Intermittent Power Steering Strangeness 1990 90

...and Mark Solesbury spake unto the tribes of Usenet, saying...

What is "intermittently stiff"?

If it's stiff at the same point every time you turn (say) right, then that would point to stiff UJs in the column, dry/worn/damaged ball joints or TREs, or even damaged components binding somewhere.

If it's just stiff every now and then regardless of steering wheel position, then IME that points to the pump. Either it's not getting a consistent drive from the belt, or it's working intermittently itself.

Stiff column UJs are common on older vehicles, and can often be cured (temporarily) by a generous application of WD40 in the obvious places. Try that first - it can't do any harm, and it's cheap.

Forgot to mention, that when its up in the air, its not stiff, so i suppose this eliminated the steering linkage...

Mark

...and Mark Solesbury spake unto the tribes of Usenet, saying...

Just read that back,.....

DOH!

Mark

mark its the steering pump itself , it may fail shortly completely .

mine did same thing , the steering got very stiff every now and again but all pipes etc were ok . i bought a new steering pump and fitted it , all was ok and ever since .

Mark Solesbury wrote:

How much was a new pump? Can they be recon'd? Was it a bastard to fit?

On Mon, 23 Jan 2006 20:13:59 -0000, "Mark Solesbury" scribbled the following nonsense:

had this on my hybrid. Happened when moving slowly and using full lock, or close to full lock. Turned out that the key on the pulley was nackered. BAsiclally was allowing the pulley to spin on the shaft, reduxing the effectiveness of the PAS system. Was going to cut a new key, but then found the keyway was also worn. Ended up tig welding the pully onto the shaft and the problem went away.

I had exactly the same trouble with my 91 RR, it seems that aftera good engine de-gunk, there wasn't any sort of lubricant on the steering uv joints x2 that sit in the engine bay between the steering box and bulkhead. I oiled the 2 uv joints with engine oil 3 years ago and haven't had any trouble since!!

Morning

After a coating/drowning of WD40 on the steering linkage between the bulkhead and the box all seems to be well.

Only went for a small drive this morning as it was -5 outside and the window froze on the inside mid journy, therefore i decided to go to work in the Golf with climatronix.

Hopefully thats all it was!

Mark

Follow it up with some heavier oil to reduce the frequency of having to repeat the operation.

On or around Mon, 23 Jan 2006 20:13:59 -0000, "Mark Solesbury" enlightened us thusly:

fluid level?

I'd have a serious look at the belt, too, and the pulleys.

On or around Mon, 23 Jan 2006 21:00:44 -0000, "Mark Solesbury" enlightened us thusly:

pricey ('bout 160+ notes, ISTR), yes but easier to exchange, and yes.

not that I've done one... but I did look into it sometime with a leaky one. Also I recall having one swapped on one of the minibuses, and it took the garage about half the day and an unfeasibly big hammer to move it.