vr calais steering problem

[joely1991]

i have a vr calais v6 series 2, bought the car with steering heavy as f***, the bloke i bought it from said he had replaced the pump and that didnt fix it so he's selling it, i bought it and took it for a couple drives and it was heavy steering then some days it would randomly go light. I then took it to a mechanic to have it looked at and he said something in the struts were loose, not sure exactly what, so he tightened what ever it was, and the power steering worked fine and was extremely light, after a couple days of driving the steering has gone heavy as again. when the engine is idling and i turn the steering wheel (With struggle) there is no rev change or any load put on the engine what so ever.

Does anyone know what the problem could be?

[BlackVXGTS]

There steering rack contains a rotary valve and a solenoid valve that control the amount of variable assistance that's given to the steering in a Calais. One or both may be faulty. Solenoid valve is easy to replace, but if the problem is the rotary valve a reconditioned rack may be the best option.

[hako]

Quite a few people replace the speed sensitive (varionic?) power steering rack with the less troublesome unit from the Execs etc.

[joely1991]

There steering rack contains a rotary valve and a solenoid valve that control the amount of variable assistance that's given to the steering in a Calais. One or both may be faulty. Solenoid valve is easy to replace, but if the problem is the rotary valve a reconditioned rack may be the best option.

ok, so your fairly sure it's something wrong with the rack, and nothing to do with the pump? just wondering because as i said, even when i turn the steering wheel it doesnt sound like the pump is putting any load on the engine, theres no drop in revs or anything. does this mean that the pump is not operating at all? any help would be greatly appreciated

[Cheap6]

As it's an intermittent problem, it's more likely to be an electrical fault than a mechanical one. The solenoid on the rack is indeed one suspect but so is the BCM and the wiring and connectors associated with it. => wiggle test and tap test.

A dealer will be able to check for fault codes.

The pumps have a different outlet with variotronic than that used with conventional steering. As the pump has been replaced, trust no one and pull the pressure hose and the fitting behind it. A variotronic pump will have a fixed orifice, a conventional pump will have a floating spool and spring.

[Brett_jjj]

The workshop manual says that if there is an electrical failure in the speed sensitive power steering system,the rotary control valve will move to the minimum boost position and it will be possible to drive the vehicle although the steering effort will be higher than normal.