Sloppy Steering

Good Morning, I acquired a 2000 Porsche Carrera 911 last summer. The car has 108,000 on the odometer. The car has been great, and I've managed to do a lot of maintenance over the previous year. Most recently, the steering has felt sloppy at higher speeds. The car almost feels like the front end is floating. The inner and outer tie rods seem to be in good condition. However, I did notice the steering wheel turns a good inch before the steering rack engages. I saw this when the car was jacked up and the driver-side wheel removed. I'm reluctant to go out and spend hundreds of dollars on a new rack if that isn't the problem. Any thoughts? Thank you, SJ

When was the last time the car had an alignment? Having that done can make a pretty big difference.

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Last summer. I had the brake fluid changed and an alignment done at that time.

How do u know the tre r good? Did u replace them at some point? U can just look at them u have to remove them from the upright to inspect. U can also get under the car and turn the wheels to see if they move without moving the tires but that requires a 4 post lift. New trw arms r $70 and may be worth it? If y r sure aboit the tre then its probably in need of a new rack. I would doubt it would be a column joint.

I will remove them from the upright and double-check them. I agree; $70 would be worth the upgrade. I'm more curious as to why the steering wheel moves about an inch before the rack does.

That could be a worn rack gear? The racks in these cars r pretty duarable but they can still fail.

I think there is a rag joint in the column that is riveted. The rivets can work loose. It appears to be near the attach point to the rack.

^^^ Yep, there is a new name for the rag joint that someone laid on us recently......Guibo...sounds kinda French.....yep the Guibo can be bad and cause a lot of slack... Only problem is Porsche doesn't have a detachable/replaceable Guibo...either have to replace the complete steering column or get creative.......

I have always called the driveshaft joint (cv) a guibo but never the stearing rag joint? Maybe the name is a generic term for a flex joint? U can replace just the lower portion of the column and im sure its not too pricey for a yard like DC Auto. Porsche 99634702302 Apperently the newest revision is gold plated now. $1600

It's GIUBO. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giubo

Yea looks like giubo is more of brand name than a descriptive name..probably popular in the European market, not so much in the NA or Japanese market.. I'll probably still call them rag joints 90% of the time if they look like they can easily be made from a belted tire carcass....if they are constant velocity I call them CV joints , if they are not constant velocity I just call them universal joints.. Speaking of unusual names for car parts, I still giggle every time I see the Porsche Parts name for" horn"....anybody else know what that unusual name is ?

What effect does replacing the coffin arms have on steering and handling?

I noticed turn-in response to be even better. Can't say I noticed a difference in longitudinal compliance driving over expansion joints and the like. The ball joint in the old (120k miles original) ones was still play-free so no change in rattles over cobble stones (those subsided only after replacing the diagonal control arms aka tuning forks).

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VW calls it "fanfare". The one that gets me is the contact for the oil pressure light "WK" which is, of course, short for "Warning Kontraption".