996 steering wheels shaking even after tire balancing: SOLVED !
05-24-2010, 08:34 PM
#106
Take it to a porsche dealer for a fix. I've heard some say they don't trust their local or other dealers and hope at least you have a dealer around your area that does the right thing. I think you have a suspension or rotar problem. Not being there I could even imagine the underside plastic cover could be catching air buffeting making you think its steering problems. What ever the case a good dealer should know whats right and at least be able to spot if its non standard or else wise on your car to have the symptoms you don't like. Good luck man.
05-24-2010, 08:54 PM
#107
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Sorry to hear it's still the same. Did the guy who did your alignment check your ride heights and nose down attitude?
The rear suspension can collapse over time leaving the front sticking up in the air. If the car is nose up it will literally start lifting the front off the ground making the steering go light which will give you these sort of vague and bouncy symptoms. Any hint of headwind or sidewind and it'll be worse.
A quick and dirty way to get a basic idea of the cars attitude is to get a digital spirit level and put it up against the longitudinal chassis runners under the car...see attached. Negative towards the front is a good starting point!
The rear suspension can collapse over time leaving the front sticking up in the air. If the car is nose up it will literally start lifting the front off the ground making the steering go light which will give you these sort of vague and bouncy symptoms. Any hint of headwind or sidewind and it'll be worse.
A quick and dirty way to get a basic idea of the cars attitude is to get a digital spirit level and put it up against the longitudinal chassis runners under the car...see attached. Negative towards the front is a good starting point!
05-24-2010, 09:47 PM
#109
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Thread Starter
oze172, very good point, as I feel the steering is too light when I get wide open throttle. Also I always thought the back was sagging a bit. I am gonna get a reading on a digital level and report.
Can a couple of you guys tell what are your digital level read ? that would help to check it against.
Can a couple of you guys tell what are your digital level read ? that would help to check it against.
05-25-2010, 04:25 AM
#110
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If you already suspect the rears dropped it's probably best to go straight to ride heights. They will have settled so the important point is whether the difference front to rear has been maintained.
My ride heights were 140mm ( dropped 8mm) front and 135mm ( dropped 28mm!) rear which was a brch to drive and much the same as you're experiencing. After fitting KWv3 struts my heights are now 106mm front and 123mm rear and the car behaves beautifully
Credit for the pictures to Loren @ Renntech.
My ride heights were 140mm ( dropped 8mm) front and 135mm ( dropped 28mm!) rear which was a brch to drive and much the same as you're experiencing. After fitting KWv3 struts my heights are now 106mm front and 123mm rear and the car behaves beautifully
Credit for the pictures to Loren @ Renntech.
05-25-2010, 06:28 PM
#111
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Thread Starter
Ok so now to add to the confusion...
How do i know which suspension I have ? usa standard, row standard, row sport ?
When I purchased the car nothing was mention about suspension upgrades so I assume I have the base usa standard, but if that is so... my measurement are way too low, by the way I have 18" inch rims.
Looking at my pics you will see that I measured
rear +- 145mm
front +- 145mm
This doesn't really fit anything standard but at least it seems to show a big sagging in the back as all specs show the rear should be higher than the front. But in my case both measurement are the same so the car is pretty much flat. The two last pics show indeed the car is flat on the ground. Garage floor is -0.8 and car is also -0.8 (level arrow on the other side as the level is upside down).
How to correct this then ? is it the springs ? or the shocks have to go ? I wanted to go pss10, but it is pricey and wifey is gonna have a fit
How do i know which suspension I have ? usa standard, row standard, row sport ?
When I purchased the car nothing was mention about suspension upgrades so I assume I have the base usa standard, but if that is so... my measurement are way too low, by the way I have 18" inch rims.
Looking at my pics you will see that I measured
rear +- 145mm
front +- 145mm
This doesn't really fit anything standard but at least it seems to show a big sagging in the back as all specs show the rear should be higher than the front. But in my case both measurement are the same so the car is pretty much flat. The two last pics show indeed the car is flat on the ground. Garage floor is -0.8 and car is also -0.8 (level arrow on the other side as the level is upside down).
How to correct this then ? is it the springs ? or the shocks have to go ? I wanted to go pss10, but it is pricey and wifey is gonna have a fit
05-25-2010, 06:52 PM
#112
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OK............how about measuring the other way. What is the measure from the garage floor to the underside of the front fender taken at the center of the wheel arch?
With the X74 I have 25". Prior to the X74 I had 26 3/4" or 40mm taller with 18" wheels and STD US suspension. You can figure the numbers from there.........
With the X74 I have 25". Prior to the X74 I had 26 3/4" or 40mm taller with 18" wheels and STD US suspension. You can figure the numbers from there.........
06-10-2010, 01:27 PM
#113
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Thread Starter
After all the pain looking everywhere for the reason behind my steering wheel shake, I finally found the solution!
Even though my car was aligned last month while I was trying to solve my steering wheel shake. I figured I should probably try another alignment... just in case the first guy did not know what he was doing. So I went looking for a new shop with the proper equipment. I found a shop with a good Hunter alignment machine and decided to give a try.
This time I stayed at the shop looking at every single move of the mechanic, just to make sure it all made sense and readings were correct. I did not want to go do a third alignment !
..and.. bingo ! no more steering shake !!!!!!!!!
Man, after all, it was just a job poorly done since the beginning !
Anyways see attached the values, before and after. you can see some values seriously wrong in there so I assume they are the culprit of my steering shake.
Even though my car was aligned last month while I was trying to solve my steering wheel shake. I figured I should probably try another alignment... just in case the first guy did not know what he was doing. So I went looking for a new shop with the proper equipment. I found a shop with a good Hunter alignment machine and decided to give a try.
This time I stayed at the shop looking at every single move of the mechanic, just to make sure it all made sense and readings were correct. I did not want to go do a third alignment !
..and.. bingo ! no more steering shake !!!!!!!!!
Man, after all, it was just a job poorly done since the beginning !
Anyways see attached the values, before and after. you can see some values seriously wrong in there so I assume they are the culprit of my steering shake.
06-11-2010, 11:47 AM
#119
The 986, 996, etc, use bolts and the locking bolt can be positioned anywhere, although it looks better to be opposite a valve.
06-11-2010, 05:34 PM
#120
Three Wheelin'
Glad it appears to be sorted but you are still going to want to upgrade your stock suspension. The US stock stuff in particular is mushy and the ride height is embarrasing.
You don't need PSS10. The PSS9 stuff is plenty good. Parts new will cost about $2K, parts used will be $1K, assuming you can find some. Installation is a breeze, you can do it yourself. Yes, you'll need another alignment but that's the cost of happiness.
I've been doing this for some time Philoo and you have reached the point that all of us reach eventually....yes it's time to stop telling the wife what you are doing and how much it is costing. Trust me, you and yor wife will be happier for it.
I rationalize it this way:
I love my wife, and I know that it upsets here when I tell her how much money I spend on my car.
So why on *earth* would I intentionally upset the woman I love? Am I some kind of monster? No I'm not. She doesn't want to know these things.
I sleep well at night.
You don't need PSS10. The PSS9 stuff is plenty good. Parts new will cost about $2K, parts used will be $1K, assuming you can find some. Installation is a breeze, you can do it yourself. Yes, you'll need another alignment but that's the cost of happiness.
I've been doing this for some time Philoo and you have reached the point that all of us reach eventually....yes it's time to stop telling the wife what you are doing and how much it is costing. Trust me, you and yor wife will be happier for it.
I rationalize it this way:
I love my wife, and I know that it upsets here when I tell her how much money I spend on my car.
So why on *earth* would I intentionally upset the woman I love? Am I some kind of monster? No I'm not. She doesn't want to know these things.
I sleep well at night.