power steering Q

When it is cold my power steering has started to "act up".

Only last for a minute or so once I fire up the car, but it has been tough to turn the wheel left.

I put in fresh fluid to no avail.

I would guess it is the power steering pump, but wanted opinions/knowledge from the folks here before I swap it.

I guess the other culprit could be the rack itself..

anyway, any suggestions you have would be welcome.

thx

JT

1 vote for the pump...

I have had this problem on and off too for the last year or so... seems to come and go.

quick write up, as I found info in many places.

This is for my 95 Z, so I'm not sure about other bolt/nut sizes.

1) Remove accessory drive belt ("fan belt")
2) disconnect battery
3) Remove alternator (13mm and 15mm) - don't forget to disconnect the electrical connection underneath
4) I removed the battery altogether (more room later)
5) loosen the 16mm (that is right 16mm) flare nut on the "high pressure" side of the steering pump... THIS WAS A PITA
6) pull back the hose clamp on the low pressure side
7) remove the 2 10mm bolts holding the steering pump to the block (1 and 7 o'clock)... Remove w/ socket and short extension THRU the holes in the pulley.
8) Take steering pump out
9) swap the pulley from your old steering pump to the new one... (I did this at the autoparts store w/ their help).. PITA too... Probably just about as easy to buy a new pulley ($20).
10) Reverse process to reinstall.
11) Top off steering fluid... start car/off, start car/off, etc refilling steering fluid as necessary
12) lots of left/right wheel turns etc to make sure there is no air in the lines (ie bleeding system).
13) Enjoy the fruits of your labor

loosen the 16mm "flare nut" before you loosen the 10mm bolts securing the pump to the block... there is NO room in there, and it SUCKED big time to get that bad boy off... (putting it on wasn't as bad).

Hope this helps.. Again, I found all the info I needed elsewhere... just not in one place (w/ the exception of the flare nut size :( )

GM sells a power steering fluid that is specifically blended for low temperature operation. Seemed to help my PS in very cold weather.

its really cold out in the morning...i gotta run my car for like 10-15 minutes to get any decent performance here in baltimore, seems down there its only about 10 degrees warmer. dont be so quick to blame your car, the cold takes its toll on these cars ive noticed. just let your car warm up before driving off and it wont be as bad to turn the wheel or shift or whatever.

I agree, but I've had this ride for 4+ yrs in Raleigh and now Charlotte. Steering was definately starting to cr@p out this winter.

W/ the new pump it feels much better the whole time.. not sure if I'm imagining bogus benefit or not :-)

Trying lighter weight fluid, as Fred said, would be a decent first place to start.