elf89

Well, I got the car out for the summer this weekend and found all the power steering fluid in a puddle on the floor. After driving it to the shop, I have to wonder why Porsche found it necessary to add power steering to this car. I found it to be perfectly drivable even at low speed. I guess my wife might disagree though.

So I added some Dextron, but there must be a big hole in the hose because it dribbled out right away. I couldn't find the leak with my limited mechanical ability so I drove it to the shop pretty much empty. Does driving it without fluid damage the pump and other things more? It was less than 20 miles.

Finally, is it possible to just drive it empty and just have "manual" steering? I think that would probably wear things out and be a safety issue, but the thought crossed my mind.

Thanks,

Eric

Travis - sflraver

If for some reason it is the rack just spend a little money and get a rebuilt unit. Have it put in and forget about the whole thing. Ian at 944online has some good rebuilds at reasonable prices.
My thinking is if you start compromising now where is it going to stop. Will it stop with "well, 2 out of 5 working gauges isn't bad" or will it go onto " How long can the car be run on 3 cylinders?"
It may not even be the rack at all, it may just be the pickup hose going from the pump to the reservoir. That is truly the most likely culprit.

elf89

Yeah, I agree Travis. I don't like compromising on the car either, but I had the thought so I thought I'd ask the question. I'm 90% positive it's the hose or a fitting too, but you never know. Thanks for the feedback. If I was more mechanically inclined I'd be all over your rebuild kits! Good stuff. Thanks.

craig001

If you are talking about just trying to use a power steering set-up w/o fluid, STOP! The main reason is that the power rack is set up for assisted steering so the ratio's are different than the manual rack and pinion. So if you have to make a sharp turn under emergency conditions you would have to spin the wheel around and the car will not be reacting as quickly and accurately as you are used to.

Also the power steering fluid acts as a lubricant within the rack so you may have other issues down the road. You could swap out the power rack for a standard rack and pinion rack and just go with a self powered set-up. I don't know what else might have to be changed out, ie; tie-rods, etc.

You could probably get by short-term, but I wouldn't drive the car for long.

Also, you should probably replace your p/s reservoir while you have it apart. The filter inside the unit is non-removable and I just can't remember when Porsche recommends changing it.

944Fest (aka Dan P)

I know some mechanics say if you have problems, remove the PS belt and then it is OK to drive it. It is fairly easy to get at from under the front. If you run the pump dry, you'll surely toast the PS pump. As for running the rack dry, I don't know about that.

elf89

I suspect running the rack dry would eventually cause something to bind up or break, with possibly disasterous results. Steering is important. Up until this leak I couldn't understand why folks would want to swap out to a manual rack, but now that I've driven without power assist, I wish Porsche had made that an option on the later cars. Trying to appeal to the yuppie consumer back then I suppose.

Plum

I had a similar situation recently but the fluid wasn't leaking too bad.
I found this on the web somewhere.
Ordered the new clams and put them on and it's been dry.

Simply replace the two sold hose clamps on the fittings at the base of the reservoir, with Zebra clamps. They are available from Porsche as p/n 999.512.346.02 and 999.512.450.02. More often than not, these more flexible clamps solve the problem.

jaibeiber

you must of still had some pressure in there. with my power steering problems, i could barely make the turn to get it in my driveway. i needed two hands at full strength.