Power steering troubleshooting help

[Chuck H]

I purchased my 2002 Boxster almost two years ago. It had been in an accident, and the PO had bought it with the intention of fixing it, but never finished. I am done with nearly everything, with the power steering the last fix needed.

It has never worked. The car smoked for the first few months, evidently burning off some leaked PS fluid from the top of the engine. I knew that the pump, being dry, was most likely bad, so I got a used pump to replace it. When I removed the pump and took off the lower reservoir I noticed that the intake connection hole to the pump was melted and fused closed.



So this was obviously the source of my leak. I ordered a used lower tank to replace the melted one. With everything installed, I refilled with Pentosin and started the engine. Immediately, the pump began making a loud noise. I thought that maybe the fluid was not circulating so I turned the wheels left and right in an effort to bleed the system. I did this a few times, letting the engine run 10-15 seconds at most each time. The pump got a little hot, and I figure that this is what happened to the last pump/reservoir.

I disconnected the lines below the drivers seat to see what if anything would come out. Supply line: brownish fluid from pump side and then eventually my blue/green pentosin, nothing from rack side. Return line, brownish fluid from rack side and blue/green Pentosin from pump side.

So has anyone had the issue of the melted tank? It seems that something is blocking the fluid from entering the rack and circulating back to the pump. Has anyone had that issue? My next option is to remove the rack and attempt to see where any blockage may be. I have the return line off the rack, still working on the supply line. Also, where is the pressure switch and could this be the issue? Or is it a bad rack? Is there any way to flush the rack to troubleshoot where the blockage may be? Any help is appreciated, thanks!

[Dmitry at Pelican Parts]

Hi Chuck...I've attached a link to our Tech articles on the Boxer. Everything is organized into sections and very easy to follow. Hopefully this will help you sort out your power steering issue. If you have anymore questions, feel free to Comment just below the article and someone will help you out. Best of luck!

Porsche Boxster Tech Articles - Porsche Boxster 986/987 (1997-2004) Technical Articles | Pelican Parts

-Dmitry

[Gelbster]

Time for some research on flushing the p/s system ?
Suggest you include 996 in your search.
This link may hlp get you started - look for the Post by Kuehl:
how to flush power steering - Pelican Parts Technical BBS

Originally Posted by Chuck H

I purchased my 2002 Boxster almost two years ago. It had been in an accident, and the PO had bought it with the intention of fixing it, but never finished. I am done with nearly everything, with the power steering the last fix needed.

It has never worked. The car smoked for the first few months, evidently burning off some leaked PS fluid from the top of the engine. I knew that the pump, being dry, was most likely bad, so I got a used pump to replace it. When I removed the pump and took off the lower reservoir I noticed that the intake connection hole to the pump was melted and fused closed.



So this was obviously the source of my leak. I ordered a used lower tank to replace the melted one. With everything installed, I refilled with Pentosin and started the engine. Immediately, the pump began making a loud noise. I thought that maybe the fluid was not circulating so I turned the wheels left and right in an effort to bleed the system. I did this a few times, letting the engine run 10-15 seconds at most each time. The pump got a little hot, and I figure that this is what happened to the last pump/reservoir.

I disconnected the lines below the drivers seat to see what if anything would come out. Supply line: brownish fluid from pump side and then eventually my blue/green pentosin, nothing from rack side. Return line, brownish fluid from rack side and blue/green Pentosin from pump side.

So has anyone had the issue of the melted tank? It seems that something is blocking the fluid from entering the rack and circulating back to the pump. Has anyone had that issue? My next option is to remove the rack and attempt to see where any blockage may be. I have the return line off the rack, still working on the supply line. Also, where is the pressure switch and could this be the issue? Or is it a bad rack? Is there any way to flush the rack to troubleshoot where the blockage may be? Any help is appreciated, thanks!

[Chuck H]

I just wanted to close the loop on this issue in case anyone was having a similar problem. Turns out the check valve (on the rack side) was stuck and preventing fluid from the supply line flowing in the proper direction into the rack.



I pried the cover off the line, and tried to extract the plastic valve with needle nose pliers. It was stuck fast and would not budge. I ended up taking a hacksaw to the fitting and using a nail punch to get the valve out. It looked a bit deformed and I was confident this was the cause. Long story short, I purchased a line from a breaker, popped it on and the fluid began circulating normally. I'll post a pic of the mangled fitting another day.

[ssiggu]

Originally Posted by Dmitry at Pelican Parts

Hi Chuck...I've attached a link to our Tech articles on the Boxer. Everything is organized into sections and very easy to follow. Hopefully this will help you sort out your power steering issue. If you have anymore questions, feel free to Comment just below the article and someone will help you out. Best of luck!

Porsche Boxster Tech Articles - Porsche Boxster 986/987 (1997-2004) Technical Articles | Pelican Parts

-Dmitry

Hi technical article does not obtain any power steering to repair or replace. Thanks

[ssiggu]

great work,
I have same issue. would explain more if you see this message?
Thanks.
Alex

[paganrj]

Just experienced a similar PS reservoir failure as Chuck H four years ago.
Lost power steering while turning on a slow corner on the track (and spun). When parked the car noticed PS fluid leaking out so put on the trailer and drove home. Inspected all lines and could not find any leaks so it was obviously coming from the pump/reservoir. After removing it, the picture below is how it looked.

Ordered/installed new reservoir and refurbished pump. Immediately after starting the car the PS pump started making a high pitch noise, shut car down and started investigating. Opened the high and low pressure connections under driver seat area and drain some fluid. Left the high pressure line disconnected and started the car. PS fluid came out immediately and pump was not noisy. I guess next thing to do is disconnect the high pressure line at the steering rack and find out if there is an obstruction. Looking at the parts manual it doesn’t mention anything about a check valve in the PS rack area that Chuck H mentioned, does anybody has more information on it? Anybody experienced a similar failure since 2016? Any information will be appreciated. Thanks, Rey

[Gilles]

Hello Paganrj, when I got my '07 the dealer removed the check valve (at the steering rack) and mentioned that sometimes I could get (as a side effect) pump whining noise when reaching turning the steering wheel to the max, but the pump rarely made any noise, therefore it may be ok to remove the check valve all together, I drove that car for 11 + years without the check valve.
.

[paganrj]

Originally Posted by Gilles

Hello Paganrj, when I got my '07 the dealer removed the check valve (at the steering rack) and mentioned that sometimes I could get (as a side effect) pump whining noise when reaching turning the steering wheel to the max, but the pump rarely made any noise, therefore it may be ok to remove the check valve all together, I drove that car for 11 + years without the check valve.
.

Gilles, I was thinking about doing that without knowing the consequences but now that you share your experience I will go that route. Thanks for the information.
Regards,
Rey

[paganrj]

Gilles,
Thanks for your sharing your experience. I was considering doing it but was not sure about consequences, now I will do the same.