fbfisher

I am running 18" factory Technology rims with Pilot Sports. Noticed on our last So Cal Sunday run through the back roads of the Santa Monica Mountains that my right rear tire rubs on some hard left turns. Noticed it again coming off of the freeway and carrying speed into the left turn and I hear the rear tire rubbing.

The suspension feels stiff, no give when trying to "bounce" the rear of the car by hand. Just back from the 60 service and specifically asked about the condition of the suspension - no problems identified.

Any suggestions? A common problem with 18" rims?

FlyYellow

i would check your alignment. is it rubbing on the inside or outside?

my guess is outside because of your description. Right rear on hard left turn. So just dial in some negative camber.

just a suggestion - let's hear what others think.

Cheers,
Boris

Harold

Are you running lowered suspension on the car or spacers? I have (very) wide 285 pilot sports on my 18" RUF rims up rear and have absolutely no clearance problems/rubbing on hard cornering. My car is a narrow body with original suspension. Not too sure if this will be the case once I lower the car though...

fbfisher

Totally stock, 265 on the rears.

FlyYellow

I'm running 285's on my hollow spoke 18"'s and my car is lowered with H&R springs and I'm running a 8mm spacer. So I should have the worst absolute case and I get no RUB. To also compliment all that I'm running -2.5 degrees of camber.

Cheers,
Boris

Harold

[quote]Originally posted by Boris Teksler:
<strong>I'm running 285's on my hollow spoke 18"'s and my car is lowered with H&R springs and I'm running a 8mm spacer. So I should have the worst absolute case and I get no RUB. To also compliment all that I'm running -2.5 degrees of camber.

Cheers,
Boris</strong><hr></blockquote>

Ahh, this is comforting news for me given that my rims sit absolutely flush with the outer side of the fenders....indeed will look to increase the negative camber when I finally get around to installing the new suspension on the car.

FB. Are you sure it is tires/rims rubbing? Take the wheel off the car and look for scuffing as well as feel around the wheel arch etc. A while back I thought I had clearance problems on my rims because I would pull hard left handers and get a weird grating sound from what I too thought was the rear right wheel. Took the rims off etc and no problem---then found out it had nothing to do with the rear wheels- but was a leak that caused my power steering fluid level to be too low---every time I did a hard left, the steering system would be drained of minimum required fluid that caused the power steering system to make the noise. Everything was solved with a power steering fluid top up and a new seal to stop the leak. Maybe you could check this out?

James_J

Is your wheel bearing OK in that wheel?

If it's not, and the wheel is "flapping about" a bit, you may get a sound like a wheel rubbing.

fbfisher

James/Harold - great suggestions, I'll check those items. Ain't this list great! <img src="graemlins/xyxwave.gif" border="0" alt="[bigbye]" />

fbfisher

Harold nailed it. Power steering fluid too low. Topped it off and problem solved.

No evidence of leak, but I will check it periodically to determine the rate (if any) that I am losing fluid. Given that I don't know anything about the way the power steering system works I will assume that there are probably lots of places it could leak out.

Thanks again for your help! <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

E. J. - 993 Alumni

fb,

Seems there are quite a few of us who have had power steering racks leak and fail. Mine is right now. It is hard to see, because usually the fluid leaks out the ends of the rack into the tie rod bellows. THis is how I found my leak - a screwdriver to pull back one end of the rubber bellows and the fluid came pouring out. Seems the bellow is pretty tight and can actually hold a lot of fluid. Once that gets full, it will start leaking outside of it and you will eventually see a spot on the garage from the front of the car, wither left or right side depending on which side of the rack is leaking. It is directly between the centerlines of the wheels, so you wont see it until you move the car.

Good luck,

E. J.

Tom Pepper

Ya know, E.J., I think the power steering rack failures are another dirty little Porsche secret not unlike the wiring harness failure which you so well championed. It may be time for you to pick up the leaking steering rack challenge. I have replaced the steering racks on two 928s and on my 95 993.
I wonder how many members and users of this board have had similar experiences. I'll bet the numbers are surprising. Our on-going allegiance to this marque sometimes puzzles me. <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

rockdoc

I had my steering rack replaced at 57,000mi after finding a spot on the floor and hearing the same kind of noise that fbfisher reports. I just ordered the steering rack brace for the known issue with 18" wheels. Do you think it will help keep the rack from failing?

Craig W.

Had to replace the rack on my 964 at ~50k miles. Would not be surpriused if it is the same part number as on the 993.