skibum Posted April 30, 2007 Share Posted April 30, 2007 How do i determine if i need a new Power Steering pump or other service? Lately when starting the vehicle up in the morning the steering is stiff... it seems once it warms up it is fine. But more and more lately I've been noticing that it is difficult to turn the wheels and once turned they don't want to come back to center. There looks to be lots of fluid in the resevoir . Dipstick is wet where it should be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
02silverpathy Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 I would definately say that you want to empty the steering fluid out and change the fluid...the lucas power steering fix may not be a bad idea. The lucas transmission lubricant is awesome! My 01 Alty had no problems that I knew of, I swapped fluid, added the Lucas and now it shifts quick and sharp versus the slow seemingly drawn out shifts it had before! I am guessing when it was new it shifted this way. I have had the car since 47K and it now has 81K and I think that this is the best shifting the autotragic has ever done!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum Posted May 1, 2007 Author Share Posted May 1, 2007 I would definately say that you want to empty the steering fluid out and change the fluid...the lucas power steering fix may not be a bad idea. The lucas transmission lubricant is awesome! I just downloaded the manual, and I'll have to find out where to drain the power steering fluid from. I've never done this before so.. this should be interesting... so is it possible that the difficulty is caused by fluid breakdown?.. just a question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
02silverpathy Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 I can say from experience with my BMW that aluminum particles get into the fluid and gum up the operation until you get the particles out and fresh lubricant in. My BMW power steering is notorious for issues and I have avioded them, narrowly! It mae the pump much more quiet after I changed fluid...you will notice this on the slow moving sharp turns the most....I just don't know if you can say that is fluid breakdown since it is the particulate mass in the fluid. If you didn't already read, auto tranny fluid is essentially the same fluid for your power steering! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum Posted May 1, 2007 Author Share Posted May 1, 2007 ...I just don't know if you can say that is fluid breakdown since it is the particulate mass in the fluid. If you didn't already read, auto tranny fluid is essentially the same fluid for your power steering! OK thanks... ya i didn't make that leap that i could use the power tranny fluid for steering fluid. I will ride my bike over to the Canadian Tire store and see if they have the Lucas brand. thank ee kindly! s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 CT will have lucas power steering additive. That's where I've bought Lucas products in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum Posted May 24, 2007 Author Share Posted May 24, 2007 CT will have lucas power steering additive. That's where I've bought Lucas products in the past. Been shopping for a house and working like a dog.... and... This problem is still on-going... i can feel that the steering is difficult all the time, but that is minor compared to the unexpected need to use two hands to turn or return to center, but my mechanic can't feel it and he does't drive it for more that 2 minutes... so go figure it never cfuks up when he tries it out. .. i know.... time for a new mechanic. makes me wait a freakin week for an appointment and then doesn;t try very hard to figure it out... if its not completley broken then he won't touch it. gee thanks... thats what i get for 10 years as your customer?.... grrrr... when it is cold it takes two hands to turn but sometimes it is fine. this has been going on for months and months... ( i did hit a pothole really hard about 3 months ago ... but it does't pull or track, still goes in a straight line) if the oil pump was gone it would be gone all the time right? all the time it would be impossible to steer? what about belts? should i start with replacing all the belts? Basically i need to find a new mechanic, I don't have the space where i live to do big repairs. grumble grumble... (yonge and eglinton) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nissandoms47 Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 If the power steering pump is gone it will be difficult to turn at times. But what you're describing seems to be a worn out pump. The impeller inside the pump just wears out over time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 Dude, seriously, try the Lucas Power steering fix. My parents Exploder had some REAL hard spots in the steering after a line blew, and the pump had run dry. Got that fixed, but the hard spots remained. Within 3 days of normal driving with the Lucas power steering fix in there, the hard spots are gone. $5-10 CDN, or the thousands it'll cost for a steering overhaul.....your choice. Also, check the tension on your PS belt. ( if you have separate belts, can't remember on the 3.5L engine) It could just have some slack, and be slipping on the pulley. It should be fairly tight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum Posted May 24, 2007 Author Share Posted May 24, 2007 (edited) Dude, seriously, try the Lucas Power steering fix. My parents Exploder had some REAL hard spots in the steering after a line blew, and the pump had run dry. Got that fixed, but the hard spots remained. Within 3 days of normal driving with the Lucas power steering fix in there, the hard spots are gone. $5-10 CDN, or the thousands it'll cost for a steering overhaul.....your choice. Also, check the tension on your PS belt. ( if you have separate belts, can't remember on the 3.5L engine) It could just have some slack, and be slipping on the pulley. It should be fairly tight. i just found a new decent mechanic on recommendation from a friend, and within a short period of time the guy flushed out the steering system twice, and greased the entire front suspension / ball joints etc.. and then apologised for charging me under $100. no waiting ... let me walk around the shop... etc... There is no way i was going to do it by myself and risk cfuking something up ... the steering is better, and now returns to centre much better but it is still stiff, I can feel there is more force than normal needed to turn. I feel better about driving it... and like you said Simon, maybe after a few days it will work itself in better ? I was just roughly quoted that to replace the pump would be about $300 parts and labour. You know ... after i described the problems to the new mechanic ... the first thing he said was "you need to flush the steering fluid out"... FAK!!! whereas the other guy told me "nothing is for sure broken so i won't fix it" I will never go back to the other place again! Edited May 24, 2007 by skibum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryfry Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 You might be experiencing a similar problem that plaqued quite a few GM vehicles. They used to call it "morning sickness" due to the fact the problem was only hard steering when cold. Most times they ended up replacing the rack, but in some cases a steering flush and refill with Dexron Synthetic ATF helped many times. The synthetic fluid flows much better when cold, so it alleviated many of those problems. As Simon has mentioned, the Lucus stuff is pretty good. I sell tons of the stuff. Maybe give that a go too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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