Miller_arch

After lowering my car myself I took it to my local Porsche Dealer for an alignment about a week ago. Tonight after returning home I noticed a leak on my garage floor. It turned out to be power steering fluid.

In confirming this leak I noticed that the black plastic knurled screw on the steering rack was loose…very loose. I have hand tightened the nut and cleaned up the area. I will monitor the situation to see if this fixes the leak.

The leak was not all over the boot as shown in the photo from p-car.com. The leak was thrown on the underbody behind the rack and somewhat on the boot. I do believe the source of the leak was coming from the loose screw.

The circumstances are just too coincidental but at the same time almost impossible to prove.

This screw should be tight, yes? What’s it for?

Robin 993DX

The dealers sometimes can be stupid and sloppy, and will over charge you everytime. But I have never heard of case of a sabotage.

I think maybe a higher source is punishing you for wasting your money for lowering your car.... :P Just kidding....

Do you have a pic of this screw?

I think this plastic screw maybe the screw cover used to center the steering rack after installation. There is a dimple on the steering rod inside the steering rack and the dimple was used to center the steering.

Miller_arch

The screw is knurled. I turned it right to tighten it up. I turned it about 5+ times. I thought for a moment I was "screwing" something up. But eventually it tightened up.

You can see a drip forming on the screw in the photo. I don’t know, maybe its leaking around the boot were it connects just the right of screw.

But why would the screw be so loose?

Miller_arch

OK, I have read the steering rack replacement procedure in detail and it looks like this fitting will access the dimple for centering the steering. Looks like I got the infamous steering rack leak.

I just don't trust dealerships at all; it was the only place to get the proper alignment in this area.

chris walrod

That is exactly what that rubber/plastic dust cover is for. It covers up access to the rack centering feature. Basically, there is a tool that screws into this bore with a male peg machined into it. Simply screw the tool into this bore and find the female dimple on the rack bar and that will center the rack.

Robin 993DX

Yeah, from the picture you have the dreaded steering rack leak, looks like this leak has been around for awhile. This proves another case of the careless dealer, they should have easily noticed that during the alignment.

The good news is that after the steering rack replacement you don't have to take it to the dealer for just the toe alignment, any alignment shop can do that. But please make sure they don't touch any other alignment settings.

Garth S

The lower left is the brace in point .... now in the "spares" bin.


Yes, a classic rack seal blown = juicy boots!

Mark in Baltimore

It's recommended for 17" wheels if you track the car, but it's also so cheap to buy and easy to install that you should just go ahead and do it anyway. IMO.

Miller_arch

I have the 17" cup wheels. No track close here in KC for the moment so I just enjoy the roads...at track speed Maybe I should put in the brace since I am going to be in the neighborhood.

Thanks for the feedback on alignment and the rest. The lower DIY was fun, kind of looking forward to the steering rack replacement.

These cars are fun to tinker with thanks to all the advice on this board! People are amazed that I can fix my Porsh