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Old 08-24-2008, 12:44 PM   #1
`04AlpineWhite
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Default Steering gets heavy near full lock...

I am having an issue with my steering. It is like the power steering cuts out when near full lock. The steering gets VERY heavy. It occasionally happens when parking, but it is REALLY bad during autocross.

I replaced the power steering pump, but the problem is still there. The fluid is at the 'full' mark.

Any suggestions on what to look at next?

The car is a 2004 STi, with 75K miles.
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Old 08-24-2008, 03:41 PM   #2
sniper1rfa
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Try bleeding the system? Sounds like how my rack felt when i first installed it and hadn't fully bled the air out. Does it judder when cranking the wheel over really fast?


Maybe you have a small leak somewhere?
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Old 08-24-2008, 07:59 PM   #3
`04AlpineWhite
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sniper1rfa View Post
Try bleeding the system? Sounds like how my rack felt when i first installed it and hadn't fully bled the air out. Does it judder when cranking the wheel over really fast?


Maybe you have a small leak somewhere?
How did you bleed the system? I might as well try to see if there are bubbles in the system somewhere.

The occasional parking lot steering cutout seems to happen when the wheel is being moved fairly slowly, but the autocross incidents are when the wheel is being moved pretty much as fast as I can manage to move it. It doesn't start and stop in the middle of a turn, though. Once it happens, there's basically no turning the wheel any farther. In parking lots I just push the clutch in and once I start moving again it will behave normally.

Fluid isn't leaking out anywhere. Could air be leaking in somewhere where fluid would not be pushed out of the same hole?

Thanks for the input.
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Old 08-24-2008, 09:29 PM   #4
sniper1rfa
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Well, the FSM says to turn the car on, and run the wheel from lock to lock very slowly, presumably with the P/S reservoir cap off. Do this a couple times, and if bubbles don't stop coming in the the reservoir stop and wait a half hour, then try again.


So i would have somebody slowly turn the wheel back and forth, and look for bubbles in the reservoir. The pump may also making an inconsistent whining noise (when the pump starts cavitating as the air goes through it) which should be noticeable.



I don't know enough about power steering systems to help beyond that, however i would *guess* that a very small amount of air will cause troubles, so the leak may not be immediately noticeable even if it is leaking fluid. I would also guess that there is nowhere the system might take in air without losing fluid. That is a pretty tentative guess, though.




Also, maybe make sure the pump's belt isn't slipping for some reason. If it suddenly slips when you load it up, that could cause a huge jump in steering effort.
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Old 08-25-2008, 08:18 AM   #5
DrSeuss
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Quote:
Originally Posted by `04AlpineWhite View Post
I am having an issue with my steering. It is like the power steering cuts out when near full lock. The steering gets VERY heavy. It occasionally happens when parking, but it is REALLY bad during autocross.

I replaced the power steering pump, but the problem is still there. The fluid is at the 'full' mark.

Any suggestions on what to look at next?

The car is a 2004 STi, with 75K miles.
My friend and I have a similiar problem on his '04 STi. During autox the steering will become so heavy it's impossible to turn the wheel. This never occurred last year but this year we switched to a wider grippier tire. We just flushed the system out and will see if things improve this weekend.
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Old 08-30-2008, 08:26 PM   #6
`04AlpineWhite
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DrSeuss View Post
My friend and I have a similiar problem on his '04 STi. During autox the steering will become so heavy it's impossible to turn the wheel. This never occurred last year but this year we switched to a wider grippier tire. We just flushed the system out and will see if things improve this weekend.

Does your friend happen to have a Whiteline roll center kit, as well?

Were you successful in eliminating the problem by flushing the system?
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Old 02-19-2021, 05:53 PM   #7
Owen H
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I am reviving this before making a detailed new thread. I am having this exact same issue and have been for about 350 miles now.. Has anyone had this happen? Has there been a fix?
The issue is mostly relevant as it relates to parking and stationary wheel turn. I don't turn the wheel when stationary other than to test the status of the system. Alas... still malfunctioning.
My car is a 2016 STI.
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Old 02-19-2021, 06:01 PM   #8
`04AlpineWhite
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Wow this is an old thread. I had a bad power steering pump. You may need a new one. Good luck!
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Old 02-20-2021, 09:16 PM   #9
Owen H
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Let me add little context. I am struggling to accept the pump being bad. It makes no sense.
I had a small leak at the rotary valve inlet (the seal that commonly goes bad).
I replace the seal, bleed the system to my best..
The steering is VERY hard initially. Over a few days it softens up. At this point, it feels pretty normal except the last little bit. How is it that this could have thrown the pump out? One cavitation event during bleeding did this? I'm thinking no way. What makes me even more skeptical is that the car is a '16 with 40k on it. Power steering pumps aren't that fragile.. right? I may have said this before but I really do not want to start throwing ~$400 parts at it until its fixed. I'd rather install an entire new system once and be done.
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