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Steering wheel won't turn while idle

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Old Jan 8, 2009 | 10:04 PM
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Default Steering wheel won't turn while idle

I finally got a full exhaust installed on my car with only 13000 miles I bring it home (about 20 miles) and the cars steering wheel is extremely difficult to turn while idle and back to normal while I am driving. Anyone know what could be wrong? Power steering pump? No leaks, and fluid is full.

Edit: I got it lowered at the same time could it have something to do with that?

Last edited by somws6ta; Jan 8, 2009 at 10:34 PM.
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Old Jan 8, 2009 | 10:15 PM
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mine does the exact same thing! its kind of annoying sometimes!
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Old Jan 8, 2009 | 10:30 PM
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Are you saying it's normal? I'm pretty sure it's not normal. It is extremely difficult to turn. I just got the car lowered too could it be something to do with that?
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Old Jan 8, 2009 | 10:52 PM
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Its probably something related to the power steering. At idle you have a lot of friction fighting against you, when moving there is less friction and nothing assisting you in steering if your power steering is faulty.
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Old Jan 8, 2009 | 11:02 PM
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Try flushing out the power steering system and refilling it with new fluid. Remember these cars have large tires on the front. Turning them while stopped creates a lot of strain in the system, especially when the geometry is changed with lowering. crummy fluid can create hard spots, most noticeable at idle when the pump is spinning so slow.

Last edited by km346; Jan 8, 2009 at 11:08 PM.
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Old Jan 9, 2009 | 01:23 AM
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i talked with someone at a gm dealership and he said there is no point in flushing the system and that most likely a new pump will fix the problem. thought i'd ask if someone else has gone through the same situation as me before and what the solution was.
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Old Jan 9, 2009 | 02:43 AM
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lowering will not affect it... i'd try to flush out the power steering if you can do it... the rotary and spool valves in the pump are tight and if the fluid got contaminated it could jam it up... now heres the deal with the stealerships they will say alot of **** is unfixable to get your cash... i'd start with that as an inexpensive route
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Old Jan 9, 2009 | 02:47 AM
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I had the same problem with my PS pump... it would be hard to turn at idle.... I'd have to rev the car to park... yeah... replace that PS pump and you'll be good as new...
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Old Jan 9, 2009 | 03:01 AM
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but the car has 13000 miles i know catastrophic breakdowns don't take miles into consideration... but before he had it worked on it worked fine... kinda big coincidence for it to stop when he gets it back... it could be the ps pump gave out but flushing is a less expensive route to make sure... at least i like to make sure that my sh*t is broken before i replace it
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Old Jan 9, 2009 | 03:06 AM
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Originally Posted by beezer1519
but the car has 13000 miles i know catastrophic breakdowns don't take miles into consideration... but before he had it worked on it worked fine... kinda big coincidence for it to stop when he gets it back... it could be the ps pump gave out but flushing is a less expensive route to make sure... at least i like to make sure that my sh*t is broken before i replace it
that is exactly how I feel. I did find a PS pump online for 170 bucks for an ac delco and 130 for some knock off. I would guess 150 for labor. Not the end of the world but pretty annoyed especially if one more thing goes wrong!! It seems I am having some shitty luck after my install
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Old Jan 9, 2009 | 03:17 AM
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Yeah.... I mean that's just the experience I've had... F-bodies have issues with their ps pumps and their rack.... That's just mine...
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Old Jan 9, 2009 | 03:18 AM
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yeah shitty luck especially since you got an exhaust, and lowered and your ps pump might have went out... join the club though i'm beggining to think these cars don't handle the cold soo well i'm currently having car trouble... i went to the track stock and ran a 13.9 @ 103... well after a few goodies it ran a 13.1 @ 114 now i know it could just be me but it was stuttering off the line like it had been on the street... tuner says it might be a bad pcm... or something like that he also said he noticed that it seemed like it lost it's tune which i wanted to ask him before i even took it there because i noticed the power loss and wanted to ask him if that was even possible but didn't wanna feel like a tard if it wasn't (i really don't know much about tuning) the mph there is for a pretty decent mid 12's but since hopefully when it's done it won't stutter anymore i think it might have 12.00 if not even 11.99
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Old Jan 9, 2009 | 03:24 AM
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my car felt slow too after i scraped it real bad. then it felt like it was going to splatter on the ground in 50,000 pieces because it was shaking violently. I pulled over looked under the car everything looked perfect. got pissed off got in and floored it. for about 1 second it seemed like the car was going to blow up and then all of a sudden it went perfect again. I don't like this car anymore after my install (although it does sound sweet)
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Old Jan 9, 2009 | 03:40 AM
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yeah give it time the slammed look will be worth having to avoid speed bumps... i got mad and floored it too but mine made it shut down lol live and learn i was postponing taking it to the shop because i'm leaving next month and it is gonna sit so why waste money now... but like always it acted up and is now spending my dough i swear it's like another girlfriend (that gets more expensive gifts lol)

oh yeah give it time modding for me is about hit and miss... either it's gonna work or ima have to dump money into it to get it right... but then again i think that goes for a lot of guys on this forum
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Old Jan 9, 2009 | 12:44 PM
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here is a cheap alternative...

http://www.autozone.com/R,909169/veh...ductDetail.htm

Last edited by srtricky; Jan 10, 2009 at 01:59 PM.
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