Cant turn my wheel to the left without just about riping my arms off. Turns fine to the right though. Thinking power steering rack .
But would like get some opinions before taking to mechanics. And if it is a bad power steering rack should i fix it quickly or can i drive with it for a while safely ?
any such problems in steering mean STOP!!!! do not drive - call a tow truck - get it fixed
When you say "rip my arm off" do you mean it's pulling back to the center?
I if runs in a straight line ok (no pull) then yes, I would say a seal in the rack failed, time for a change asap like flash said.
I couldn't believe it when I saw this topic - since I'm having this exact issue. A remanufactured steering rack was installed in August, and in the last couple of weeks, the "turning left" problem has started. It's only on startup in the morning or after the car has not been used for a good number of hours - so, it seems to be a "cold" issue. Here's what Zims (the source of my rack) just wrote back to me:
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I am sorry you are having a problem with one of our reman steering racks. We very seldom ever have an issue with our reman products.
We have had the same builder for many years. He does a great job for us and he is here local which helps.
I contacted him about this and he said, "It may have something stuck in the rack's spool valve". I noticed that you did not purchase a new filter/canister with the rack. Did you replace it, or at least take it off and clean it out? Porsche only recommends the replacement of it since the filter in the bottom of it is not removable. We at least like to see them flushed out and cleaned. The rest of the system must be flushed out to make sure there is no debris in the system as well. Was this done?
It could also be the spool valve itself or one of the Teflon rings never sealed properly. Did you have a similar problem originally or was it just leaking?
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Next week I'll be able to explore this a bit more.
Zims is shipping a replacement steering rack that will be installed next week - everyone is expecting that this will cure the "can't turn left" problem. They clarified that there is a filter at the bottom of the PS fluid reservoir and that Porsche recommends changing the reservoir whenever the rack is changed. I'll be doing that, and looking carefully at the reservoir. Stand by for further progress posts.
Problem solved . Replaced power steering rack . 780$ for rack . Damn these cars are exspensive !!!
Problem solved. Replaced power steering rack. $259.95 for a reman unit from Zims. (It did have to be replaced, as the first unit was the one causing the hard left problem, so it ended up being not quite the bargain it sounds like, but still quite a bit less than the new unit.)
I'm sad to report that the "hard turning left" problem is no longer resolved - it has returned, worse than before. Could anything other than the steering rack be the cause?