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Power Steering Fault?


calvin

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A few months ago I drifted round a roundabout and came out of it with a bit of a jerk causing a slight slide in the opposite direction. At this point I lost power steering and only just managed to turn the wheel. Very scary feeling but I couldn't find anything wrong with the car (fluid at correct level and belt tight) and it never happened again. However, I've just had a go at a tight slalom course at Dunsfold Super Car Day and I had the same problem when making quick changes of direction. The steering went very heavy and notchy and it felt very dangerous. As I said, the fluid level is fine so I don't understand what the could be causing it. Has anyone else noticed this with their 350Z? Any ideas how to cure it?

 

UPDATE

 

I've just tried going from lock to lock to bleed the rack and found that whenever I try to turn the steering from one way to the other quickly it has a very stiff 'notch' to jump over and makes a clunk sound from the rack. Normal speed turning is smooth but you feel it as soon as you try to shake the steering. It appears to be worse near full lock but is still bad in the straight ahead position. I'll try to get a better look on a ramp tomorrow.

 

FURTHER UPDATE

 

Started the car this morning, shook the steering and it was fine. No problem at all. Drove 10 minutes to my brother's garage, shook it again and the horrible notch was back, so it only happens when it's hot. I put the car on the ramp and disconnected the universal joint from the rack. The joint moved freely so I don't think that's the problem. Next step is to take it to my local mechanic to see what he thinks. I'll keep you updated if I find out what the problem is.

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when making quick changes of direction. The steering went very heavy

 

My steering does this although only when stationary or moving very slowly, I'm going to change the fluid first to see if that makes a difference. Also, the pulley bearing is noisey on mine but I doubt this has anything to do with the problem.

 

If you change the pump calvin then let us know what difference it makes as i'd be interested to know.

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It might be worth bleeding the system before replacing anything and then testing in a nice safe place. I can't remember the procedure for the 350Z but generally it's something to do with turning the steering wheel to full lock for N seconds one way and then the other X number of times - searching on here will find the procedure.

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  • 6 months later...

I replaced the pump with a second hand one and some genuine new fluid (supplied extremely quickly by zmanalex) but still the same. As the problem only occurs when the engine is warm I'm wondering if it might be a universal joint. Is it possible that the UJ connecting to the rack could get hot from the heat of the engine/exhaust, expand a bit and get stiffer? If not that I can only think it could be a problem in the rack.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Give the pump a thorough bleed and if you're still encountering the same problem i think you'll be forking out for a new pump.

 

Do you ever read the thread you post in. 90% of the time your just posting what someone posted a year ago or what the OP has already said.

Edited by Dblock
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Give the pump a thorough bleed and if you're still encountering the same problem i think you'll be forking out for a new pump.

 

Do you ever read the thread you post in. 90% of the time your just posting what someone posted a year ago or what the OP has already said.

 

:lol: :lol: :lol: I was thinking exactly the same.

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