[Ryan]

Kim....I can't see what would be wrong with the bolts going through the cross member with nuts on the back instead of the threaded section in the cross member. The torque is only like 17 ft lbs on those if I remember correctly. Save your money.

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[Kim]

ING Direct - I like it! I might do that, especially if I can't get a steering shaft.

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[Kim]

so. I got a used shaft from Oklahoma Foreign. Porsche in Halifax tells me it is no good because it is "seized". I would have assumed that the u-joints could have been loosened up a bit by something. Although I feel certain that the loose rack was the problem, they also won't align the car to straighten the wheel since the steering shaft is not being replaced. I am getting the feeling that I am really being just told to go away. They have done nothing to help.



Any thoughts? the shaft seems to me to be wiggle-free although the fittings on the end are rather stiff.

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[tamathumper]

Is this the same shop that did the original alignments and told you it was the struts?

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[bombfactory]

On the used steering shaft I got from OK Foreign, both sets of u-joints moved freely. Unfortunately I'm not sure what is 'correct' for the u-joints - completely smooth, free play or some resistence.



Is your original one obviously shot? How does it compare to the one from OK Foreign? In my case, the lower u-joint was making loud creaking noises when the wheel was turned with the car stationary.

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[Ryan]

You could look around for a shop that rebuilds U-joints such as in drive shafts. I have a mower that had a bad pto shaft and found a shop that rebuilds them. Mine turned out to be a very unusual spline set up and I had to find a new unit though. It may be worth a shot since these shafts dont rotate at speed like a drive-shaft it should be easy for them.

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[tamathumper]

I was thinking the same thing, although critical this shaft ain't doing much in the way of engineering marvels.

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[Kim]

I cleaned the areas arround each joint tonight with a bit of penetrating oil. All the stiffness and all the "scratchiness" went away. Each of the four joints moves with no restriction and absolutely no side to side twisting. Just I would have thought that a new one should work. So I am going to find a shop to install this for me. Supposedly, the one in the car twists side to side, giving it some looseness and play.

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[tamathumper]

Nice going. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.png" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[bombfactory]

While replacing my steering shaft I discovered (the hard way of course) that you cannot get both ends on without dropping the rack down an inch or two. My advice would be to get the upper end - up on the firewall - attached (not easy - not much room for hands and tools at all), connect the lower end to the rack, THEN bolt the rack in place. Good luck!



Another tip: the pinch bolts at the ends of the steering shaft must be removed completely before installation or removal of the shaft. The bolts fit into grooves in the splined spindles - a safety feature no doubt.

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[Kim]

no chance that i will do that myself.

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[Kim]

Well the adventure continues.



Cleaned up the "new" steering shaft as noted a few posts earlier. Brought the car back to have the shaft installed. Shaft, after installation, resulted in sterring wheel "upside down" (ie 6 o'clock position). was asked if this was OK. Guess my answer. Old shaft put back on. Now siezed at one end and turns hard. Installed about 30 degrees off centre (was at about 11:30 o'clock, now at 2 o'clock position). Progress is slow. Clock spring on steering wheel now broken and turning the wheel sounds like opening a rusty gate. And airbag light now on. And this was acceptable to dealer on the bais that "my" part was the wrong part. Car now at office and can't really drive it home. Waiting on new shaft, new parts for around wheel. And I need a new life!

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[tamathumper]

Do I smell a letter to PCNA coming up?

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[AJG]

I've started a thread called "Shock isolated steering column" in Raising my 968. It will hopefully deal with a lot of issues touched on here. For example being able to remove said column without dropping the rack! And knuckle wear issues will be addressed as well. Any other points requiring addressing please shout out.

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[mbardeen]

I'm sorry Kim, but I think you're getting the run-around from the dealer. If the part is from another 968, it should fit. It seems like they're just minimizing their time and trying to maximize their profit.



Are there no good mechanics other than the dealer in your area?

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[Kim]

Car back today. Used steering shaft from 9-Apart, new parts on steering wheel, new airbag connector thing on wheel, I turned out the airbag light, slicker than the snot on a rooster's lip.

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[tamathumper]

Slicker 'n deer guts on a doorhandle?

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[bombfactory]

Kim - when I replaced my rack with a rebuilt one from AutoZone, I'm pretty sure I received a 944 rack. While it fit just fine, and the steering ratio is identical, once I had gotten the shaft all hooked up on both ends, my steering wheel was 180˚ off - up-side-down - just like yours was.



The problem is not the shaft. Remember each end of the shaft can be installed in only one position on the splines, because there is a groove that the pinch-bolt has to sit in or it won't go through at all. What I think might have happened - in my case anyway - is that either 944 racks have the groove in the splined shaft coming out of the steering gear positioned 180˚ off from a 968 rack, or that during the rebuild process that part was installed 180˚ off from where it should have been. In either case, this causes the shaft, and consequently the steering wheel, to also be 180˚ off.



My solution was to simply pop the steering wheel off, turn it right side up, and put it back on. (Rather shocked the dealer couldn't figure that out - well, maybe not so shocked if they asked you if up-side-down was ok!)



And that's when I broke my little turn signal canceler thingy, continuing the trend of "every thing I fix on this car creates something else I need to fix"!

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[Kim]

rack was not replaced. Only the shaft. And they tried the 180 degree shift, which is what broke all the parts. Does that make us "brothers from another mother?"

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[AJG]

I've read right thru all this topic and it makes me want to go down to my garage and just kiss their arses for being so good with my car. Not meaning to rub it in Kim but honestly get to a specialist garage where some of the guys have worked on 928;s 944's and 968's of course over a lot of years, so what if you have to travel a bit to acheive this, better than that than the numpties you're dealing with now. Main dealers are by and large a waste of time with our babies.

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