no power?

[daniel199260]

hi guys

having a bit of trouble with my 2000 VT commodore sedan.
after about a 20 min drive to when the car gets to its ordinary operating temp. it loses all its power when turning.
like pulling out of an intersection either left of right, i could put my foot flat with bald tires on a wet day and the wheels wouldn't spin, it just takes off incredibly slow,
but then the thing is, when the car straightens up, then it launches me. its like something is restricting the engine when the front wheels are turning
anyone heard of this,
i really don't have a clue on what could do this so any feedback would be greatly appreciated
couple of other details are i know in the passed it has been given quite a flogging by the previous owner and it has 270 odd thousand k's on it.
thanks

 

[Nut Kracker]

Check the power steering pump.
It could be putting excessive load on the engine when the wheels are turned?

Only thing I can think of.

 

[Tasmaniak]

Fuel pump or pickup.

 

[daniel199260]

power stearing pump looks fine, fluid is good, slight leak out one of the hoses and im not sure how to check the fuel pump or pickup for faults
this is only when the engine is warm, i think it is starting to happen when taking off straight now too. its kinda annoying, pulling out of an intersection onto a 100km highway, so i try to take off fast but i simply cant :doh:
something is restricting the engine when the wheels are turned.

 

[Tasmaniak]

So does it happen when the wheel are turned sharply or when actual cornering? Try to figure out if it's related to the position of the wheels or physics on the car.

 

[daniel199260]

It gets worse the more the wheels are turned, at full lock the car is propyl pushing 30kwrw but even just tight cornering I can feel the power is being restricted

 

[Tasmaniak]

How much fluid is in the power steering reservoir?

 

[daniel199260]

sitting a few mm under the max line

 

[Tasmaniak]

And it's normal ATF in there? Is the pump making excessive noises when turning?

 

[Big-Al]

Just another direction other than obviously the power steering.
Do you have traction control? is the light coming on when this happens? possibly one of the wheel sensors is shagged when it gets warmed by the brakes.
Also I would try swapping the back wheels with the fronts just to see if it makes any difference at all. Could be helpful with troubleshooting the issue.

vague maybes:
fuel pressure regulator on it's way out
O2 sensors - bit weird it only happens when turning