The power steering on my car is failing intermittently. There is no secret thing to do to make it fail. It’s mostly at low/no speed like when pulling into a parking spot. Thus far, I have had the pump replaced twice, pressure valve switch, and the rack and pinion replaced. My mechanic of 10 years is stumped as to what is happening.
Any insight or advice?
Maybe one of the rubber hoses is collapsed internally.
Could you have an articulating joint like a ball joint or tie rod end binding up?
Or an upper strut bearing binding?
Tester
Thank you to all, I’ll pass along these suggestions.
How old is the serpentine belt?
It could be slipping in silence.
What’s the symptom when it fails? Does it become very hard to turn the steering wheel? At 360 degrees all the way around the steering wheel, or just in one spot? One direction but not the other? Does the engine stumble and stall?
HI George, It becomes hard to steer. I’ve not had to make a u-turn, but a hard-left or right. Engine does not stumble nor stall.
Thanks again all,
Tracy
I wonder if this system uses speed-sensitive power steering. If so, that would be worth looking into. Possibly the solenoid isn’t working properly
You could also have a bad or frozen serpentine belt tensioner.
Do any warning lights come on when this happens? I’m leaning toward the belt and tensioner as well.
So it definitely occurs, and/or gets worse when the A/C is running. So I think we’re closer to finding the cause.
Thanks!
Tracy
When you say it’s hard to steer, can you give us some sort of measurement of that? How hard is it?
Very hard. I have to use both hands, and pull hard, then it will ease up till I have to turn again.
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