happyman1001

hi well back again, son car 996 c4 1998, big powersteering oil leak on rack, how easy is to get the rack off, looks like pipes fitted on rack not supply and return to pump, any got a turtoral to get it off cheers
rob

Macster

The rack is probably leaking because a pressure relief valve in a power steering line failed and fed too high an oil pressure to the rack. This forces fluid past the seals which ruins the rack.

The rack has to be replaced.

The power steering line has to be replaced to address the pressure relief valve.

And very likely the power steering pump is ruined because it ran low on power steering fluid.

I've seen a car in for this, and its rack out on the bench but I do not the effort/steps to remove the rack.

There is a web site -- in the UK -- that has downloadable 996 factory manuals. The manuals are not complete but the section on the steering rack replacement might be a good starting point for you.

Sincerely,

Macster.

jasper

I had a leaking rack replaced by an indy early last year. He charged me three hours. I would have done it myself, but it was winter and my shop wasn't built yet.

I looked at it, it was entirely DIY-able, but for three hours labour I let someone else do it. I do know he charged me a few bucks extra because he had to "bust out the PWIS" to centre the steering wheel. If you have PMS, that's critical.

I did not replace any other lines or valves. That was about 10K miles ago - so far so good on the rack not leaking due to over pressure. Thanks for giving me something to worry about Macster.

I also did not replace my pump - even though I ran it dry to the point of moaning not once but twice. It may or may not make more noise now than a brand new pump - hard to tell, I don't notice any noise 96% of the time.

Lastly - new or rebuilt. I bought a new rack for $700 from Pelican. If I had to do it again I think I would buy a rebuilt rack for $300 though...My indy advised against, but I've heard other people say they are fine.

Macster

Not every rack leak is due to a failed pressure relief valve. Sometimes a rack leaks just because a seal's bad. The rack sees plenty of 'high' pressure power steering fluid even if the pressure relief valve is working properly.

It was also appears you dodged a bullet regarding the power steering pump running low on fluid. I'm sure it depends upon how low the fluid level gets and for how long the car is driven in this condition.

Regarding the power steering pump, I've been told sometimes a car comes in that is so bad the techs can hear the car coming from a distance. The owner simply waits too long, drives the car too long, with the noise present until irreparable damage is done.

What I suspect happened in your car's case is the noise was due to of course low fluid, but you were properly attentive and due to the noise dealt with the problem before the pump suffered any damage. Good for you!

(Thankfully I have never had a power steering pump issue, but when I heard what proved to be the early sounds of a bad water pump I didn't delay and in fact didn't even drive the car the 15 miles or so to the dealer, but instead had it flat bedded to the dealer for a water pump R&R.)

As good as place as any to put this: One should develop an audio memory of what his car sounds like under various operating conditions and then note when the sound changes. This can be important.

Abnormal noises are not to be ignored. They often are early warnings of what will turn into a serious problem if ignored.

Sincerely,

Macster.

happyman1001

hi had a look at it today, not the rack thank god, the return pipe had blowen of crimp ring had rotted, also someone had knacked the t50 to get the pipes out of the rack, so dropped the rollbar and fitted new crimp rings in place, do the bolt another day, all sorted thanks for the mail and help of every one
regards
rob