Ruairidh

OK its official, I have a leak in my steering rack. I also have a 1000 mile round trip coming up which I wasn't half looking forward to in "speedy" (as my three kid daughters call my 964 - not quite as impressive as aufglasfahsjandferedfsdjkiose or whatever else Adrian's book is called but does for this family).

Question - if I'm losing about 300ml of steering fluid a month am I beyond the normal "let her leak and keep topping her up" stage?

Adrian - that e-mail about the catastrophic seal failure in the C4 brakes started me worrying.

Is the usual fix a whole new rack? Could my mechanic do anything?

As ever - thanks

Randall G.

Hi Ruairidh,

In my opinion, 300 ml per month is well beyond acceptable--my definition of acceptable being adding fluid maybe twice a year.

As time goes on, the leak is likely to grow worse, and you may find yourself having to add fluid every few days to keep the reservoir above minimum.

I would have this fixed when it best fits your schedule/budget. Do have the tie-rods replaced at the same time (unless your car has super-low miles), along with the tie-rod to rack bellows. You'll also need an alignment after the rack is replaced.

I've sent you an e-mail on what I believe your best choices are for a rebuilt rack.

Randall G.

Adrian

Dear Ruairidh,
You have to fix this problem. It will either be a pump leak or am actuator leak. You need to find out which and fix it. You do not want your steering system to run out of fluid believe me. This gets a lot more expensive to fix plus you cannot drive without the power steering. It will normally seize up.
The brake pump problem is a worry I agree. However I am afraid it comes with the territory. Nothing lasts forever and there is no backup system within. The emergency brake is the backup which is not ideal but perfectly legal.
This is now many years down the track and well you just have to look out for these things now. At least you know and you can do something about it,
Ciao,
Adrian
911C4

PS: The book is called Auftragsnummer 964

Emanuele Ferry23

This post reminded me of my very similar problem. One day I heard a metallic sound from the engine at idle and I noticed that the reservoir of the power steering was empty. My mechanic checked the system and found a leakage in the rack. I simply refilled the system and the problem never showed up again. No sensible change in level variations in the past 3 months.

What do you think of it?

Randall G.

Hello Emanuele,

Well, if you're not currently losing fluid, don't suppose there's a need to replace the rack just now. However, since it leaked before, I would expect it to leak again at some time in the future.

I'm sure you're already doing this, but do check the reservoir frequently--in particular, under the circumstances.

Arjan B.

Randall,

I would repair your leak A.S.A.P.!
The leak I saw on your car would give me a unhappy feeling.

Get a rebuild rack, they are also v ery good, and much cheaper.

Greetings,

Arjan
964 C2 1992
<img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

Ruairidh

[quote] PS: The book is called Auftragsnummer 964 <hr></blockquote>

OK, I promise to try and remember <img src="graemlins/xyxwave.gif" border="0" alt="[bigbye]" />

THANKS ALL <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

Randall G.

[quote]Originally posted by Arjan Brinkcate:
<strong>Randall,

I would repair your leak A.S.A.P.!
The leak I saw on your car would give me a unhappy feeling.

Get a rebuild rack, they are also v ery good, and much cheaper.

Greetings,

Arjan
964 C2 1992
<img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" /> </strong><hr></blockquote>

Mine is fixed, rebuilt rack.

BTW, I thought "aufglasfahsjandferedfsdjkiose" was pretty funny.