Power Steering Need Help Please!

[vylover]

Hello guy's me again :/ sorry to annoy you..
the other night when i pulled back in my driveway i noticed my steering is tough as all ####... at idle it is hard as rock but when revved a tiny bit it get's a little better (manageable) and when going a few KM/H it's ok still not the same it is making that power steering is **** noise that you commonly hear on commodores and it never used to.. i can't find a leak in the system and the power steering fluid is still all good.. any questions feel free to ask i want this fixed asap please thanks in advance

P.S if it makes a difference my car is a: VS Manual (T5) ute 1997 Series II. thanks

 

[vylover]

bump please.. bought a new pump but if anyone knows what else it is so i can fix it while its at mechanic thanks bump.

 

[blackvxss350]

pulley or pump one of those two

 

[vylover]

thanks for that may i ask what can go wrong with the pulley and how should i detect failure of it please ?

 

[hako]

Did you bleed the system - an airlock will cause this.

 

[Hertz Donut]

Jack up the front (chock the back of course) and start the car, keep it idling in neutral. Turn the steering wheel slowly from lock to lock, keeping an eye on the PS reservoir level all the time. If the fluid gets down to the minimum level, top it back up to max and keep turning lock to lock. Eventually it should stop pulling in more fluid, meaning you've bled the system. Don't be surprised if the fluid gets frothy during this procedure, in which case just turn off the car and let it settle for a few minutes.

 

[vylover]

thanks for that i recently found out that it must have a leak because the power steering fluid is under were the hose is... if you get what i mean :/ any idea's on where the leak can occur ? i have bought a new pump and some cheap fluid for the meantime until i find the leak and yeah :s any help is great thanks

 

[vylover]

sorry about not telling you about the leak before.. I'm not to good mechanically so i did not know till i got my brothers mate to have a quick look (he is a mechanic) i should of known the steering fluid is low damn it! sorry guy's

 

[Hertz Donut]

They're notorious for leaks, it's always a case of when, not if. I replaced everything except the rack when chasing a leak a couple of years ago, the problem is that whenever you fix one leak it increases the pressure on other weak spots, so it can take a while to stop. Mine started with a perished reservoir and finished with replacing a hardline.

Most likely points are perished O-ring in the pump or one of the lines, clean it all off and then keep an eye out for where the drips start. Bear in mind the fluid has a habit of travelling along lines and the subframe before dropping to the ground.

 

[hako]

Try a tin/bottle of power steering stop leak - costs about $15 and can stop leaks - I've used it in many cars including our Commodore about 4 years ago and still no leaks.