Power Steering Gone

[top bloke]

I have a bit of a poblem: the power steering on my 99 GA seems to be shot. It its REALLY hard to turn the steering wheel on turns. It just happened today i went to school and the car was fine, when coming back it was broke....

My question is about how much would a new steering pump cost/ and is it hard to install it?

I'm assuming it is a bit of money, which i dont have right now, so my other question is: am i damaging anything if i keep driving with no power steering for a while?

thanks.

[4kQuad]

It's possible that the belt that drives the power stearing pump broke or the pump is low on fluid.

Pop your hood and look around, If it's low on fluid its dripping some where, if the belt broke, you should see a shinny pully with nothing on it.

Yes, it is possible the pump has blowen, but other things should be check first.

[top bloke]

So I did what you said. I looked around and the power steering reservoir was bone dry.
I went to get some power steering fluid, put a whole bottle in, fired up the car and the wheel moved smoothly again, but made crazy noises and after a minute it went back to being stiff.
I look inside and the tank is empty again, so i get another bottle, put that one in and this time look under the hood.
I see smoke coming out by the firewall and something seems to be spraying power steering fluid all over the firewalll. It was coming from somewhere below the coilpacks.
Can the rack develop a leak? Do I need a new rack or what?

THanks.

[sunrunner_pei]

Could be a power sterring hose has let go. After fixing a warranty claim on my '99, the dealership neglected to properly attach one of the hoses. It let go with a vengence in -30 weather the next day. Dumped the entire tank on the ground. I refilled it, and it emptied again in no time flat.

I can't imagine it's the rack itself, I'd be inspecting the hoses.

The smoke is probably from the fluid hitting the hot exhaust manifold on the firewall side.

[rixGAphx]

When racks fail, it's almost always by blowing out one of the end seals.
So the fluid drips out one end of the rack (at the boot for the connecting rod to the wheel).

Since the fluid is spraying near the middle, right where the hose connections are, I's say it's most likely one of the hoses, or just the connection from the hose to the rack.

Hoses can be purchased individually, or you can take off the damaged hose and go to a 'hose rebuilder' (they specialize in remaking the hoses for hydraulic equipment like construction and agro stuff, and cost-effectively place new rubber on the old metal).
Should be listed in the Yellow Pages.
* * * *
Your PS pump is still OK, since you had power steering until the fluid leaked out.
Driving it dry will ruin the PS pump in about a day, so don't do it unless you want to add $$ to your repair cost.

Fix the hose now.

Good luck.
-Rick

[sunrunner_pei]

Originally posted by rixGAphx

Your PS pump is still OK, since you had power steering until the fluid leaked out.
Driving it dry will ruin the PS pump in about a day, so don't do it unless you want to add $$ to your repair cost.

Fix the hose now.

Excellent advice, Rick, as always!!! :thumbup2:

[top bloke]

Thanks a lot everyone. How do i determine where the leak is exactly: do i just keep dumping power steering fluid in it?
I'll try to do it over the weekend probably when i can do it in the daylight. Until then I guess I'll get a ride from someone.
Crap - I've been driving on it like this for about 3 days. Hope I didnt break my pump.

Thanks for the help.

[rixGAphx]

Originally posted by top bloke
How do i determine where the leak is exactly?...
I'll try to do it over the weekend probably when i can do it in the daylight. ....
You can't see down there very well anyhow, you'll need a flashlight and hafta lay on the motor.

Before crawling in there, I would cover the major electrical items (coil packs especially) with baggies, then spray all the old fluid off with a garden hose nozzle.
Then fill the pump, turn on engine for a few minutes and while still in 'P', crank the steering wheel a couple times. Shut off engine, then climb up and look.
There should be enough fluid to see which hose/connection is leaking, yet not so much as to disguise the leak source.

.....I've been driving on it like this for about 3 days. Hope I didn't break my pump.
As I said, since it was still working, it's still working (or did Yogi Berra Say that ??)

Anywho, you probably did shorten its lifespan by a few thousand miles, since the shaft bearings were dry. That causes wear and heat.
When the bearings get very worn, the shaft starts to wobble a little, and that really ruins the seal and allows fluid to seep out of the pump.
(Also if run dry, the bearings can get VERY hot and melt the rubber seals :eek: .)
Keep an eye on it for leaks and grinding noise, but you should be ok for a while, maybe 100 miles, maybe even 10,000 - 20,000 miles.
What's done is done, yada, yada...
Just don't cause further damage.

Good luck.
-Rick

[top bloke]

Well the problem seems to be fixed. Apparently the hose that goes from the pump to the rack came off of where it connects to the rack. So you were right rix.
I had to go to work during all this, but my dad managed to fix it. He attached it up with one of those worm gear clamps and it seems to work fine now.
The only thing is, the reservoir has this white milky fluid in it now, since I guess air got to the fluid. But that doesn't seem to be a big problem.

thanks all for helping.

[4kQuad]

I anyone else wondering how long that worm gear clamp is going to hold a hydrolic line???

I have a hard time believing that clamp is a long term fix for a hydrolic pressurized line.

Not dogging the fix, just don't want ya stranded if it blows off.