any kind, nor has it ever leaked over the course of the 32 years I've been driving it.

The reason I mention it is I'm really not that clear on the differences between the power steering on the 944 and 928. My 944 leaks, the 928 doesn't.

As I describe in the thread on de-powering these racks, there is some built in play due to the valve design on the 944 and, at least in theory, I'd expect it could contribute as much as 1/4" motion in the steering wheel as the pins on the internal torsion bar move to engage the PS spools. I can't say I ever really noticed it in my car, but others believe they have. I don't think it would feel like slop though since you'd be moving the wheel against the internal resistance of the torsion bar. You'd probably need to be watching the tires very closely as you moved the wheel to detect it.

Hope that helps,

FRporscheman

I don't know what "play" you guys are referring to. I've owned a dozen 944s/968s, all of them with PS, and none of them had any play at center.

One of my current 951s has a depowered rack (the old fasioned way - only removed the seals) and this one also has no play.

If you want to compare to 928s, just know that ZF made the power steering racks for both models, so ostensibly they are of the same quality. I have rebuilt 2 PS racks from 928s, and around 6-7 for 944s - they're designed the same except for minor/dimensional differences. Somehow, 928 racks have a reputation for going bad and jamming up (happened to mine, mid-sweeper on CA-1, spun out... scary!), 944 racks have a reputation for leaking. I have no idea why, since they both share a similar location (obviously) and even have the same pump and reservoir.

Aivar88

maybe whats "play" for one is like nothing for other
i dont get immediate response when i turn the wheel for example 1 cm, so i call it dead zone or "play" some would call this normal as intended and no play at all, go figure.

jderimig

I drove my 944 again today after being sensitized by this thread. No play, and what I mean by no play is that there is no motion of the steering wheel that doesn't result in the car changing direction. 1mm on my wheel and the car changes direction.

mel_t_vin

Do you know what toe Steinel's set?

Also, you said your inner tie rod joint was worn, and the solution for that was to replace the whole tie rod. Is that because the inner joint is not replaceable by itself, and only the outer joint is?