hey guys
sorry for the late update...
so after the mechanic lifted the car up and inspected the area (after cleaning it thoroughly 2 days before)...he found the P/S pump to be leaking...the rack has a minor leak on both sides...and the culprit according to him is the valve cover leaking oil from the top and falling on the P/S pump....so he gave me a quote to change the valve covers (half the price of the car)...then took me aside and politely told me to sell the car while i still can LOL

so verdict is in...there can be an issue with any of the 2 major components....he still cant figure out why the steering is fine now....and what made it go hard....I dont want to spend basically 2/3rd the price of the car to fix such a minor issue....

Dosent the P/S system have a mechanism to get rid of air inside automatically?

Tc and GL!

 

On any rack and pinion steering car I've ever owned, all you do is fill up the resevoir, then, with both front wheels off the ground (makes the next step easier), just turn the steering wheel back and forth lock-to-lock about 4 - 6 times to expel trapped air. Check the fluid level and top up if necessary and you should be good to go.
That said, if you had air in there before, it could have been bled off during the normal course of driving... unless you only go in straight lines.. lol.
As to the leaking valve cover gasket, this has nothing to do with your PS pump, as you've gathered, and the cost to replace is not that high (2/3 price of the car???). Find a different mechanic. You can try turning the valve cover bolts 1/2 turn yourself to see if it helps. Any significant oil or PS leakage will show up at the resevoir level, so judge the seriousness accordingly.
There are many "mechanic in a can" power steering additives available to slow down leaking seals and improve rack/pinion performance, provided it's not too far gone to save. It sounds like yours is a prime candidate.

 

Well i raised up the front end and turned it lock to lock a couple of times when i was trying to diagnose the issue...

and he quoted me around $ 2500 CDN for replacing both valve covers, P/S pump, rack , labour and tax....the car is worth about $3500 so i dont see the point in spending that much on it anyways...apparently the gaskets for the intake manifold are $200 !!...

To put in a stop leak additive I would have to remove some of the P/S fluid from the reservoir ....Ive got this car almost a year and ive never had to top it off...so i doubt its such a big leak...however i myself saw the leaks in the rack...and they are in the rubberised area and might need attention pretty soon considering i drive about 100-150 km everyday....

But after all this i still dont understand how is the air going in all of a sudden...these leaks were there when i got the car.... this has something to do with the rain/water....regardless i will try to take some fluid out and put in a stop leak

thanks for ure help!

 

The only way that rain water can affect your power steering performance is if it causes the PS belt to slip. In that case either your PS belt is worn out, or not tensioned properly.

Air on the other hand, can get into the PS system from the same hole that allows the PS fluid to leak out.

Another possibility is that you have some minute debris in the PS fluid, that intermittently blocks some of the passages as it is pumped around the system.

A PS fluid flush will help in these cases, and is something you should do BEFORE adding an anti leak chemical..

In terms of your other issues, those of leaking gaskets, it seems that you are being way overcharged. Get another quote.

Phil

 

My recently purchased 2005 ES330 with 193,000 kms suddenly developed the same problem - alternating stiff / easy turning.

After reading through all the possible problems, I inspected the steering column U joint and found it to be a bit rusty. Sprayed it with WD40, rotated the steering wheel full left, sprayed again, then rotated it full right and sprayed again.

Took it out for a test drive and the problem had disappeared! Steering once again smooth and the wheel returns to center perfectly.

Thanks all for your help!

 

Thank you so much! I just starting having this problem and didn't know where to begin, especially because I have just recently purchased this car and wasn't going to start putting tons of money in... I just sprayed some WD-40 and...poof! back to normal!

 

That made my day! Don't how to thank more! Problem is gone with your solution!

So just want to share my story for others' reference:
I was having almost the exact same symptoms as people discussed on my 2003 Lexus ES300. I need to use both hands and a lot of muscle to turn the wheel because it was stiff intermittently. After turning the car, the steering used to stuck and wont come straight itself as I pressed the gas. I have 4 different shops checked the car. 2 of them recommended rack and pinion replace. Another store reported this: Lower steering shaft ujoint is frozen causing oversteer, recommend replacement. But this one diagnosed a different symptom (oversteer instead of stiff steering) so I couldn't be sure. And finally my mechanic said U-joint is fine and either rack and pinion or power steering pump need to be replaced. There were tiny amount of leaks at both sides of rack and pinion and pump was covered with grease. (Don't know if it has anything to do with my engine gasket leakings, cuz other parts are also a bit greasy). So I ordered a power steering pump (since it is the cheaper thing to try) and was almost gonna replace the pump.

Then I came across to this discussion. Just opened the hood and sprayed WD-40 onto the lower shaft u-joint while my friend is turning the wheel left and right. Problem is gone!

Thanks everyone!