Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Hi all,

It's become quite obvious that my engine mounts on the 944 are knackered (ie shakey at idle, noise to 1500 rpm, sounds like the engine is bolted directly to the chassis)....

Would this affect steering? My manual rack is harder to turn right than left!

If not, any ideas!? Changing motor mounts this week (DIY) - hopefully Thursday at some point.

Will

Yes it will, on two counts. One the engine can rest on the steering column if the mounts are totally knackered. Two the heat from the manifold cooks the top steering column U/J which makes it stiffer.

Ah, now that makes sense! Do you think it'd affect steering wheel angle? We're probably at 20 degrees "wonk" at the moment to the left, though it is an aftermarket wheel so it might just be stuck on wrongly...

I must admit, that was what I thought (but it's easy to make ridiculous conclusions when you don't know the cars!).

I've got a 10 mile drive home today and then it's probably sensible to just park it up and leave it until I can sort it out. Makes me wonder why the previous owner didn't sort it out, it's not exactly subtle...

Will

Nope that is down to the monkey who changed the steering wheel.

Be aware non-Powered 944s have incredibly heavy steering, yours will be worse because of the nonstandard wheels & tyres. I drove a 944 with PAS before I bought mine & couldn't believe how heavy it was. I'm no weakling but I couldn't live with it.
Fitting PAS is not a quick job because the PAS brackets you need are actually part of the crankcase. It can be retrofitted by changing the bracket but it is all the belts off.

Thanks for the help - In that case I'll fit the steering wheel rightly. It's a Barchetta steering wheel with red trim (in case anyone wants it, it's for sale! - PM me) - It's not my style!

I've got Cup 1 wheels with the tyres to match, so I was expecting heavy but no uneven resistance if that makes sense.

Over the next few months I'll replace all the suspension rubbers before I lose interest anyway - I hope that the new mountings will help.

Don't want to fit PAS - It's just more to go wrong, and I bought this car for the relative (!) simplicity having wrenched on E46 BMW's and CLK's which are computers on wheels with awkward engines.

Will

IMO there is no much to go wrong with PAS in most cases, even manual racks can go .

I'd agree with TR7V8. A friend of mine used to wonder why most cars did not come with PAS, commenting about how light the cars were he had driven with it. One day I gave him the keys to my 951. How I laughed when he moaned (our Dolomite Sprints with no PAS were lighter if I am honest; the lack of caster, smaller wheels and other things regarding unsprung weight probably did not help matters!). My S2 was not alot better and that was on wider wheels up front.

Ha ha fair enough, it sounds like the relative heaviness is here to stay!

The only issue is that I have a girlfriend who is used to driving a featherlight steering C250 coupe (i can steer it with a fingernail...) - Would moving to cookie cutters make a big difference compared to the 17" Cup 1's?

I prefer the look myself (with cookie cutters), not a big fan of modernising 80's cars - it just looks out of place. Same thing with the flashy radio in 80's surroundings! Might make a few quid back whilst I'm doing it!

Will