A power steering mystery is solved
I’m not a wimp, but neither do I have arms like Popeye! Trying to steer the 944 with non-functioning power steering has not been easy, and when it came to low speed manoeuvres such as parking, I was all but unequal to the struggle. Unlike a manual steering rack which is obviously designed as such, on a powered rack the fluid not only has to be pushed through the steering rack, it also has to pass through the various pipes and the recalcitrant pump. That’s quite a journey, and quite a task to perform manually.
Well, the good news is that the power steering is now fully operational thanks to a reconditioned pump courtesy of Porsche Spares, and the 944 is once more a joy to steer. To be fair it’s not a very difficult item to change, but this is a job that has the potential to be very messy. To access the pump, the undertray has to be detached, along with the black plastic front apron. Unfortunately, there were a couple of bolts on the front apron that simply wouldn’t budge, but the undertray came off easily. Fortunately, even with the apron attached, there was enough room for me to work.
With the undertray detached, and whilst I busied myself with the pump, my good friend Nick, who was helping me out, detached the old fluid reservoir and fitted the new one. He had a cloth handy to catch the fluid and the swap went easily. Sensibly he’d previously clamped the flow and return lines with brake line clamps. This meant that when I separated them at the pump end, not much fluid escaped, therefore keeping things reasonably clean. Even so, I gave everything a thorough dousing with brake cleaner. It’s always nicer (and easier to see what you are doing) if all of the components are clean.
Next, it was off with the pump. To remove the pump it is first necessary to remove the drive belt. This is facilitated by slackening the tensioner, or turnbuckle in Porsche speak. Having removed the belt and detached the tensioner, I could focus on the pump. It’s held by two bolts which pass through two spacers. Access to the furthermost bolt is a little fiddly, but with a bit of jiggery-pokery the pump soon comes free.
The drive pulley is next, which has to be transferred to the new pump. To do this, I moved to my workbench and placed the new and the old pumps side by side. To my horror, and before I tackled the pulley, we noticed that the shaft on the old pump appeared to be approximately one inch longer than the one on the new pump. Thankfully, however, when I grabbed the pulley the complete shaft came free. In doing so, I had unwittingly discovered why the shaft appeared longer, and why the power steering had ceased to function.
To put it simply, the shaft, which is splined at its innermost end, had become disengaged from the internal gear, thus stopping the circulation of the fluid. And the reason the shaft had become disengaged was due to the absence of a snap
ring to keep it in place. In fact, upon stripping the pump, no evidence was found of a snap ring ever having been fitted. There was no trace of any metal debris, no damage, and the spline and the internal gear were in perfect condition. I can only assume that the pump left the factory minus the snap ring and it was the lateral tension of the drive belt that stopped the pulley and the shaft from making a bid for freedom! Heaven alone knows what damage could have ensued had this occurred. The old pump will be rebuilt (with new seals and a snap ring), as it looks to be in excellent condition.
I’m also working my way through a list of other jobs that need to be tackled on the 944, one of which was to repair the armrest. Whilst leaning on the armrest recently and reaching across to open the glovebox, the armrest lid broke away. Repair kits are available, but at a cost of around £70 including postage.
I decided to see if I could do something rather more cost effective. The repair came in the form of a piano hinge kindly donated to me by another good friend, Glyn Jones. This was cut to the correct length, and I also drilled four holes in one half of the hinge. This was in order for the lid to align correctly and shut properly. Then I sprayed the hinge black and lined the armrest tray with a piece of carpet. The carpet is to stop coins, keys and such like sliding about. Even if I say so myself, I’m quite chuffed with how the repair has turned out.
My next jobs are to see if I can get the central locking working, to replace the oil filter heat shield, and to do an oil and filter change. I also need to get out and about in the Davrian and see if my work on the steering has improved things.