Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Hi, my 944 was diagnosed with suspect warn steering shaft uj. I got my old shaft off today and it seem fine, I can't find any play at all. Where else could it be coming from? There felt like some slack in the steering m, hence the diagnosis.

Trackrod ends, rack itself.
I replaced the shaft after same comment at CoG but it seemed fine when I got it off, can't say I noticed it myself or any difference when new shaft went in. Have a look at the wishbone bushes as well.

Changing the track Rod ends and all the wishbone bushes. Suppose if that's all new must be the rack. Is that something diy repairable? The question is if the shaft feels fine, should I still replace it?

You won't be able to put enough load through it by yourself

Needs to be on a ramp with the cars weight on the wheels to find slight slack

That would seem logical, do you know if I can just replace the UJ's, used to do that with my old range rover drive shafts.. a much cheaper option!

FWIW, my 968 had a bit of play at the steering wheel rim when I bought her, which could be felt with a hand on the the shaft's universal joints whilst it was installed in the car. With the old shaft removed from the car however, both joints felt fine - If the old shaft had been supplied as a used part, you'd almost say it was OK until it was fitted.

Michael

It does thanks, I have ordered a new shaft, seems daft not to replace it after doing all the work

I had the same issue with my S2. I used to get a clunk through the steering wheel when turning at low speeds. I couldn't feel any play in the shaft by hand when I got it off, but when I replaced it, that definitely resolved it.

JMG do an uprated one on an exchange basis. On right hand drive cars, the shaft runs close to the exhaust manifold and the excess heat speeds up the wear on them. The uprated ones take this into account and so last longer.

The splines are on a D shaped shaft, rather than a round O shape, which means lining them up properly is essential.

Cheers,
Bryan

I rebuild them for the guys on the 968 forum

+1 for the JMG shaft..

only one size and type of UJ available to replace the worn ones, two cost about 25 quid trade

This is all quite useful as I think I have a steering related issue on my S2.
When undulging in a bit of spirited driving and turning left there is an audible clunk and at the same time notchy feedback through the steering wheel.
My first thought was knackered bushes or badly worn wheel bearings but the car sailed through the MOT with no advisories not the day before. The symptoms only appear when turning left and pushing on a bit, the rest of the time it is fine.

Any ideas?

Might be worthwhile checking the power steering belt is tight?
If it slips slightly under load and then grips again that could give a notchy feel, although it wouldn't explain why its only on left turns.

Might also be worth checking your engine mounts, I know that when the drivers side one fails (on 968s), it brings the manifold very close the the steering shaft.

I also had play in my S2 steering, some time back. It was the bulkhead UJ that had to be re-tightened...

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll check them both out tomorrow.
I looked into the exchange rack from JMG just in case & they are out of stock