We are having an occasional problem with steering while turning. Once in a while it seems that the power steering cuts out during a turn and it becomes difficult to turn the wheel. It responds again after I make the turn. The dealer can not find the problem. Any similar experiences?
The classic causes of that are low fluid level and belt slippage (which you can usually hear). If the car has computer-controlled, speed-sensitive steering, it may be an electronic problem.
Out of curiosity, has the dealer tested your alternator? Voltage fluctuations can adversely affect control computers. Since you seem to be having multiple problems that could be electronic in nature, that's a reasonable possibility. Do your dash lights ever change brightness for no apparent reason? That would be another indication of a voltage problem. If the alternator and battery are OK, check the ground connections throughout the car, particular the main grounds for the battery and engine, and any under-dash grounds for the computer modules.
This car won't have anything electronic in the steering, so that can be ruled out. I've seen a similar issue in Elantras a couple times, and they required new steering pumps. I'd recommend checking the fluid and all the belts before jumping in that far, though.
That's good to know. I know that the Elantra's power steering is pretty basic and purely mechanical. That leads me to a somewhat odd question that I hope you may be able to answer.
I really don't like power steering, having owned vehicles with manual rack and pinion steering for 30 years. I find the Elantra's steering to be over-boosted and too vague on-center. Since it IS rack and pinion and the steering ratio is similar to manual rack and pinion steering, I'm tempted to disconnect the pump and drain the fluid from the rack. With the hydraulic fluid removed from the rack, it stands to reason that it should feel and function just like a manual rack. Does this sound reasonable to you?
I'm not asking for you to "bless" the procedure, as I understand that you might not want to condone such a modification. All I'm asking is if you think the idea is mechanically sound? If nothing else, it's easily reversible if it doesn't work.
In most cases, there's significant extra effort required over manual steering. Any car I've ever driven with broken power steering was far too hard to steer. This is partly because power steering racks tend to have a different gearing ratio than manual racks.
I suspect that a lot of the extra resistance is due to the fluid in the system. Turning the wheel forces it through the valving, which is hard to do without the assistance of the pump. It definitely seems that there is something more than just the steering ratio involved, since the steering effor is still quite high when the vehicle is in motion. At
3.15 turns lock to lock, it's not that high anywayThat's the reason I was wondering if draining the rack - so you'd only be pushing air through the valves, rather than oil - would effectively make it work like a manual rack. Have you ever tried anything like this?
No, but I can't imagine it would work for long. With no oil in the rack, it is going to fail eventually from lack of lubrication.
Matt
Fluids, belts and electrical all OK. Any other ideas why the P/Steering goes out sometimes while cornering?
After some digging, I actually found a few articles on this type of modification. You're correct that you need to keep some fluid in the rack, since that's what lubricates it. However, it CAN be disconnected from the valve body on the steering column. On the rack, the ports on either side of the piston can either be connected to each other or to a small fluid reservoir via a "T" fitting.
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