Gen 1 Power steering Poll

An attempt to see if there is any correlation to year and failures. I was told before my 08 arrived Porsche knew of some isolated issues but have taken some steps to address them. This poll is for unmodified (with regards to the PS system only) Caymans

Fixed for you... I've extensively tracked my '06 CS, in some very hot ambient temps, no modifications, and had no power steering problems. brad

Thanks for the quick fix!

I have tracked my car, Cayman S 06. I have had no problems, I also had an underdrive pulley installed as a precaution, and I check my power steering fluid level religiously.

I track my 06' about 15 times a year with R-comps. I've had no issues (knock on wood). No PS mods.

2007, PS Failure Yup, I've had a power steering pump failure in my 2007 Base Cayman after a hard day at a PCA Driver's Education. My local Porsche dealer replaced the pump under warranty (thanks very much, since I'm pretty sure they didn't have to), and I had them install an underdrive pulley. No problems since. I still think this is a stupid failure for a sports car that Porsche should have already addressed :crazy:, but the fix is easy enough.

I voted no failure, no issues '06. However, I do check the PS fluid level often and usually have to add some after a few track days. I also had the line insullation added after 15 or so track days, but am pretty sure they did not get it behind the AC compressor which seems to be the worst hot spot from what I have read here. Not sure, but my sense of this is that keeping the fluid topped up will go a long way in preventing PS failures, I say with fingers crossed, at close to 30 track days.

Same here - - well over 100F in the summer at Sebring and Homestead. No problems to date.

Only 1 06 failure on this board? This is probably not an accurate representation.

08...tracked...no issues I am religious about checking my PS fluid. No issues. Hopefully I didn't just jinx my car.

I have '07 Boxster and sometimes, when turning, hear some noise related to steering servo pump (i guess).

'07 Cayman S 15 or so track days. No insulation or underdrive pulley installed. I've replaced both the pump and lines. I noticed a lot of fluid spilling over near the expansion tank. I started to check my fluid after every event and noticed I would lose fluid every time. Ended up having some grinding and replaced the pump. Month or so later, noticed the whole underside of my car was covered with fluid. The lines had failed. Interestingly, the replacement part for the original lines were no longer available. It seems Porsche may have modified the part and you can only order the newer lines.......

See this thread for a final solution: http://www.planet-9.com/cayman-boxster-modifications/25511-power-steering-system-modification.html Raced the car for three days this past weekend in 100F+ heat and the system peformed perfectly wit no leaks, etc. The system has now seen over one year of track service and racing with only one minor leak (on a non-modified part). Cheers,

Krok, Thanks! I found your thread after I started having PS issues. I've battled this issue all summer but just got around to chiming in on this thread. I discussed adding the cooler with my shop and they struggled with the placement. It's good to hear that your location has worked well. I will likely put one on if I see signs of any other problems. BW

FWIW - I know you list Cayman's specifically, but my 05 base Boxster, no track, had PS failure and replacement at ~20,000 miles.

Adding another data point: Ran the car at Spring Mountain this last weekend... Four 30 minute sessions each day, plus several extra sessions to give taste-of-the-track rides... the temperature was 105 each day, and I still have no PS problems. brad

Yeah, but you are a Pro The rest of us need a bit of help (although I did break the class record at Cal Speedway by 4 seconds this past weekend ). Cheers,

2008 CS with over 20 track days with no PS issues. Like others here, I check the PS fluid and top up where necessary before every event.

A couple comments: 1. I've checked my fluid and the dipstick can be very misleading. The cold full level is right at the bottom of the stick. So you guys who are adding fluid on a regular basis may want to confirm that you're not over-filling. 2. With an underdrive pulley costing so little and giving 3 to 5 free horsepower, why woundn't anyone who tracks get this? The fact that some people are getting away with track events without damage doesn't give me a warm feeling, especially when a fix like this is available. 3. The cooler under the floor fix is also very easy and cheap. I can see why some would cringe at that one, but if you use good materials, it will last and you will not have to be concerned with this issue anymore. There is no perfomance penalty for either fix and the underdrive actually improves performance. What's not to love?

How many who have had failures learned to track with a 911 instead of a Cayman? How many have video of their handwork on the steering wheel?

K-MS: If one has to only steer a certain way or only use a certain gear in corners, one is walking too thin a line with their car. To answer the question...I did my first track day at the Milwaukee Mile in a BMW 2002tii in 1978 (!!!). I tracked an '83 911SC briefly but never took to the car and sold it. I learned to drive decently in the E30 M3 that replaced the 911. I learned to drive properly and fast in an E36 M3. I have no video of my driving, just some really good lap times at Putnam. Take care. Enjoyed meeting with you at Croctoberfest on Friday.

I had a power steering failure. With my 2007 Cayman S, I originally added the GT3 lower control arms as my only modification and used the stock PS2 tires for over 30 track days. I had trouble with boiling fluid frequently, that required adding fluid, but no failures. When I mounted R compound tires, Toyo R888's, the PS system blew within 200 track miles and I never tracked my car in temperatures above 94 degrees. I attribute my power steering system failure to adding the front GT3 lower control arms with more negative camber and positive caster beyond the factory specs. Postive caster increases steering resistance, resistance increases pressure in the PS system, increased pressure increases heat. Another contributing factor might be the horrible alignment service from my local dealer. After many of the bad alignments, my car wouldn't want to turn on the track. I now use only TPC recommended alignment and the dealer faxes the alignment printout to me before I pick up my car. That made a big difference on track, it turns quickly and easily now. I think my driving style also was a factor in my PS failure. I now try to minimize all steering inputs in the turn keeping the front tires as straight as possible and making the rear tires do alot of the direction change.

T.J.: An underdrive pulley is highly recommended for you. I just put GT3 control arms on my car, but I also put on an underdrive pulley. I will proceed with the PS line insulation kit and installation of the Hayden oil cooler under the car, I'm also going to do the GT3 oil separator and something to improve oiling. I'm still looking into that. I am not going to put up with boiling fluids, plums of black exhaust smoke and nail biting about the longevity of the engine. I'd rather give up track schools or go buy something cheap to run at the track. I'm also buying Nitto NT-05s for track use instead of NT-01s (R-compound)until all the work is done. This will be the first time I've run non-R tires in years, but the threat to this expensive engine is pretty real. I still have warranty, but not for long. I'm going to behave as if I didn't. I'd planned on spending this money for saftey equipment, harnesses, race seats and roll bars, but I guess first things first.

Cspec: Good information here. I'm a little concerned about mounting a cooler behind the intake air fan. Won't that make the engine compartment cooling much less effective? I would think the underside plastic would protect the Hayden cooler so long as it doesnt take a direct hit. I suppose some angle iron could be employed to armor the thing.

No PS issues over 3 years here. 20k miles total and about a dozen track days a year. Can't remember the last time I checked the PS fluid level. Did some statistics on the poll so far: Year Probl NoProbl Total Probl % 2006 3 50 53 6% 2007 8 28 36 22% 2008 1 15 16 6% Total 12 93 105 11% Though the samples are admittedly small, are there any design differences between 06 and 07 to explain the almost quadruple failure rate in 07 models vs 06 (22% vs 6%)? One would think that the 06s should be having the highest failure rate purely because they've been driven the longest. Also we have to adjust for the significant bias that people with problems are more likely to have searched for and run into this poll so the actual failure rates should be significantly smaller than these. Another thought occurred to me as I was reading other topics recently. High RPMs in turns seem to cause at least three documented problems: 1. Power steering failure 2. Oil ingestion (smoke) 3. Oil starvation Brad (beez) is a smooth momentum driver. This way of driving doesn't scrub off more speed than necessary, hence doesn't need the HP to get it back at exits, which allows for lower RPMs in turns overall. Brad hasn't reported any of the above issues. I haven't had them either, and I like to think that I too drive smoothly -- though not as smoothly as Brad as he gets at least 3 more track days out of his NT01 tires than me. I don't mean to imply that these problems are acceptable. They shouldn't be happening at these high rates regardless of how smoothly the car is driven. But perhaps adjusting the driving more towards a smooth, momentum style (which is, btw, so suitable to our well balanced cars) can help towards making these failures less likely. And there'd be other benefits from it, as well. Just thinking... Z.

To clarify, the cooler is mounted in front of (before) the engine compartment cooling fan. This may make the engine compartment cooling less effective, but it has not yet been a problem (over 1 year of racing). I am not sure how much the inlet does for the engine while the car is running (the entire bottom is open), and it seems to pull air through the cooler just fine while the car is stopped. Remember, as I know to realize, the engine is cooled through the radiators, the engine compartment cooling inlet & fan are there to move heat away from the accessories, electronics, etc. The bottom of the car may be fine, but I have twice broken one of the belly pans on the car, most recently this past weekend during an off at Cal Speedway. While I do not mind replacing a bit of plastic on occasion, I do not want to lose a race because I ripped the cooler off the bottom of the car on a gator, etc. Here is a picture of the cooler install: Planet Porsche Home Another option is to place it just ahead of one of the radiators and protect it with SS screen. Let us know how the cooler on the bottom works out. Anything that make the cars more reliable is a good thing. Cheers,

Kroko: The reason I've so far chosen the floor to mount the cooler is that there is an article on it. When you read the article and look at the photos, you see tha there is already a cooler there...but it is just a curled piece of pipe...no fins. I think the cooler combined with the insulation and the underdrive should be enough to protect the power steering. I think the ribs on the bottom of the body that the underbody plastic screws to will be lower than the cooler and the plastic should protect it from sticks and stones. There is a small NACA type duct in the plastic nearby to allow some airflow and this way I'm not putting in a lot of extra high pressure plumbing all over the car. I've been a participant at 3 different DEs (worst was at Grattan) where a modified Porsche has dumped multiple quarts of oil along the racing line and we've spent half our track time mopping it up with oil dri. I'm certain I don't ever want to be the cause of an event like that!

Make sure you install the cooler in the low pressure side of the system (return line after the rack). Also, I do not think the insulation will do much, if anything. The heat needs to be removed from the system. I am not saying the floor cooler will not work, I just know that where we placed it works perfectly and is proven. Cheers,