btw, thats exactly my situation, since the cracking/crunching is ever so slight. were it not for the "drops" of what i'm assuming is in fact now pentosin, coming from the steering rack area, i wouldn't have even suspected steering rack. i initially believed there to be grease inside the cv boots that if damaged might cause them to leak.. but this is a small puddle! under the pass side front.

but i've checked the levels both cold/hot they are seemingly ok, and have my trusty can of chs11 ready to go, and i'm gonna gently fwy drive it toward proper "help". we shall see. i could live with just the refurb steering rack for 500+/- even if there's that 350 core charge!

hope it does at least comes with new boots and the clamps/grease etc.

you guys have all been great with info/advice ( except mr bot! ) and i genuinely appreciate the help. seems you're all on point. love this place. thanks.

 

I have had good results with rebuilt racks.Usually the steering rack is a pain to replace but don't know about the 996tt. On my beater 944 I used stop leak for three years and it worked but definitely not the best way to go.

 

when a new one is 1500?? and a refurb w warranty is 500? that ends that discussion lol

 

The steering rack on my mother's Subaru was leaking about 6 years ago and the PS reservoir was very low. I added some PS fluid with a stop leak seal sweller additive. It stopped the leak, cost under $7 and took less than 2 minutes.

If it were me, I'd carefully use a pressure washer at a DIY car wash and clean the rack as good as possible. Then inspect it after lifting the front end a bit. After finding the source of the leak decide what to do. It could be a simple hose connection or something other then needing a complete new rack. GL

 

just returned from the bowels of la to look see, and found no leak, nothing. all steering stuff looked as it should. drove back to malibu and up a 17 punishing twisting mile road to push the car near limit and try and see if i could replicate or better yet, worsen the sound that began my odyssey. geez, these cars can happily take a daily beating. so rode hard put away wet, and all i've been advised to do per my seriously competent tech/mech buddy is to r&r the top mounts 996-343-016-04-M100

can anyone offer an option and reason for other than oem replacement at 245 ea? are there fancy tarret or some other aftermarekt top mount i should consider?

i'll keep checkin for a leak again, but i may embarrassingly have discovered some condensation early this AM, and since i'm in freakout mode, of course believed it to be fluid. which it could well still be! just visually NOTHING is leaking under and the boots are also AOK. so, ( for now ) top mounts it is. plus a plan to finally pull the front diff! been lazy on that one.

add: anyone know who makes aftermarket top mounts i can't find them at rss or tarret. or does it matter.

 

maybe these?
https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...ut-mounts.html

 

Check again the Tarett Engineering site 996/997 Monoballs and Bushings.

 

http://www.tarett.com/items/996-997-...smt-detail.htm

 

Good Catch Steve.. will enquire. Thanks

 

Thx guys. Didn't realize the monos are a drop in replacement for OEM.

is this same as the rss RSS UPPER MONOBALL HAT KITS ? and the thrust bushing kits. i would do those also if i felt it wouldn't mean the labor went up exponentially.
esp since now i'm inclined to believe nearly everyone who has sound top mounts might be the first item to replace. but those can be done a cpl hours.
can't get at the thrust bushings and that bearing plate etc unless all the bits come out. not doing that unless necessary.... gonna start with the mounts. wish i had more info on that evo set above.

 

if you change the mounts and don't change the thrust bearings, you should be slapped! those things suck, and should be replaced any time it's convenient, especially given their low cost.

 

Keep it simple. For a street car running street tires, I'd swap out new OEM mounts and thrust bearings and call it a day.

As much as I like Tarett stuff, I don't like the design of their AWD upper mounts as it places the center of the monoball below the mounting plate which effectively raises the ride height of the car by about 1" compared to the JRZs. If you have coil overs, you can lower the spring perch to get the desired ride height but you are effectively taking away from available shock travel by doing that. The Evos are better in that respect as the monoball is mounted higher up. The best mounts are JRZ which place the monoball in the center of the mounting plate. Just my $0.02...

 

well, there's a great deal today on the evo mounts, and the torque solutions adjustable thrust bushings set looks good. though looks dont much matter. i don't know how labor intensive replacing the thrust bushings are, and if its top mounts only, i can get in/out with nothing other that a cpl hours and a floor jack..and keep my current alignment if i am careful.

am i correct that r&r the thrust bushings means all bits need to come out? or are they accessible just being under the car. then i start thinking of the lca's and whether they too are "due". ... it never ends...

the evos come with a camber plate. is it a direct drop in replacement? if anyone knows...? thx. gonna try and do only what is needed and not get slapped lol

in addition to possibly the EVO mounts, these look like they'd do? http://www.evoms.com/porsche_996_996.../ts-00-001.htm
anyone tried them?? thanks

 

will these do? anyone?

( thx again steve..)

 

I always replace complete suspension on higher miles cars that I own as its easier done once. I agree with pwdrhound as far as keeping mainly stock unless you do a lot of track use. There are 100s of opinions and choices that go deeper into your pocket but unless your on a track and counting seconds the difference wont be missed.