kk93sc3

Hello all,

Please note that I have done a ton of research on this topic and haven't found one very similar to mine, so I figured I would ask for your input/experiences. Thanks in advance!

I have been having an issue with my power steering as the topic states. Last week (when temps reached well below zero in Chicago, my car started making a whining sort of noise on start up, and it gets louder when I turn the wheel. At low speeds, it is very difficult to turn. Once the car warms up it gets a bit quieter, but not much. I figured it was the tensioner pulley, or the power steering pump, although there were no leaks from what I could tell and the ps fluid was at the proper level. I did notice there was some air in the system though because there was some (minimal) bubbling. I jacked the car up and checked all of the pulleys (all easy to turn) and the belt is in good shape. I decided to bring the car to my mechanic on Friday. He took a look at it, and said it was the ps pump and that he had to order one so he would change it on Monday ($420 w/labor), so I said to do it although I thought it was a bit steep as he was charging me about $230 for the pump.

On Monday, he started the car up to pull it in the garage to replace the pump but he said the ps was working better so he opened up the ps reservoir and noticed the fluid wasn't even circulating through the system (normally you can see it swirling around I guess). So he crimped the return line and saw the change in pressure concluding that the pump was working just fine (not sure if that makes sense I tried listening to him but he had already stated what he thought it was so I was kind of deaf thinking about how much it would cost). He suggested to replace the steering rack (and pinion) totaling about $1050 for labor, wheel alignment, and everything. My car is in awesome shape for its age with about 117k miles, but it's only worth maybe a little over $4k, so I had a hard time agreeing to pay that without further investigation.

What I'm going to try tomorrow: clean the solenoid filters, ps reservoir filter, and do a partial fluid flush. If that doesn't work, I'll flush the whole system. If that doesn't work, time for a second opinion.
What do you guys think? What else do you recommend trying, or do you think it is indeed the rack and pinion that needs to be replaced?

Thanks!

kk93sc3

I figured I would update everyone on the progress:

The solenoid on the sc300 is in a very tight spot, so I decided to try the other stuff before resorting to that.
I used a mixmizer ($4 at Walmart) to suck up the fluid in the ps pump reservoir. The fluid must've been really old because it was almost black in color. After getting the fluid out of there, I used a flathead screwdriver and a steel wire soldering brush to scrape all around in the reservoir, especially on the bottom where the filter is located. I used paper towels to repeatedly wipe off all the black gunky crap that came off on the tools.

Flushing the system: I used valvoline max synthetic ATF from Walmart. $16 for 5 quarts
After cleaning that, I attached a hose to the return line (bigger tube on the right side of the pump) and ran that into a clear plastic carton to flush the old fluid out. Plug the opening left by the return line with something (I used a rubber carburater cap but I've read people using 4ga speaker wire; whatever plugs it will work).
I filled the pump reservoir back up to the brim with new fluid, turned the car on for a few seconds then shut it off. Have someone hold the carton for you since the old fluid will be shot into it from the return line. Repeat these steps until the fluid is coming out of the return line looking new (clear and red). Once it's coming out clean, leave the reservoir low on fluid since you need to plug the return line back in. After that's in, fill the reservoir up to the right cold level, turn the car on and turn the wheel from lock to lock 10-15 times to get rid of any air. I had to fill the reservoir up a bit after that.

My car is fixed from what I can tell! The power steering is smoother than ever. So much for my mechanic. Never going there again. I'll post on here if anything changes but I spent $20 instead of over $1000.

kk93sc3

Bump.
Car is still running great. Easy fix. Try some things before trusting a mechanic. Changing the rack would've fixed it but he would've had to flush the fluid to do so, and I would've been out over $1000.