Heavy Steering After Doing Donuts

[cogs]

I was doing some donuts tonight (well as best as my 4wd NA skyline does lol) and then I drove off and noticed the steering was really heavy.

I pulled over and checked the power steering pump which seemed to be working fine and didn't look like it had lost any fluid.

It took a 3-point turn in a wide street to turn around (cause I didnt wanna go through the roundabout ahead incase I couldn't turn enough).

I got the car home but the steering wheel takes heaps more effort to turn and doesn't seem to want to turn very far (only just made the turn into my driveway). I'll have another look now but just thought I'd see if someone knew what it would be, if it's just the power steering isn't working or if it's something more severe.

Thanks in advance.

[cogs]

I just had a look under the bonnet with the engine on and the power steering fluid in the resorvoir is just sitting there and not being pumped around like it usually does??

All the belts are running fine etc and I couldn't hear any abnormal noises.

I've had a bit of a look around the front wheels, under the car and under the bonnet but cant see anything out of the ordinary?

What should I check/look for?

[AlexCim]

Look outside the square, could be something other then the steering?

Not to say i know, but just suggesting

[cogs]

Like what kind of things?

[cogs]

Can anyone help me? I'm guessing I've probably stuffed my P/S pump from holding it on full-lock too long. They don't like that do they?

I'll get my mate to have a look at it when he finishes work cause he just replaced the one in his WRX but I was hoping someone could tell me some things to check now.

The P/S fluid is full and no sign of leaks, hoses all seem fine (well the ones I can see), P/S belt seems to be running fine, no noises but the fluid in the P/S resorvoir is just sitting still and not being pumped around like you can usually see.

Does that sound like it would just be the pump not working?

The steering is REALLY heavy and hard to turn.

[MerlinTheHapyPig]

pump seems to be most likely culprit. maybe take it to a place that specialises in power steering.

Must have been on the way out, since doing donuts or holding it at full lock shouldn't stuff anything up

[cogs]

thanks Merlin

[blind_elk]

Check the TPS connections.

[cogs]

I had a look at the TPS and it looked fine, but what connections should I be looking at exactly? How does TPS affect power steering not working? Skylines have variable P/S assist don't they, but doesn't the P/S constantly get pumped around (ie you can see it moving in PS resorvoir) regardless of throttle input? Wouldn't the variable P/S be controlled by a speed input anyway?

Also I just ran the car for a bit to make sure the power steering still wasn't working and had a look under the car for P/S leaks and noticed fluid leaking from the exhaust flanges? I got a cat-back exhaust put on recently and it's leaking from the new flange joins. Is my car running rich or is it just water? I imagine if fluid is leaking then so are exhaust gases? It's not leaking heaps just a slow drip.

Could any of these problems be related? Like if the TPS is causing the P/S problem I imagine it could be causing over-fuelling and hence the fluid leaking from the exhaust?

Please forgive my noobness with car problems.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

[cogs]

C'mon people I need some help! lol

I'd take it to my mechanic but he's flat-out till Monday and there's no Power Steering specialists nearby.

Is there anyway to tell if it is just the pump?

[cogs]

I just realised my speedo isn't working. Do you think that could be the reason for the loss of power steering? If it is variable with speed perhaps it offers no power assistance if the speedo is constantly reading 0km/h?

[ToF]

No idea about your problem but I highly doubt your power steering problems are related to your speedo as if you remember your steering wheel was always easy to turn while stationary when it worked.

[d00dz]

Maybe the HICAS?

My steering is very heavy too... Its been like this since i got the car..

Someone said there is a HICAS mode which turns the steering to hwy mode when going fast and normal when going slow? Could be your problem?

I need to find out more too

[siksII]

I just realised my speedo isn't working. Do you think that could be the reason for the loss of power steering? If it is variable with speed perhaps it offers no power assistance if the speedo is constantly reading 0km/h?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

the hicas requires a speed input to work properly, as it hardens up at higher speeds (in r33s anyway)

so the hicas does not know how fast you are going, or any other problems, it usually goes into its high speed mode which makes the steering heavy even at lower speeds.

[mass_iv]

yeh i agree with siksII,

the speedo not working maybe causing the hicas to stay in high speed mode, and hence making ur steering heavy all the time.... have a look at the speedo, fix that and see how the steering goes.

[cogs]

thanks for the replies guys.

nah apparently my car doesn't have HICAS.

I had someone on here tell me 'when the speedo stops the power steering stops' so I've taken the instrument cluster out but couldn't fix it myself so I took it to my mechanic this morning and he's sending it up the coast to get fixed.

I took the car for a drive down my street, I saw the speedo get up to 20km/h (but doesn't register anything at slow speeds) but i'm not sure if steering was still heavy as I didn't try turning when it was giving a reading.

Either way, I couldn't drive around with a broken speedo anyway.

Hopefully it fixes the power steering problem but..

ToF makes a good point "your steering wheel was always easy to turn while stationary when it worked."

Also I remember looking under my bonnet and the power steering fluid in the resorvoir was being moved around and now you look at it and it just sits there.

If it is the power steering pump, would you guys suggest reco, another used one or new? And what would be some ballpark figures for each?

thanks heaps.

[CEF11E]

I just had my pump recoed. they put a new rotating assembly in it and just used my housing. It was around $300 fitted from memory.

[MANWHOR3]

Fellars. I know what the problem is!!!!!

yipeee. hehehe.

In all seriousness, when I was mucking around iwth my cluster, my speedo unit in the cluster wasn't connected properly. My speedo didn't show speed and the hicas light would come on and power steerin would be lost.

Most likely what happened, is when you were chucking it, maybe the speedo came loose? It's not as silly as it seems. Once I was doing donuts and the interior light cover fell off..

[cogs]

Can someone please put up the power steering section of the R33 workshop manual?

[Oosh]

I had a p/s problem in my R32, the assistance would cut out at the most inconvenient times (e.g. half-way thru a corner), turned out to be related to my electrics.

My voltage was sagging due to a dodgy earth lead from the battery, and it seems the p/s solenoid was the first component to play up, must have a narrow operating voltage range.

Can someone please put up the power steering section of the R33 workshop manual?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

SAU has been contacted by JPNZ in regards to the links to illegal jpnz manual download sites being posted on SAU. We have advised JPNZ that we will take action against anybody who posts these manuals or links to their download sites and we will be going through and removing all previous download links.

Please remember that pirating these manuals is ripping JPNZ off. They have worked hard to offer a product which has been offered free of charge illegally to anybody who wants one. Please think of the ramifications this has on their business.

If you notice a link of the above nature, please use the 'report post' button to have a moderator remove it.

Thanks all,

Christian

Edited December 18, 2005 by Oosh