Power Steering Sticks

[dakselrod]

Hi,

I have an older (1992) ES300, with approximately 220,000 miles. Ever since it has gotten colder in Philadelphia, my power steering has gotten sticky. The first 10-15 degrees turn of a steering wheel is easy to turn, then comes a point where you have to apply considerable amount of force to turn the wheel. Then once again, the steering wheel turns easily. Once you make the turn, the steering wheel begins to return to the neutral position, and becomes stuck at about the same point. I have to grab the wheel and apply force once again to straighten the car.

I have plenty of fluid in the reservoir. The fluid bubbles when the engine is on. As the car heats up more, the steering gets better. When the car reaches optimum temperature the problems some times goes away and some times remains. I did not experience these problems previously or in warm weather.

Is this a pump issue? Or could this be a clogged line? Is this something I can attempt to repair myself? I do not want to invest $500 - $700 to replace the PS components, since I plan to sell/trade the car relatively soon.

Thanks,

Dmitry

[Toysrme]

I would start by flushing the fluid out. Then inspecting that the goodies like the balljoints, tie-rod ends & rack & pinion have grease on them. Tho normally, incorrect tension on a belt will cause a horrible noise, check the condition of the belt also!

Could be a leaky pipe/hose, or a bad pump, but I would check the better stuff too.