TommyC

This is my 1st RWD car and I must say, I need to be more careful!! I was coming up the street before my street and went to turn onto my street, resulting in the tires losing traction and me spinning around... I'm safe, the car is fine, but the steering is incredibally stiff now. Any idea's what this could be? Also it is a lot better when driving on my gravel driveway, the wheel seems to turn almost freely, like before this little incident. Any help is appreciated

Granite 944

Hmmm......wonder what model/year car your talking about. Pwr. steering? Manual? Tire size? Condition of car's suspension? Hmm......lets all get the crystal ball out, and guess. All jesting aside, put your car info in your signature, it will make a HUGE difference, in getting answers. More info is needed. Don't be bashfull.

TommyC

I looked all over for how to change my signature, couldnt figure it out. I figured it would be in edit profile, couldnt find it anywhere there. Guess I got to be apaying member, how much is that? hah. its a 1985 1/2 944 N/A... Everything was running nice and dandy till now. Then when this happened everything decided it wanted to go wrong, went to open that hatch and the latch undid itself, that was an easy fix, but the glass was removed from the seal, so i got paper towels in there now... Off subject, yeah the suspension seems pretty good. Tire size, hmm...

Techno Duck

Are you sure the power steering is working? Check the fluid, also check to see if the belt is still intact.

TommyC

I'd assume that the power steering is still working, since it happened directly after i spun out. Unless that could have snapped the belt? I'll check for it, thanks

Techno Duck

It seems like a real long shot, but its worth a try i guess. In my experience i check the obvious stuff first, its usually the problem!

tifosiman

Non-paying members don't have an option to have a signature line. That is a perk of paying and becoming a member (not that it is necessary to participate and learn from these forums).

My vote is to check the fluid first. If it is low, add more (by the way it takes ATF fluid, DON'T put power steering fluid in there. If it is dirty, drain it, re-fill, and then bleed the system by turning the steering wheel back and forth to opposite lock a few times.

89AZ944

Similar thing happened to me (minus the spinout)-

Lost the power steering belt.......

It actually took a while for me to notice (parking) since the power steering is fairly stiff on these cars to begin with.

Granite 944

tifosimon, I inadvertantly forgot that that might be the case, because of membership, Opps. I was just really hoping to get a little more info out for everyone.

Simple stuff first, I aggree. Fluid and belt, and go from there.

TommyC

I took it to pep boys for them to look over it for free, since I had no idea. Here is what i got out of them. Rack is leaking, need a left ball joint, something is wrong with the power steering, and i need like bearings or something for the right something or other... Now I have to find a place around here that will work on them, or sell the car. I've had it for a whole month! I think it was a mistake for me to get it.

89AZ944

PS rack leaks and ball joint wear is a common failure point on these cars. It makes a Pre Purchase Inspection performed by a Porsche mechanic worth the money.

If you have the inclination to fix it yourself, rennbay has kits to fix both problems:

http://www.rennbay.com/ball-joint-re...kits-c-30.html
http://www.rennbay.com/power-steerin...k-c-31_42.html

tifosiman

Mistake #1: You took the car to Pep boys.
Mistake #2: You took the car to Pep boys.
Mistake# 3: You give up too easily.

You have a 20 year old German sports car. Things are getting old and are going to break (regardless of the place of manufacture), and when they do, they are going to be pricey unless you can source the parts yourself and do the work yourself (both with the help of Rennlist). Obviously you had to know this when you were purchasing the car and saw that badge on the front with the horse and stag horns on it.

I wouldn't trust anything Pep Boyz tells you. Did you check the fluid like a few of us suggested? You may not have much of a leak, if at all, these systems do weep a bit and there is usually fluid gunk down in that area anyway.

If it is the rack, that is rebuildable with the Rennbay kit as mentioned in another post, as is the a-arm/balljoint. I don't know what bearing is bad, but if it is the wheel bearing that is cake to do and cheap, as is the upper strut bearing. Tell us what they said exactly. Again, they may be totally off-base.

TommyC

Here is the printout from them.
needs rack, powersteering pump shaft is broken. left lower ball join, right side front bearing. alignment

I know they aren't a great place, but I had no idea what it was, and they had more of an idea than me.

Techno Duck

I would defenetley take whatever they say with a grain of salt. You may consider asking around to see if there are any reputable independent shops that are familar with a 944 in your area.