power steering problem

[cb7TwitchBoy]

My steering wheel gets hard on turns i know its not the fluid because it has some. Im thinking it's the belt that's too tight im not sure because is not loose and i just replace it, could that be the problem or could it be old fluid on it? Going to look at it closely tomorrow. I replace all the belts.

[htownmike]

Mines have a similar problem. Hopefully it's not the pump and something simple

[BreckAConner]

My steering wheel gets hard on turns i know its not the fluid because it has some. Im thinking it's the belt that's too tight im not sure because is not loose and i just replace it, could that be the problem or could it be old fluid on it? Going to look at it closely tomorrow. I replace all the belts.

Could be a kink or clog in the line, bad pump or rack could be going bad? Those are my thoughts, I'm sure someone else will come along more know-legible and have a better answer.

[johnl]

Im thinking it's the belt that's too tight im not sure because is not loose and i just replace it, could that be the problem or could it be old fluid on it?

An overly tight belt might cause the pump to make excessive noise (overloaded bearings), but so long as the pump pulley is rotating it should still work, no matter how tight or loose the belt is (as long as it's not so loose as for the belt to be slipping).

I doubt old fluid would of itself cause the steering to be heavy. It could well contribute to wear in the system, so shouldn't be left in there forever. Old fluid might cause blockages or restrictions due to built up crap (but then it's really a built up crap problem, not a fluid age problem per se...).

You could possibly have leaking seals in the valve body of the rack housing, so there may not be enough pressure differential on side A of a seal compared to side B, lessening the PS effect...? Faulty pumps are usually noisy pumps, but I suppose it is possible for the pump to not be pumping enough pressure and still be relatively quiet...