How Do I Tell My Porsche Combination Valve Is About to Fail?

The combination valve which is at times referred to as the proportioning valve is a component of the braking system that controls the braking pressure. It ensures that the brake force applied to the wheels is not the same at any given time. Just like any other car parts, the combination valve may develop problems. Learning how to determine if your combination valve is working properly at early stages could save you the expense of replacing your entire braking system.

Rear wheels lock up

If you notice that the rear wheels lock up when you apply the brakes, your combination valve is about to fail. This occurs because its main work is to balance the pressure between the front and rear wheels.  It achieves this by reducing the pressure in the rear brakes. The rear wheels lock up is experienced more on wet surfaces and is more dangerous as your Porsche skids before coming to a stop. When you experience wheels lock up you should seek a professional and plan to have your Porsche combination valve replaced.

No Fluid Pressure

If there is a difference in the fluid pressure amount in the tires then your combination valve is not working properly. You may diagnose this given problem by placing your Porsche on a jack and checking the pressure on the bleeder screws on each tire. If the amount of pressure is not the same in all the four tires then your combination valve is about to fail.

Difficulty In Stopping

You may notice that your Porsche does not stop instantly or may take a bit longer than usual. This happens because the fluid pressure supplied to the brake system is not correct. This is an indicator that the combination valve is not maintaining the balance in pressure between the wheels making it harder to stop the Porsche quickly.

Testing The Porsche Combination Valve

You can test whether your Porsche combination valve has developed problems on your own. All you need to do is look for a place with some good amount of space and ask someone to watch the back brakes. Then drive the car making a few emergency stops. In the event that while performing the test, the rear wheels lock up whereas the front wheels keep turning, the combination valve is about to fail.

Point To Note

Your Porsche’s combination valve is by all means a master piece. It is designed to act as a control or meter valve for the brake fluid. It is also designed to work as a pressure differential switch. Lastly, it acts as a proportioning valve.  With a combination valve that does not have a glitch, you can be sure your car’s disc brakes will not engage before drum brakes, something that happens once the combination valve is faulty. To that extent, maintain your Porsche’s combination valve and you can be sure of safer and more even stopping. It is also safe to state at this point that uneven stopping is sometimes a sign that there’s something wrong with your car’s combination valve.