calguy

Hey Guys,

A weird symptom been's going on since I purchased the car. Everytime I make a turn while driving (either left or right) the steering wheel does not come back to true after the turn has been made. Has anyone else ever experienced something like this??

I have aligned the car numerous times (at least twice now) and have also gone ahead and changed the rack and pinion steering but the problem still persists. There is no "play" in the steering at all and the steering feedback seems "normal" with the only abnormality being that the steering wheel never goes back to center even though the car is going straight.

Can this be related to the suspension? I don't think the shock absorbers and mounts have ever been changed (judging by how they look). I'm hesitant to keep replacing parts unnecessarily (as the bill can rack high) so hopefully someone can chime in.

Thanks ahead of time!

Calguy
'80 924 N/A
'92 968 Cabriolet

FrenchToast

In any car the wheel never goes back to fully 'true'.

The car has a natural tendency to drive straight, this is just physics. This is why it takes a force to change that.

So the wheel should return most of the way. But no, it never goes back directly straight.

Hope that helps.

Take care!

calguy

I understand. But unfortunately, the steering is completey off. For example if a make a left hand turn, after completing the turn and proceeding straight the steering wheel itself (horn button) will be slanted towards the left so that 12 o'clock is really at 9 o'clock. Never have experienced this before so not sure if it's a steering problem beyond the rack and pinion (universal joint is bad?) or a suspension problem...

Thanks,
'80 924 N/A
'92 968 Cabriolet

Calguy

Stephenwz968

I would guess it's your steering rack bushings, had the same problem with the green car. Very easy to install, and really tightens everything up.

calguy

Excellent suggestion Stephen. I'll look into the bushing itself. If I recall the right side did seem to have considerable wear than the left side.

Calguy
'80 924 N/A
'92 968 Cabriolet

Stephenwz968

The rubber degrades over time, and when I had the problem where the wheel didn't center on the green car, the ds bushing practically disintegrated in my hand when I removed it. I did need to loosen the swaybar to access all of the bolts, but I was able to do the job in under an hour, and the bushings were under $100 for the set from Sunset.

calguy

Hi Stephen,

I went ahead and replaced both bushings today and sure enough that was the culprit! It's not perfectly centered! Thanks for the suggestion,

Calguy
'80 924 N/A
'92 968 Cabriolet

Stephenwz968

Glad it's worked out! Enjoy the new driving experience!

Jason @ Paragon Products

Both rubber and Delrin are available for these bushings now:

http://www.paragon-products.com/Sear...g+rack+bushing

Stephenwz968

I wish I knew about the Delrin ones when I did the replacement!

calguy

Why so much for teh Delrin one compared to the original? Is the material thicker and more durable?

Calguy
'80 924 N/A
'92 968 Cabriolet

TheBlau

I would guess the difference in price would be that the each of the delrin ones is individually machined, versus each of the rubber ones is mold-pressed in a production run at Porsche's supplier, keeping costs low. Not sure on the raw goods cost of rubber vs delrin, but I would guess rubber to be significantly cheaper itself.

Eric_Oz_S2

My steering has been getting a little loose lately. Just ordered the polyurethane ones on ebay - only $25. I'll report back on impressions once I have these installed.

mikey_audiogeek

Eh? If your S2 is like mine, it doesn't have any bushings... RHD S2's have the rack solid mounted.

Cheers,
Mike

Eric_Oz_S2

That's weird - the PET shows bushings irrespective of left or right hand drive. I've never heard of RHD drive cars being different in mounting, and I couldn't understand why Porsche would differentiate. I know the rack and steering shaft etc are different, but the mounting seems the same in PET.

EDIT: You may be right - I looked on PET and the RHD drive cars have different clips and shorter bolts which alludes to no bushing. Crap - why does PET not list the bushings as /LL????