Jump to content
SAU Community

Steering Occasionally Going Heavy... Is This The Crappy Hicas?

Dean_HR31
 Share

Recommended Posts

Dean_HR31 Mentor

Dean_HR31

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hey guys, quick simple question..

when it feels like it, my steering suddenly goes heavy.. can be any time eg going into a round about

at slow speed, coming into a bend fast.. basically whenever the car feels like it...?

Im hoping this IS the Hicas cos my lock bar goes in this week... :)

Thanks!

Edited by Dean_HR31
racsov500 Grand Master

racsov500

Posted
Posted

could be the pump or the valve body in the top of the rack, does it do it turning in one direction? are there 'hills' you have to get over when turning the wheel (a spot of resistance that you have to push hard to get past)

ZENNON Grand Master

ZENNON

Posted
Posted

This happened to me a few time on the skidpan on the weekend (and i have a lockbar) but i think

its a bit different - seemed to happen when i was spinning the wheels in 2nd so the car must have been thinking

we were doing 80 odd kms/h so the stearing goes heavy at higher speeds? does anyone know if this is true?

R33GOD Grand Master

R33GOD

Posted
Posted

i always get the heavy steering issues with my hicas. light goes on...no power steering. i have the smallest of power steering leak which is causing it. topped up the fluid and it comes good after 10 mins. the hicas is sooo sensetive. have a look for the smallest.. i mean smallest of power steering leak.

GTAAAH Mentor

GTAAAH

Posted
Posted

Most annoying thing ever.. Goes from light to heavy..Always intermittent, and topping up fluids and recharging battery doesnt help at all. turning car off then on seems to fix it... for about 5 minutes..Cant do the hicas diagnostic either because it's too damn difficult to get started... Then suddenly it's gone and replaced by the steering wheel that jumps around, a loud clunking and the hicas light flicking, whenever your at lights with stereo or your lights on..

B0oStEr Mentor

B0oStEr

Posted
Posted
Most annoying thing ever.. Goes from light to heavy..Always intermittent, and topping up fluids and recharging battery doesnt help at all. turning car off then on seems to fix it... for about 5 minutes..Cant do the hicas diagnostic either because it's too damn difficult to get started... Then suddenly it's gone and replaced by the steering wheel that jumps around, a loud clunking and the hicas light flicking, whenever your at lights with stereo or your lights on..

It sounds exactly like my 32 when the alternator was dying.

It never brought the charge warning light on but struggled to make 12.5 volts when tested with the motor running.

A new alternator and the voltage never goes below 14.2 volts and the hicas light, clunking and heavy steering never returned.

I think hicas might need more than 13 volts to work properly.

Check your output voltage and be aware that as alternators die they can work intermittently for a while so it might be 14.2 volts for at first then drop to 12.5 volts and your problem returns.

GTAAAH Mentor

GTAAAH

Posted
Posted

Yeh, it's ok on idle but once lights are on and it's idling it starts to do that, i've tried a new battery and that didnt help (which confused me because you'd think a fully charged battery would at least run sufficient voltages until it is flat)

Been told it could be power steering pump (which i dont agree with) so now it's either new alternator or try a capacitor or something (has expensive stezza, but problem happens even when stereo not on soo yeh)

THENIG Community Regular

THENIG

Posted
Posted

I know this sounds bloody obvious and im sure you have checked.... Could the power steering belt just be loose/worn? It won't necessarily squeek either, as soon as it slips whilst your driving it will have the same symptoms as you have described, goes heavy all of a sudden under load, then slips, which creates friction which creates heat and then works fine for a bit before slipping again? Not saying that thats def. what it is put i'd be checking that first, its a bit of a prick to do if you still have stock FMI pipes in the way, otherwise its a 15min job.

captain_jonno Contributor

captain_jonno

Posted
Posted (edited)

its a real pain I get the same thing as described.. it happens by itself regulary and usually when going over 80kph on the freeway the steering goes off center.. but now often if I flick high beams on the hicas light will flash on and my stereo turns off and back on.. have intermittent issues with the steering because of it also..

but my starter motor is now making bad noises when i turn on the car so im getting that fixed next week as well as a new clutch.. thinking now maybe i should get them to check for power steering leaks and maybe replace my alternator.. hmm its a 93 r32 GTR

Edited by captain_jonno

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • luke gtr
      Hello Everyone

      By luke gtr · Posted

      Actually,  just remembered there should be info in the threads (somewhere) about swapping to a manual steering rack and deleting power steering all together. 
    • 180 wanabe
      Thinking of getting a Q50 300hp and just tuning it instead of getting the Q50 Red or 400R

      By 180 wanabe · Posted

      Also had a look at the Nissan JP website looks like the 400r has a slightly shorter ratio than than the regular V37 3.133 VS 2.937 which from a guy who has driven both 3.69 vs 4.11 ratios in the S15 is bugger all. Seems that the AUTO Z runs the same ratio as the 400R but can't find any info as to if its an open or LSD? More often than not the auto LSD is open
    • joshuaho96
      R34 power steering

      By joshuaho96 · Posted

      Do not replace the power steering lines with this stuff. If it's anything like the Chase Bays stuff it will leak and be worse than stock. The reason why the reservoir is on the LH/passenger side of the car is because that's just where the reservoir was most convenient to fit. Don't overthink this stuff. The intake/cold side of the engine is pretty busy on these cars. And again, the hardpipe is designed to be a janky power steering cooler. In theory you can replace it with a real power steering cooler but that's really only for track use where boiling the fluid is a distinct possibility. Start with the low pressure lines feeding the pump from the reservoir. Make sure there isn't a bunch of junk in the reservoir filter. Be careful to not get ATF all over the engine bay. I hate dealing with ATF spills, you can clean it up and the slightest crevice will still release more oil that can still drip over time. You also want to inspect for leaks before you make a mess and can't tell what happened. Most likely you have a leak somewhere that is allowing fluid out and air in. Failing that it's allowing air in but not fluid out. Only place I can really see that happening is on the low pressure side because the pump will pull a slight vacuum to draw fluid in. Everything after the pump is high pressure or lower pressure, approaching atmospheric by the time it returns to the reservoir.
    • Kinks
      Skid pans in/around Sydney?

      By Kinks · Posted

      I did a skidpan night at SMSP this week, it was much cheaper than $350. But yeah, you need to slap an LSD in that thing.  I put an OS Giken in the 370Z and it's f**king MARVELOUS even compared to Nissan's viscous LSD. So you're saying it's free now that it's a housing estate? 😂
    • The Bogan
      MLR's Bogan cruise ship

      By The Bogan · Posted

      Nah, the car seems to run exactly as it did prior, in saying this it does "seem" to be better down low, like more eager to rev, but that may be 100% placebo effect from intake noise But, I'm not worried about it at all, in the end it is a fairly low compression NA engine that has a well shrouded intake,  if it is getting hotter IAT I cannot notice anything negative performance wise from the seat of my pants thrashing it about on the street or sitting in traffic, so meh, car now now makes induction noise so I'm happy
×
×
  • Create New...