seb928s

Well it's been a fun weekend. I started Friday only worked maybe 4 hours on the car removed the tie rod ends,sway bar, and wheels. I'm changing over to a manual rack from an power steering one on the 1986 951 to loose some weight and to feel the road better I love manual, well back to the topic. Saturday didn't do anything had to go somewhere with my younger brother. Today I was on it from 11:30 to 5:30 with a brake for food and that's with getting every tool out and clean-up. I removed all ps parts pump,belt,hoses, and rack. I removed the rack from the joint right above the pinion. I know I have to remove the other shaft because it's going to be to short for the manual rack. Well anyone know any tips or tricks on getting that shaft out at the top of it? It's not like the NA that doesn't have all the crap there. Man the bottom of the engine cleared out a lot after removing all that stuff. I can't wait to get the manual rack in and drive the car . Also should I grease the used manual rack or should I just leave it as it is? Also where to grease it just on the inside of the boots? Well I'm going to try to get the shaft out tomorrow.

Luke

which manual rack was it that bolts right up? 82-83?

seb928s

Wonder if I can make it work without the manual shifts like your Luke.

ERAU-944

Luke:

the rack is out of an '83.

seb, you're not going to have a fun time either way with that steering link. i'd suggest you take your time and be patient with that allen bolt, and just stay with it. eventually you'll get it off and get the new one on. as far as grease it should be good to go already. it was fine on the car when i drove it up there, so as long as you didn't take it apart it'll be good to go. Porsche put special stuff in the manual racks, and they are INDESTRUCTIBLE. plug and play. and play HARD!



-Mike-

Devia

I love my manual rack...when my friggin' SHOULDER doesn't hurt!

Nope, not gonna sell it, guys, no waaay!

- Julie

Dave951M

The question I am trying to get answered is- are the racks from the 82 931 and the 83 944 the same. I'm aware that they have different part numbers, but is there a difference, if so, what's different, and will it fit a 951, even with minor modification. The reason I ask is that the manual rack from the 83 is getting up there in price while a 931 unit is like 1/3 the price. If they both have the same lock to lock, and connections, why wouldn't they bolt up?

Luis de Prat

Just did this today. The best way to get the shaft out at the top is to loosen the steering rack bolts and let it hang down while you tug on the intermediate shaft from the bottom U-joint. This is assuming you've loosened and removed the bolt on the top U-joint. Spray some PB Blaster on the top U-joint after removing the bolt, and it will slide right off by tugging at it from below.

As for greasing, yes, this is very important. The reason I'm replacing the tie rod assemblies after less than 2 years since replacing them is because the shop that installed the last set did not put any grease on the assembly joints and one of them rusted out and has excessive play.

With the new ones, I packed the assembly joints with CV joint grease to prevent this from happening again.

My problem has been the tie rod ends. I can't get the darned things to come off the steering knuckle and I'm going to have to get a serious pickle fork to tackle the job tomorrow, or I'm stranded.

seb928s

Luis
I removed the rack with the tie rods. I'm just trying to get the shaft out at the top because some people say it is to short and Luke put his manual rack in without the longer shaft. Grease the tie rods have grease on them because they are from a 944 the whole rack with the tie rods are used.

Also now I lost myself on which shaft needs to be changed out. The one that connects to the pinion or the one that connects to the steering wheel shaft. I have a manual rack with everything that connects at the top to the shaft from the steering wheel.

Joe Jackson

THe shaft that needs to be changed is the shaft going from the firewall (from the steering column assembly) to the steering rack input shaft.

Removing this shaft on the 951 is not easy. The factory manual says to pull the intake and then remove the big brake booster heat shield. While this would be nice to do if you had to pull the intake anyway, there is a way around it. You'll need two people though. One person needs to go underneath the car and locate the rear most stud for the brake booster heat shield. Remove the nut and pry the shield off the stud. If you look straight up now underneath the shield, you should be able to see the upper joint on the steering linkage. Using various extensions and a 13mm socket (it was a 13mm hex on my car), hold the bolt while the person on top of the car uses some extensions and a deep 13mm socket to remove the nut. Note, you will probably need to rotate the steering wheel to get things in the correct position for this. Again, the helper is useful.

It worked for me. Have fun getting the linkage back on though.

seb928s

Looking forward to that It's going to rain today or it looks like it. Hmm going to call Frank at Eibell Performance maybe he knows if I have to remove the shaft or do what Luke did somehow.

seb928s

Hmm I'm still trying to figure out how Luke put his rack in without the manual shaft. Has anyone else do this on an 1986 951? Also is there a differance in part numbers on the 83 manual rack and a 86 951 ps rack. Anyone?