has this happend to anyone yet ?
sometimes when im taking off into a turn and i give it gas the steering wheel tightens up on me, and the faster i go the the tighter it gets. it never locks up it just gets real tight almost as if my power steering pump would stop working for a second but then it would be fine

 

nope never happened to me yet.....i receommend u get that checked out by steaership.

 

Normal. Power steering pumps can't handle much demand. If you ever take your car to an autoX you'll see what I mean. With so many tight turns in a row, the power steering can't keep up, so you might as well not have it.

 

Yep especially if you have turned most of the way in one direction and quickly turn it the other way. Normal like otter said

 

well thats good to know , " i think" lol.
but is there anything we could do to make it performe better ? cause i never noticed it before and all of sudden its happend to me 3 times in the past month.

 

I could be way out to lunch, but my understanding is that the PS was made to handle that way. Putting around town, you get full and very responsive steering, but when at highway speeds or driving hard, the steering stiffens up abit, to prevent any sudden/ loose changes in steering.

That was my take on it. Heard it somewhere.

 

I haven't checked the PS on the RA but I do know that some guys have used a power steering cooler. Same as an oil or transmission cooler but it's cooling.... Yep! You guessed it, the power steering fluid. I don't know if this will actually improve your "feel" but if you're running it hard for an extended period of time it might help.

I never actually noticed it tightening up before while it was happening but in retrospect I guess I was using the brute force technique... If it doesn't work, you're not using enough brute force! Normally the sight of a deep ditch or solid wall gives you that little extra Oomph you need to get the wheel where you need it .

 

I've only noticed it when going through a small round-about somewhat rapidly and steering too much and then correcting

 

That's just how it is. I almost went into Burger King's bush/grass area after a last-second decision that involved changing steering dramatically and very quickly. Not the best feeling.

Another time when I felt that phenomenon was when I was checking my tires' capabilities in the rain and I somewhat quickly moved steering. That just happens for a different reason.

 

yup noticed it too, mainly when turning one direction then quickly turning the opposite. Thought something was wrong, thanks guys

 

I believe it's just in the way the pump was designed. It's designed to only pump when needed (ever sat at idle and then suddenly jerked the wheel? RPMs drop bigtime)

Well to keep it from dragging on the engine all the time when you are not turning the wheel the pump isn't really working (always pumping, but not pushing anything).

When you turn it one way to where the pump is working and then suddenly the other way the mechanism that controls which way and whether or not the pump is pushing cannot respond that quickly. So what ends up happening if you turn left and then suddenly right real fast is that you are "fighting" the steering pump.

It's not abnormal - just a minor "flaw" in the design behind the power steering system.

Personally I'd rather deal with this "flaw" than have my PS pump steal 30hp all the time

Mike

p.s. I should add that the "mechanism" that controls the pump force and direction is not actually in the pump itself but the PS Rack. The pump always turns and always moves fluid no matter what - it just depends on whether the rack "needs"/"requests" the "force" as to whether the pump has to push hard.

 

drag race, then you dont need to turn at high speeds or change directions quickly.

 

I think you just need a better power steering canister.....

http://www.billion-inc.co.jp/index2.html

click on the first white box (left side) beside the 'Home' box.

Third row from the top, you will see the last box on the right with a canister thingy...click on that box......its probably what you need.

 

I have the same problem. When I go through the slaloms in an autocross the steering freezes. It is not even something you can force through. I had the dealership replace just about everything in the car as far as steering. They started with the rack and went all the way and replaced the reservoir. Nothing fixed the problem. I am probably going to take it back to them, but have not decided if I want to mess with it myself.

If anyone on here knows anything about aftermarket steering stuff, and I doubt it since this is like the 3rd or 4th time I have asked, coudl they please offer some information about our cars.

There is a flow valve in the pump I am considering modifying too. If I decide to go this route I will post up and let everyone know.

 

well, you all made some really good points. im just wondering why , after a year and a half im just noticing it now ? i thought that mabey i had air in the lines or somthing oh well life goes on