Gentleman Driver

Hello All,

After years of searching and much research I picked up my first 968. It is a 1994 Coupe 6MT with optional 17" Wheels. I read many posts here and consulted a technician before I purchased the car on what to look out for. The vehicle was a one-owner, always garaged, never tracked, and had an extended warranty through 2004. After I had the car PPI'd by a local certified factory tech and the Carfax both came back extremely clean I drove down to pick the car up. Everything I knew to check for issues was and came back fine. I drove the car and the drivetrain felt great but the suspension felt shot (99,xxx miles) as the car was in Jackson, MS and I have never seen roads this bad...
The real problem was the steering, but I did not discover it until I was on my way home the next day. The steering components themselves feel fine as the there is no wobble or noises of any kind, and feedback is good and smooth, but after I turn into a corner and come out the steering wheel ***** to whatever side I turned it to... for instance, if I turn sharp to the left and then start going straight the steering wheel ***** to the left. And vice versa when turning right.

This was not something I had read about or heard about when researching the car. I am taking it to a local tech here tonight to have it inspected and diagnosed, and he among others think it may be a control arm issue. The car was aligned almost every year due to the poor road conditions so I don't know if something may be worn out there too...

Anyone have experience with something like this? For the price I got it and the condition it is in I knew I would have to throw some money at it, and I had planned to replace the suspension anyway, but I did not see this coming...

Any feedback is most appreciated!

Gentleman Driver

UPDATE:

Was searching around for suspension parts and found this on the RS Barn website:

http://www.rsbarn.com/RackTack.html

It appears they are describing the exact issue I am having. What does the knowledgeable community here think? I am going to have the tech tonight look specifically at this...

Stephenwz968

I'm actually thinking the ball joints are shot and/or the wheel bearings are gone.

Steve

Damian in NJ

The power steering can leak and the fluid will damage the rubber bushings as well.

Gentleman Driver

OK, thanks for the feedback. I will be quite upset if that is the case because the tech who PPI'd the car found a worn-out bushing on the rear swaybar and I would hope he wouldn't miss something that big...

Either way I should know tonight.

Gentleman Driver

Well, the car does have a power steering leak for sure...

stolarzj

Probably time to replace the rack then, normally you would replace the rubber bushing on the rack at the same time, there pretty inexpensive. If your doing it yourself AutoZone is best place to find a rack for the car. Also you will want to replace the hose from the reservoir to the pump and maybe even the rubber line from the reservoir to the cooler. I just did all of the above on mine and it has less mile on it then yours.

Gentleman Driver

Yeah, I was planning on replacing the power steering plumbing first thing. Do you have a suggestion on where to get the parts for the hoses?
I am hoping to just have to replace the bushings as a rack can get quite expensive, right?

Thanks again to all for this very helpful feedback!

blue44

Try Sunset Imports in Washington State - http://www.sunsetimports.com/porscheparts.php - they have good prices and availability.
Your steering sounds like alignment to me, maybe all those bumps...
The car looks great, beige interior ?
best,
Donn C.

stolarzj

You can get the hoses from Paragon or Pelican Parts. The hose from the oil cooler to the reservoir is only purchasable as a entire unit with the cooler, I pulled the cooler out and had a hydraulic shop replace just the rubber hose, about $25. You may also want to replace the reservoir it has a filter integrated into it. The rack is the most likely culprit of the leak, if you pull back the boots from either side of the rack and find fluid the rack needs to be replaced. The rack is $183 from AutoZone with a LLT warranty. If it's leaking on your sway bar bushing expect to replace that also.

Also only use ATF in the system, power steering fluid will cause the seals in the system to start leaking.

Lord_Galva

Beautiful car.
The first two repairs I did to my car were power steering leak fix and new shocks.

luckett

it does sound like the steering rack bushings, which have probably swollen and degraded from the leaking power steering fluid. they have shoulders on them that prevent the rack from moving laterally. if they are worn, you get exactly the symptom you describe. new OE bushings are around $10 IIRC and it takes about 30 min. to replace both of them.

http://www.paragon-products.com/category_s/191.htm

FRporscheman

^ +1

Gentleman Driver

Alright, I am leaving in thirty to see the tech and I will focus on the steering rack bushings as I hope that is the issue.
Obviously we will also be looking at ball joints, control arms, etc. to see their condition but I am hopeful it is nothing major...

Thanks again for all of the comments and I will let you know what it is so you can add it to the vast bank of knowledge here!

RajDatta

With your stated mileage, you should have some pretty worn ball joints and castor blocks. They should inspect them thoroughly.
Raj