steering rack

[70SC]

My steering pulls to the right slightly. iwas told that i need to replace the steering rack . Does this make sense? The chassis has 150k miles on it .No accidents. Could it be that i need to change out my tie rods to the turbo tie rods? Or do the racks just fail with age ?

[70SC]

Since i'm new on peli , i thought i should post a pic of my toy So Much fun in the canyons with the top off !!!!

[GH85Carrera]

I would suspect almost every other part of the front suspension before the rack. Alignment is the usual suspect for a pull to one side.

[na2ub]

Who told you that? Pulling to one side could be caused by several things, the most obvious being alignment. Your rack should be fine, as long as you don't have excessive slop in the steering and nothing goes "clunk" as you turn the wheel. Even these last two symtoms often have nothing to do with the rack, and are more indicitive of tie rods / ball joints / shock issues.

Easy things:
Make sure one of your front brakes is not dragging (both wheels should have the same warm feel after driving for a while). Both wheels should rotate freely when the front of the car is jacked up off the ground.
Check your front tires for abnormal wear (one edge worn, etc.) This could indicate an alignment issue. Also check both front tire pressures to make sure they are the same. +/- a pound or two.
Check that both your front tires are the same brand, size, and have the same amount of tread wear.
Check that the front ride height is adjusted to the same height, left an right. Measure at from the ground to the fender lip.

[70SC]

The allignment shop that replaced my swing plate bushings, told me that i probably need a new steering rack.The allignment came out perfect :confused :!!??The A arms look good no dings, dents, or damage .I guess i need to take it to TRE . I think the problem lies with a mechanic that says he does lots of P-cars , But doesn't specalize in porsche. Jack of all brands Master of none !!! If anybody has any ideas please let me know . Thanks PS When up in the air , steering also pulls to the right ?

[RWebb]

you've got the best idea already - TRE

[euro911sc]

Racks do not fail very often. Slight pulling could be a dragging caliper as well as all the stuff mentioned above... TRE is probably going to be more $$, but at least you know with absolute certainty they know what they are doing and have high integrity. Which, in my book is worth quite a few $'s.

-Michael

[Flat Six]

Originally Posted by 70SC

I think the problem lies with a mechanic that says he does lots of P-cars , But doesn't specalize in porsche. Jack of all brands Master of none !!!

. . . which shop you're referring to. I'm in Conejo Valley and looking for recommendations for a local shop or two that I can trust -- and which to stay away from.

Either thread reply or PM appreciated (not looking to bash anyone, just seeking recommendations).

Thanks in advance for the feedback.

Dale

[burgermeister]

Racks do get dried out inside and then turn the steering stick or loose. But that's different from a "pull". And the racks can usually be rebuilt for maybe $20 in parts (see Tim Hancocks post on rack rebuilding).

[Walt Fricke]

I'm not sure how this would relate to a pull, especially on a car with a recent and "perfect" alignment, but the inner tie rod connection is a kind of half U joint with two rubber bushings. I've seen the bushings fail. But that just leaves the steering on that side sort of loose. You might not notice it as much as you'd think because the caster sort of keeps the tire straight.

Easy to check for. Jack up the front and see if there is looseness between rack and each front wheel. Most of us opt to replace the stock tie rod setup with the "Turbo" tie rod parts, which mainly are a ball joint for the inner end at the rack. That is a worthwhile modification just about no matter what - better mousetrap and doesn't mess up ride comfort.

When I bought my used gray market '77 in '84 I eventually found that I had problems with those bushings on one side. More to the point, the setup was at 90 degrees to where it is supposed to be in terms of joint motion. No wonder the bushings had a hard time. But I'd not expect something bizarre like that to happen with any frequency.

Walt

[barndoor]

"Racks" in 911s can also break,if the car hits a curb or similar impact.

[70SC]

Thanks to all of you who posted I'm still trying to get it figured out , but the car drives great What can you say for a canyon runner

[70SC]

Barndoor ,Please do tell more about damage from curb hit . That is what the mech said could have happened .

[Walt Fricke]

Well, I've got a broken rack. Not really the rack, but the cast aluminum housing. But that was from a car which smacked a wall spinning sideways at 70 or 80 mph in a race. Smack on the end which hit first, slap on the other end as it hit. Broke the transmission free or almost free of the motor, bent the rear chassis parts which hold the rear of the engine, so the engine almost fell out. Nasty. Glad it wasn't me.

The rack proper is steel, with teeth cut into it. I could see that maybe bending (I forget if the one I have from that wreck is bent or not). Not breaking, though. Curb strikes sound more like damaged rims and toe getting knocked out and such. Maybe even tweaking the front tub.

[euro911sc]

Originally Posted by 70SC

Thanks to all of you who posted I'm still trying to get it figured out , but the car drives great What can you say for a canyon runner

Does it pull only on braking? Or Cruising straight? or Under Power?

-Michael

[Danimal16]

I am out in Moorpark and just did a rack rebuild in my 71. The only part about doing this is getting the rack out, which if you have the tools (such as a rack) it is straight forward. Rebuilding is very easy, but you have to pay attention. Tim Hancock's thread and the sections from the Porsche Shop Manual make it straight forward.

[70SC]

It pulls coasting , it pulls under power . But it doesn't pull any more or less when i brake. It's not really that bad just a minor pull

[Head416]

Dude... you're like 10 miles away from TRE, one of the most highly trusted and recommended Porsche shops in the country.

Maybe your mechanic is dead on, but why even take the chance?