I've been having some strange steering issues this past week and I'm not sure what's going on. it feels like when I'm turn going slow (parking lot, driveway, etc) it hesitates when turning. sometimes it sort of shudders. once at speed, it doesn't have this, just going slow.

after inspection, I can see that the main power steering hose (probably original) is seeping fluid. not much, but it looks like it's soaked a little at the end where it goes into the pump. I can't get it to actually seep, but the hose just looks like it's soaked at that end.

also, I noticed that the boot covering the steering was torn on the passenger side. I'm not sure if that has something to do with this issue:



any ideas on what is wrong?

J.

 

Certainly you should fix the boot and the seepage issue. Boots are fairly cheap and without replacing them quickly they can lead to more severe problems. Perhaps it is too late and that is a cause of your shuddering.

I had a shuddering issue when performing sharp turns at low speeds. I found out that it was due to alignment issues. Once I got the front end properly aligned the shuddering quit. In my case, the improper aligment resulted from when I replaced the tie rod ends.

I guess my recommendation would be to check out all of the steering components. Tie rod ends (both inner and outer) and replace as necessary. Get the car properly aligned and then see if the shuddering persists. If it does, you may need a new rack.

Good luck

 

Along with the above possibilities, something as simple as low ps fluid or loose ps drive belt can cause the same issue.

 

belts and ps fluid are both good. I might try the bleeding thing to make sure all the air is out of the system. then go from there if it's still persisting.

J.

 

Is the P/S's operation stiffer when cold? If so your Steering Rack may be going out but it's strange that symptoms suddenly started--usually Rack operation gets harder gradually.