Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Hi all,

crawled under today to investigate loss of PAS fluid hoping to find a hose clip/banjo that needed nipping up but sadly found the drips were coming from the steering bellows.

Concluded id pull the rack and get hold of a recon unit which leads to 2 questions:

Q1
Rack is free but struggling to loosen the hose that fits to the top of the rack (return I think) that seems to have some strange banjo fitting with a 5mm hex screw (ie needs an allen key to undo) rather than a standard hex nut banjo.

Space is pretty tight under there and i couldn't loosen it with my 1/4 drive ratchet but i wasnt trying too hard for fear of snapping something.

Any tips on this?

Q2
So where to go for a recon rack then. Looks like Euro car parts have REMY rack for about £400, whereas Design 911 and Porscheshop are asking £500 (not sure on brand).

So any recommendations?

Supplementary question - what do you get with a recon rack -is it inc belows, track rod ends or do I need to buy a pile of other bit to finish the job?

Many thanks

Hmmmm,

Western Power Steering appear to do them for £275.

Anyone used them?

Yes, used them a few years ago for my first 944. Very pleased with the result and the 2 year warranty on the work.

Called Western and they have exchange units in stock so I'll give them a go.

Anyone have any advice on the hex key banjo fitting?

Ian,
I have done this job but i can't remember the hex key banjo fitting you are referring to, I think mine were bolts. Have you read the write up on the Clark garage website?

Thanks Mick.

Yes, I have read Clarke's and is says there are both types of fitting and you are unlucky if you have the hex key type!

Just in case anyone is interested in the future, I finally got this sorted a couple of weeks back.

I got the exchange rack from Western and all was well until I stripped the thread on the high pressure line banjo where it enters the body of the rack. This was due to me having the wrong sealing washer and over tightening to try and seal it (doh!).

Anyway, I called Western and they asked me to send the new rack back to them with my old one and they would see what they could do.

To cut a long story short, they swapped the good housing from my old rack over to the refurbed one and retested/sealed so I have their warranty and charged me a little extra for that along with the extra postage etc (£60 total) and I then had a good rack.

They only supply the rack "core" so you have to transfer the track rods from your old rack (and bellows etc, but I bought new ones) and fitted new rod ends whilst I was at it.

All fitted and working - in addition to curing the leak, I also don't have that groaning noise when doing 3 point turns that I've had ever since I bought the car.

So, full marks to Western for sorting my problem and not charging the earth for the privilege - i'd recommend them to anyone else.

It is a fiddly job and a right PITA when you have to do it twice because of a 50p sealing washer (and my impatience) and I wont miss getting covered in ATF fluid again - but its done now.

I did all the ARB bushes (OEM rubber) whilst under there so that,s another job sorted.