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heavy power steering help please..


buster

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i may well be answering my own question here but need to double check..

 

my power steering seems rather heavy and with the help of a friend the problem seems to be that the fluid is not moving in the resevoir.

so with that in mine we believe that i could be either the pump or hopefully the power steering pressure switch,which we believe opens the flow to the rack ?

the pump still makes all the right noises but the steering is just heavy.

 

your help on this would be welcome.

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what is the fluid level like? system miht need topping up i've had intermittent power steering on the zed when the fliuid was low.

power steering fluid topped right up to max and still fault there.. :bang:

 

i hope its not the pump. :scare:

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up date ....this morning it was still the same from cold but once warmed up it seemed fine.Now i dont wont the expence and hassel of fitting a pump when it could just be something else like the sensor.

starting to wonder if i need to take it into the garage to get them to check it out. :thumbdown:

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  • 3 weeks later...
I take it you've tried the full lock one way to full lock the other to make sure theres no stuck air? I'm sure I heard someone say that you can get air in there from time to time and doing it lock to lock can get it out :shrug:

 

done this several times now and it seems to be loads better :thumbs:

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Correct bleeding technique is listed below:

 

 

1. Stop the engine, and then turn the steering wheel fully to right and left several times.

NOTE:

While air bleeding the Hydraulic System, frequently check the reservoir tank, add additional fluid up to the

MAX level, if necessary.

2. Run engine at idle speed, hold steering wheel at each “lock†position for about three seconds.

3. Repeat the 2nd procedure several times at about three seconds intervals.

CAUTION:

Do not hold steering wheel in the locked position more than 10 seconds. (It is the possibility that

oil pump may be damaged.)

4. Check generation of air bubbles and cloud in the fluid.

5. If the air bubbles and the cloud don't fade, stop the engine, leave air bleeding behind until the air bubbles

and the cloud fade. Perform the 2nd and the 3rd procedures again.

6. Stop the engine, check fluid level.

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Oooh, get you Mr Proper :p:lol:

 

Seeing as my bodge way of doing it worked, its worth doing the proper bleed as per Neils post. Remember to keep an eye on the fluid as when you get the air out, its replaced by fluid, and if there is no fluid it cant get all the air out.

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  • 8 months later...

Sorry to dig up this old post but I'm having the same problem with my power steering.

It's always been a bit heavy but wasn't a problem. However recently it got much worse. I can hardly turn the steering wheel at low revs. I tried bleeding the system but no luck.

I did notice a few things though:

When I rev it up a bit (2500-3000) and then turn the wheel, there is a very loud whining noise. Not just when steering is all the way to the left or right, but also when turning left or right from straight. At those revs, the steering is expectedly light. When I go all the way left or right and rev the engine, there is a noise and I can see very small drops of liquid from (what I assume is) a valve towards the pump. The belts and pulleys look fine and surprisingly, the fluid level in the container does not drop noticeably.

Another thing, when I start the car in the morning and everything is cold, the power steerings works fine, it only stops after a while.

Also, the previous owner had replaced the fluid container with some aftermarket part. This container has a lid with a little air hole in the middle. Is that ok or is the PAS system a closed (as in pressurized) one?

The fluid does get warm in the container so I'm thinking that there is at least some circulation in the system.

Any ideas what I should do with it? Do I need a new pump or a new valve? Where can I get those?

If necessary I can provide some photos, though it'll be pretty impossible to shoot the little drops of fluid as they are really tiny.

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Has the car been used regularly/daily?

 

When I bought mine last year it seemed that it hadn't been used that much for a while by the previous owner. The steering was really heavy and the gear box was very tight. After some daily use the power steering got lighter and the gearbox felt a lot better. I think the regular use helps to get all the fluids moving and probably gets any stuck air out of the power steering system.

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Tom at TGM in Fleet, Hants, just off M3, so not too far from you :thumbs: he is brilliant and knows the Z well.

 

01252 811972

Had my Zed there once, for almost 2 weeks because of clunking from the front suspension - unfortunately he couldn't fix it. Put in new drop links though...

Not sure I want to go there again.

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I doubt this is the issue and I wouldn't try it on the Z for fear of frying something, I just thought I'd share. On the Mk2 MR2 there was a known issue where the power steering would go heavy due to a dodgy connection, turning the ignition on (electrics only) and off repeatedly in quick succession would fix the issue... weird!

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  • 2 weeks later...

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