Pressures seem/look fine. And i never lose much air. 50+ deg

Driving home tonight. All seemed well on the highway. All seemed well off the highway. Then, on some twisties, did i feel a looseness? Was it just gravel? Steering felt somehow less connected. Did the car move perceptibly? Can't be sure.

Got home and checked all 4 wheels. None moved (on the ground). When i *really* shook the fronts, i got some chassis shift side to side (not wheel on ball joint or TRE - more like - well, subframe or rack...?) and some kind of noise down in the front. If it was different, more to the RF side.

jacked it up, did not detect any rock in the RF wheel - so no TRE/Ball Joint etc. likely.
Couldn't really rock the car since its on a floor jack.

Any advice on culprits that are known to loosen/wear?

Or am i imagining things?

TIA

Grant

How cold is it where you are? Keep in mind anything from about 45 on down is going to make the car less predictable.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 10/25/2011 07:28PM by Laz. (view changes)

And anyway, i've driven these in 20 deg weather. They get hard, not squishy. Act like normal tires, really.
Would have noticed that kind of thing on the highway.

I just had the wheel off. I cant see or feel anything loose. Rack seems fine. Didn't lever the CAs but i tried to rock the hub from the caliper and the top of the strut and its seemed OK.

Will try to give it another push tomorrow and maybe do a couple hard turns in the church parking lot.

After tomorrow i'm not doing much, having shoulder surgery thurs....

Grant

Checked both RF and LF with wheels off - nothing apparently loose in either L or right suspension. Even used a pry bar on the right.

Couldn't really force the rack / subframe mount with the car on a floor jack. But that would be unlikely.

I did drive down to the library to get some DVDs. En route i, pretty violently, swung the car back and forth (swerved).

Left it was smooth. Right - about at the end where i jerked it back, i felt a coarseness *through my gas pedal foot*.

Thinking rack stuff. Need to open up and check fluid/etc. Or maybe, again, its nothing. So i'm looking not for speculation, but any BTDT that correlates.

TIA again!

Grant

2 oz low on power steering fluid. I have not done enough driving to be sure, but that seems to have done the trick. Fluid was not visible on dipstick. I also could not see it in reservoir. note, i probably put 1-3oz in and i was just a little over-full, so the reservoir is very sensitive.

For the record, no visible leaks.

Grant

I once picked up on the odor of a dime-sized spot of engine oil on the exhaust manifold of my Honda.

Minus 40 degrees... Is that Fahrenheit or Celsius?

Minus 40 degrees... Is that Fahrenheit or Celsius?

valve in steering line fails and the rack sees full power steering pump pressure. The seals leak and the fluid gathers in the rack boots. Saw a rack on the work bench the other day and there was a bit of wetness at the boot but when the tech tried to remove the boot it popped off from some pressure and a glop of power steering fluid followed.

The line and the rack requires replacing.

Check the power steering rack boots. Be careful. If I'm right if you squeeze them or mess with them and one's got fluid behind it you might get a face full of power steering fluid.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

I had my share of 986 power steering issues over the years. Until you get under the car and maybe even remove an underbody panel or two, you may not see where that small sort of loss has gone. It can drip down and stick to the upper surface of the panel, or just stick to whatever surface it drips down across; or small spaces on top of the engine beneath the PS pump. It's very sticky fluid so it may never make it to the ground, but just accumulate dirt and road grime on a surface. There are multiple connections, front and rear, that can develop leaks.

Also, at only 2-3 oz. of loss, I don't know that you would feel any difference whatsoever. Unless the fluid is so low that the system groans, it's probably "enough" to work correctly.

as to the fluid - thanks to you and marc for pointers. I will have to look more carefully, but two porsche experts (both listed in Panarama for instance) said "that small amount is normal for tracked cars, pay not attention".

Grant