Power steering mystery. Help needed from Porsche Guru's out there :)
 

Hi guys,

My power steering is not working. The car suffered a crash on the right front wheel. We had to replace the front right fender, right headlight wheel and tie-rod.

While replacing the tie-rod we did loosen the steering rack and al the oil was "removed" out of the steering system.

Afterwards we refilled the system with new and fresh Pentosin power steering oil.

The steering-rack has been inspected and is not showing any signs of damage. It turns smoothly without making any noises. It does not have any cracks and does not leak anywhere. (Tested without weight on the front wheels).

Strangely When there is weight on the front wheels I do not get any power-assist to the steering. I checked the steering pump oil reservoir and saw that a little smoke/damp came out of the oil-reservoir when starting the car and turning the steering left to right a few times.

Is there a "special" way to bleed the system properly? Maybe this is causing the problem?

Can it be that the steering rack suffered some strange internal damage? Is there any other way to check that?


NOTE: The steering pump started to leak at the oil pickup point. This is where the black oil canister reservoir connects with the metal power steering pump. We took the power steering pump apart and noticed the the pick up hole had melted shut! I replaced the pump with a new unit but the problem is still there! No power-assist!

My car is a 2002 carrera 4 convertible (3.6 L)

I hope you guys can give us some assistance and help us solve this problem.

I am not sure about Porsche but other cars I would turn the wheel lock to lock a couple of time before starting the car. Check fluid level. Start the cars and turn lock to lock a couple of more times. Check the level and all should be good.

Yep, bleeding it like that should be good. But I think there is somenthing else wrong with the power steering :(

Did you ever get this solved?