Steering suddenly very heavy

[marmite]

Hi All,

I drove into work today fairly uneventfully, (25 miles), but just as I got into the car park at work the steering became extremely heavy - like lead in fact - and I had quite a bit of difficulty parking the car.

I guessed most likely some sort of power steering failure,  but don't think the P/S warning light came on, which seems a bit odd.

I will check the fluid levels at lunchtime (after doing a search on here - I'm ashamed to say I didn't even know there was a reservoir pertaining to this this  s:oops: :oops: s:oops:  ).

The other thing that came to mind was that during my MOT/service a while back some sort of possible belt tension/slipping issue was mentioned. Is the v-belt involved with power steering provision?

If I called the RAC out, what are the chances of them having the right fluid if necessary, or parts to hand if something else? Is this a fairly common problem. And are repairs possible roadside or is this too big a job?

I'm not even sure whether to drive the car home now - even though I've driven loads of older cars pre-power steering, I was genuinely shocked at how difficult the MR2 was to maneovre without it.

[markiii]

the pump is electrical no belt involved

if its working you shoudl be able to hear if you stick your head under teh bonnet (front) with teh engine running

I very much dount RAC will have a pump to hand if it is that

the reason iuts so heavy is that in addition to now haviong now power assist your actually fighting teh inertia of the pump

[Goeman]

If there's fluid in there then it's either not getting power or the pump has failed. When my alternator failed it was barely but just kicking out enough volts to run the engine. At low speeds it didn't have enough juice to run the power steering and therefore got very heavy unless I revved the engine. So a slipping belt making the alternator not produce enough power could be the culprit but but you're likely to get a battery warning light with that.

Give it a test drive around the car park. If it feels fine then risk it for a biscuit otherwise if you're a member then call the RAC. That's what they're there for.

[PeteT]

Check your tyre pressures, if low then your steering will feel heavier.

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[marmite]

Right - took it out for a short drive to the village post-office at lunchtime.  It felt like a tank when I first started it, but as soon as I got above 5-10mph,felt normal. No warning lights were on.

I drove a mile to the PO. All ok. Spent about 5 mins inside and then drove back. On the drive back it didn't display any heaviness, even on first moving off.

When I got back I tried to check the fluid levels.  Under my bonnet doesn't look quite like the pictures posted - mine has a sort of solid black plastic cover across the whole trunk area, with holes cut for reservoirs. There was a big central compartment (spare tyre and jack), a large square reservoir to the right which said something about 'fuses'?. And two smaller reservoirs to the left. One was brake fluid - levels ok. The front one (which I assumed was the relevant one) I couldn't read what it said- looked mostly like numbers on the lid. When I opened it, there was a sort of mesh guard that had to be removed, and under that a long red plastic dipstick (which I couldn't see any fluid on, expect maybe right at the bottom below the 'low' marking - though since I don't know what colour the fluid is meant to be, and since the stick itself was quite a 'loud' shade, it wasn't exactly easy to read).

Was I looking in the right place?

[AmeR]

Sounds like the washer bottle to me.

[rmowbray]

You can't see the power steering reservoir, it's under the plastic.

You have to remove the big black cover by popping out all the plastic stud thingies that hold it in place - push the centre of each in slightly until they click and then pull them out.

[marmite]

I'll go and have another look at coffee break time.

One thing has just occured to me - I was thinking it might be safe to drive back as long as I allowed for the extra effort needed to turn the wheel at low speeds (junctions, roundabouts etc). But now I'm wondering if a P/S failure could lead to the steering completely locking (which would obviously be catastrophic at high speed/on the motorway).

[marmite]

Can't get the popper things off and it's getting dark, so think I'll get the train home, then call the RAC out tomorrow    s:( s:(

[PeteT]

Can't get the popper things off and it's getting dark, so think I'll get the train home, then call the RAC out tomorrow    s:( s:(

Press the middle of them, you will hear a click, they should then lift out.

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[markiii]

all those tools and RAC men don't come with torches?

[marmite]

It's a bit complicated.

I called the local garage asking if it was safe to drive the car with a PS fault. (thinking I would limp it home, book it in for a diagnosis next week after I've got paid, then use the train for the rest of the week).  However, I spoke to two different people, who gave me conflicting information. One said it should be ok to drive, the other said don't risk it.

So, then I thought I'd call the RAC out and possibly get a repair/tow courtesy  of them - but it's rush hour now, which could mean a long wait, and if for whatever reason they can't fix the car or tow it home, I could be stuck here with no transport.  (We have a special company-provided commuter bus service from the Science Park I work at which goes to the train station but it doesn't run very late, and other than that we are pretty much in the middle of nowhere).  

So I'm worried about the RAC bloke (is that sexist?!) leaving me stranded and not being able to get home. I know that probably sounds a bit paranoid, but the AA did that to me once - I had onward journey cover etc etc but they claimed they had no available tow trailer (8 hrs wait or something) quite late at night. Ever since then I have been ( probably overly) cautious and have always tried to get any problems sorted during daylight hours.

Why couldn't this have happened when I was at home?!

[Anonymous]

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 l viewtopic.php?f=11&t=28811&p=353928&hilit=stiff+steering#p353928 l

 l viewtopic.php?f=11&t=6210&hilit=power+steering l

 l viewtopic.php?f=11&t=32109&p=390321&hilit=power+steering#p390321 l

 l viewtopic.php?f=9&t=21983 l

[marmite]

Some of those threads have terrified me - £700+ for a new pump - Jesus Christ!

Plus, my car seems to have the opposite problem to other posters - they have PS for a few seconds when switching on the ignition, then it fails - wheras I have no PS when starting, but once the car gets moving it feels ok..........weird.......

[Anonymous]

Does you P/S light come on with all the other lights when you first turn the ignition?

[marmite]

Yes, it does.

[cclarke99]

This sounds like the intermittent motor problem (caused by worn brushes?) which you may be able to fix temporarily by hitting the motor.

[marmite]

Ok - managed to get the cover off this lunchtime ( two broken nails and very black hands - what were Toyota thinking when they designed that!).

The power steering fluid is below the minimum level (by a couple of mm). But there is some in there - it's not completely empty.

So now am a bit unsure whether that's the problem or not - was almost hoping to find it completely empty as that would have been an easy explanation.....

Thoughts?

[markiii]

put some in

[marmite]

I don't have any on me so will have to either risk driving it home and pick up some en-route, or buy some and bring it in to top up before driving. Probably the former, so look out for me on the M11, other MR2s of East Anglia/Northern Home Counties!  

I would be willing to bet that reservoir hasn't been topped up in years - I've certainly never done it, and those rivety things were so hard to get out that I reckon the cover may well not have been off since the car was new. I managed to get a third of them out the proper way, and then just yanked the sheet to budge the seized ones, which kind of exploded in all directions - I found all but two when putting it back.

BTW, I am pleased to see from another 'power steering' thread that some one else also had the tenacity to buy a Cape Green one - I feel we are twinned!

[marmite]

So it's been officially diagnosed as .....

The pump on its way out.

I have been quoted £1500 at a main dealer, which seems astronomical compared with some of the other quotes on here. I am a bit bewildered by that (though they did mention two separate parts, not just the pump - can't remember what the other bit was).  The plus side is that they said the fault has currently cleared itself - a phenomenon they have seen before on cars of that age - and they don't recommend getting it done right now as it could go ages before it reoccurs.

It also has a leaking head gasket (I have known about this for ages and been dutifully topping up with oil for the past 18 months).   It is getting to the stage of probably not being economic to repair, though (amazingly) does still run ok- I think they must be quite well engineered.

I feel unsure what to do. Really, I should be considering a new car before too long, I guess ...........

[Fatbloater]

Well I'm from old stock so a quick scrap yard search for a pump and a good independent garage should be able to sort that out for your for a few hundred quid as long as the head doesn't need skimming. Repairing a car is generally cheaper than buying another especially if you're going down the part ex route. I'd start by picking up Auto Trader and ringing round recovery yards where they get write offs. See if they have a part on the shelf. You may not even need to get your hands dirty.

Also for comparison - head off and skim with new gasket is £250 at my fathers garage but that's for a Renault Clio (I only say that cos he told me the price only last week) which is a nightmare of a job apparently so I'd expect the MR2 to come in just under that figure, you're looking at £50 less without the skim regardless.

Not sure on the Pump fitting but £50 per hour is standard labour which is relatively cheap.

Oh, that's in the North East. But wherever you are ... ring round.

[Mike_V]

I've been looking at this problem for some time as my car has had this but only on two occasions which were months apart, I came across this website based in Rochester in Kent which appears to do MR2 Roadster reconditioned exchange power steering  units, I haven't contacted them but it's worth a try, if they do then it will be of benefit to all club members, let us know how you get on.

 m http://www.bba-reman.com/catalogue/Deta ... roduct=915 m

[marmite]

Thanks for those tips.

I had thought that a non-main dealer would be cheaper, but not quite to that degree!  It has cheered me up in that if I can find similar prices locally, they might be viable repairs after all.

(Failing that, I may be on my way up to Redcar......  s:) s:)  )

[weejc]

>> I came across this website based in Rochester in Kent - BBA-reman

I've got same problem, pump went last week, phoned BBA-reman as recommended by mechanic. Haven't used them yet, but they quoted me £35 for a diagnosis which you get back against repair.
Repair/refurb costs £275 +VAT +£20 delivery