993,951,944

A few years ago, I replaced the power steering rack
and pump in my 944. The rack and pump failed due
to iron filings in the fluid. The job was a real PITA...

I decided to experiment with preventative maintenance
by placing a magnet inside the power steering reservoir.
A few days later, I discovered a significant amount of
iron filings attracted to the magnet. Thinking this might
be iron filings from the new steering rack breaking-in,
I decided to place a magnet in the 951's reservoir.
Checking this magnet revealed an equivalent amount
of iron filings. At the time, the 951 had only 8,000 fully
documented miles. After discussing this with a few
Porsche mechanics, they thought the magnet idea was
interesting and would be helpful provided it was large
enough to prevent it from falling into the hose port holes.
I used an ALNICO magnet of approximate 3/4 inch
dimension. The magnets bond well to the approximate
four inch round metal baffle suspended above the
bottom of the power steering reservoir. I placed a
magnet in the 993 C4S reservoir as it appears identical
in design to the 944 series. Yikes!...... Iron filings are
starting to accumulate in there as well...
The magnets, as expected, have had no detectable
adverse impact on the steering system since installed-
-other than the small space they occupy.


Has anyone else discovered iron filings in their
power steering fluid ?

Can anyone think of anything wrong with using
magnets in this application?


All the best,

Hans

[quote] ...placing a magnet inside the power steering reservoir... <hr></blockquote>Great idea, thanks for sharing. [quote] Can anyone think of anything wrong with using magnets in this application?<hr></blockquote>Not me.
Might want to cover the magnet in teflon foil. This will help getting the filings off and re-use the magnet, it also prevents chemical reaction between the magnet and the fluid.
[quote]..placed a magnet in the 993 C4S reservoir as it appears identical in design to the 944 series. Yikes!...... Iron filings are starting to accumulate in there as well... <hr></blockquote>Where the xxxx can that be comming from? Pump?

TakeCare

Peckster

Quote: "Might want to cover the magnet in teflon foil. This will help getting the filings off and re-use the magnet, it also prevents chemical reaction between the magnet and the fluid."

What reaction would there be?

I have had several bikes with magnets in their drain plugs. Every little bit helps.

Peckster

Jfrahm

If you have an old broken hard disk drive laying around, you can bust one apart and get the rare earth magnets out of them. These little kidney shaped magnets are about the size of a nickel, but very, very powerful. If you stick one to your fridge without something underneath it, it will be a serious test of your fingernails to get it back off. These magnets are located in the non-moving part of the head pivot assembly. You could tape one of these to the outside of the reservoir (and never take it off without a way to catch the filings that would accumulate opposite it.)

Thanks for the tip, I wonder if this would help keep the PS racks alive a little longer.

-Joel.

944Play

Attach the magnet to the PS dipstick so you can check/clean it easily.