[SILVY968]

Well, I just had the steering pump replaced along with the tank and both hoses to fix a pump leak.



When I picked up the car there was a problem. The steering felt like there was no assist at all when I pulled out of the parking spot.



Here is what I have found:

Steering feels normal when I am rolling, regardless of rpm;

When I am not rolling the power steering assist seems to slowly leave when I am stopped after 10-15 seconds. If I bring up the revs when standing still, the steering does not improve and remains difficult to turn. As soon as I pull away and reach 5-10 MPH, the steering goes back to normal.



So, it is not rpm related but seems to stiffen up only when I stop.

I am not leaking fluid from anywhere in the system and the PM said that it had good pressure and when he test drove it it felt fine. It must have changed while sitting for 2-3 hours.



It is not pressure in the pump because if I increase the rpm's the pressure should rise and make the steering ok, but it does not improve the problem.



What does stopping have to do with power steering viability?



My PM said to drive it for a couple of days to see if anything changes and that he says it must be a bad pump. The pump guy says that it must be the steering rack. Finger pointing at my expense.



Any ideas? Has this happened to anyone else on the board?



Brian

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[banditsc]

Was the system bleed properly. Try bleeding the system, put a piece of cardboard under each front tire, remove the cap of the reservoir, fire the car up and turn the wheel from full lock to full lock a few times. If someone is watching the reservoir they might see some bubbles coming up if it has air in it.



I have had what you are describing when I replaced a rack on my old 944S and it was apparently a bad rebuild. At low speed it had no power but at speed it was nice and tight. Not sure why the rack would go out if they only replaced the pump and hoses, unless some debris was dislodged and it made it into the rack clogging it.

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[SILVY968]

banditsc,



It was bled properly. The pump seems to be crap. Thats what you get for trying to save a few bucks. I now realize that the pump pressure is down all of the time. When rolling it is easier to turn, when stopped harder, just like manual steering, duh!

I ordered a new pump today and will return the bad one for credit. I'll have to pay to do it twice, but it does not take very long to r&r a pump, it's the coiled line that is tough! Oil cooler had to come out first to gain access.



After this experience, I can tell you that changing over to manual steering for weight savings will require big arms for parking a DD.

Thanks

Brian

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[banditsc]

It would be pretty hard to get a bad rebuilt pump, after rebuilding mine my self, I found there really isn't much to the pump. There really isn't anything that can fail inside of there.



When I had a bad rebuilt rack, it was a bear to steer the car when it was going slow like parking, but once I was moving the steering felt ok. It really not that your feeling more fluid pressure when your rolling it's just that there is less resistance to turn the wheel the faster your moving.

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[Georges]

My first rebuild pump was bad. It just gave me good practice for the second one. If I remember I got the 2nd one from Zimms, cheaper than the first but it worked.

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[xrad]

SIlvy: was the pump from ebay?



Pump pressure would be my first thought since you just replaced it.



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...em=160212011884

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