How can I tell if my power steering is failing i filled the other day and with the car running there is no movement within the reservoir. and the pump sounds normal, but steering seemed a little stiff last time i drove it..

 

Our S70 has been stiff since we got it. My 850 leaks about a quart every month. If it works, it's likely ok I guess.

 

mine doesnt leak or make any squeals or abnormal noise. you would think if the pump was working id see some movement in the reservoir right? i know on other power steering pumps ive seen you pull the cap off and can see fluid moving around in there.

 

The reservoir is just that. It's a holding tank for the fluid and you may or may not see any movement. Either way, moving or not doesn't really tell you anything.

What will tell you if it's working or not is steering effort. What that effort will not tell you is if it's the pump or the rack. Racks do develop what is called "Morning Sickness" as they age. It's a condition where the seals in the rack get old and stiff and the steering will be difficult until the pump beats the fluid a while to build some heat and the heat in the fluid softens the seals in the rack and starts to hold pressure which is your assist.

The other thing that happens is when you see your steering fluid looking like dirty silver paint. That's from the aluminum wall of the rack wearing away and you'll have hard turning all the time or a stiff spot that doesn't move or go away. It's from losing the material that makes up the wall of the tube the rack slides in.

If your pump goes out you'll lose assist all the time. Normally they will start to whine all the time even if the fluid is up to the top.

My recommendation (Rspi, you too) is drop a bottle of Lucas into it and see if it helps the seals re-seal. I'm not a big fan of mechanic in a can and it isn't a permanent repair but I've had the stuff do wonders on a number of cars. If 10$ of Lucas can put off a couple hundred dollar rack job for a year or two or .... I'm all for it.

 

Mine has a huge amount of fluid movement in it......and the pump is almost stuffed.

If the steering is working fine, I wouldn't be too concerned about the fluid not moving, as long as there is good fluid in there.

 

one way you can tell if it is the rack or the pump is that

if it is the rack you might only have difficulty turning in one direction or in spots going through lock to lock. where if it's the pump there will be no assistance either way.

 

I did drop a bottle of Lucas in it about 2 weeks ago. It took a week to get it all in there. The leak has slown down a lot, about 25% remaining. I may try another bottle. Heck, that stuff is thick as honey. Nothing like the tranny fluid, almost like water.