996 C4S serious drivability issue following paint shop visit

hello All, issues with my 996 c4s I got the car back today having had the rear arches rust repaired and painted. They did a bit of welding and paint. Not a very professional outfit it turns out. Rather regret my choice. The car felt odd upon picking it up but initially put it down not driving it for six weeks. But after a proper drive and a bit of further investigation there is something definitely wrong with it. It feels Very heavy on in the initial turn of the steering and feels inconsistent beyond that. Really feels terrible, drivable but it's very unpleasant. car Feels very heavy genraly. Another new thing following the respray work is the air bag light is on. It may be unrelated. Has never been on before. I initially thought it was power steering related. Fluid level ok. There are no untoward noises. At a standstill it feels fairly normal. Perhaps a bit heavy. No leeks as far as I can see without lifting the car. I then jacked the front wheels up one at a time and tried turning them with the car in neutral. There is a lot of resistance and they are very difficult to turn. The same for the rear. Leads me to now think it's something to do with the viscus couple system/ diffs. A couple of questions if I may. Any idea what might be up with it? Any thoughts on why it might be like this after being worked on. Somewhat regret my choice of paint shop, it wasn't the best experience, but don't want to blame. Cars 110000 on it and ***** happens. Unless it sounds a bit iffy? I can't figure it out. The car drove faultlessly beforehand. The millage on the clock was the same as when I dropped it off. You thoughts would be hugely appreciated. Reluctant to drive it if I could be damaging the difs or coupling. Is really sh1tty timing as I have little choice but to drive it tomorrow. moving house... 130 mile drive You thoughts please. Mat Burke.

Could it be that there cars brakes were wet when it was dropped off or that it sat outside initially in the rain and the discs have just rusted up, they do that. As long as the wheels are torqued up correctly maybe take it out for a drive and gradually increase the brake pressure from higher speeds to see if that cleans them up. It could also be that the brake callipers are pulling if the pistons are sticking and not correctly retracting. Sounds like you haven't got much time to investigate but a quick look over and a good blast might sort it out. Good luck.

Sounds daft perhaps but you've checked tyre pressures?

It was my first thought as well.

Thanks for the input so far, definitely not the brakes and the tyres are the correct pressure. Lifted the front wheels again and they I'm only just able to turn them by hand. The issue is definitely somewhere in the drive train. Wish it hadn't happened while it was in the paint shop as it just make me wonder why....

If you lift a wheel it should be stiff to turn, that means the viscous coupling is working normally Mac

Should the front wheels not turn quite freely if the car is in neutral. Don't recall feeling so much resistance in the past when I have replaced the brakes.

Possibly jacked it up on a suspension component and bent something.

Don't think they lifted the front of the car. Only painted the rear.

When you try to turn a front wheel on the 996 awd system, you are trying to turn all 4! As the other 3 are on the ground then you are just turning the slave side of the vc. If its stiff your vc is fine, if it spins freely its goosed. No doubt in the past you had both front wheels in the air and as you turned one, the other rotated in the opposite direction as you spun the front diff. Sounds to me like somethings seized up whilst its been left stood. First trick is take if for a spin round the block, don't brake if you can help it, then feel your front discs and rear discs/bells for heat.

Just about everything has been covered and Alex has explained it well . you need all four wheels off the ground to check that . Its either unrelated .. or .. If we assume it's something the body shop has done then what could they have done .. Nothing electrical as that has no bearing on the steering .. Your description is one of heavy steering so a lack of pressure at the rack i would assume .. Have a look on the n/s and probably the rear .. any chance a power steering pipe has been partially crushed due to jacking it up in the wrong place . I doubt it but to be honest its all i can think of .

Long shots getting longer but here goes. Your airbag light is on as well. This worries me because they obviously have done something electrical, and they've been at it with a welder. If they didn't isolate the circuits from the welding voltage (eg by disconnecting the battery) they could have caused all sorts of damage. I realise this is a PITA with having moved etc but you need to get the car back there and explain. Agree I can't see how an electrical fault can affect the steering, unless (long shot remember) the PSM system is tugging at the brakes. Can you turn PSM off and go for a drive? Might also be worth disconnecting and reconnecting the battery (need key in ignition and turned to position one). Either way you need to get that airbag light cleared.

ABS still works with PSM off. Best to pull the ABS fuse.

Thanks so much for the advise so far. The timing of the issue has really made it a real pickle to sort out. Haven't even had time to inform the paint shop of the situation. Get the feeling it will just create a unpleasant defensive situation. I've left the car at mothers address hired a car to get here. Trying not to Think about it too much now I'm in my brand-new house in sunny Clitheroe in the Ribble Valley coincidently Alex👍🍻. I know they struggled to disconnect the battery without the alarm going bonkers and subsequently put the car on a surge Protect whilst welding. So yes there or various things they could've done unwittingly damage the car. I imagine they will deny all of them as possibilities. Going to get the car to Jasmine Porsche and hopefully they will figure out what's wrong with it.

Have you used Jasmine before?