well very heavy rain today, was driving to a friends house after youth and went through a fairly large puddle and the steering wheel sorta locked up. i was doing 25 so i managed to pull off the road and think for a second. my cousin was like power steering man! so we sat there for a minute and it went back to normal... we're back on our way and i stop at sheetz to fill up and check the fluid. as im pulling into sheetz there's a big puddle to the entrance and after i drive through it i cant turn the wheel again. it happened once more on the way there but was fine on the way home (it stopped raining) i thought maybe the shocks or something stopped working properly or what else could it be? im going to be afraid to drive in heavy rain. help pls.

 

Hydroplaning?

 

do you have a intake that is different from stock? if so, is it a CAI or SRI?

any other abnormal behavior of the car?

edit: and yeah, there's always regular old: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroplaning_%28tires%29

 

If it's not hydroplaning or due to an intake, maybe it's water splashing some wires or something.

 

you have to be moving to be hydroplaning, so its not that.
i have an sri.
water was splashing the tires, and after i couldnt steer

any more input?

 

Any possible chance water could be hitting the belt/pulley? Just causing it to slip while wet and then go back to normal once the water is all gone.

 

how much tread do you have on your tires?

 

Yeah that's the first thing that came to my mind, otherwise i dont see why it would cut out then back on

 

It's the only thing I could think of. I know that this exact thing used to happen to me in my old Maxima. Only when hitting big puddles of water and a relatively good speed. Water splashes up, steering gets stiff, and it is fine later depending on the weather. Another thing was that my belt was way too tight on the Maxima so it would squeal going lock to lock. It wouldn't squeal when, as far as I know, the belt was slipping due to the water.

 

i think my belt is loose actually
the tires are falkens, but i do abuse them somewhat
but even when i was at the pump not moving the wheel wouldnt turn..
could the belt/pulley cause steering problems?

this never happened before, could the problem be anything suspension related?

i appreciate the help btw

 

If the serpentine belt isn't tight enough, it will just slide on the pulley instead of rotating the pulley that drives the power steering assembly. I had the belt completely come off on the freeway when I got called into work in the middle of my lightened crank pulley install, could barely turn and almost hit the wall that that starts at the offramp when I was getting off the freeway. Definately could be due to the loose belt, possibly a combination of both things I mentioned, the belt tension and the slipping because of the water.

 

i had a problem with my power steering tensioner where the bolt became warped and was ready to slide right out of the brace that holds it in place. check yours out--the bolt is supposed to sit sideways in that U shaped brace--but if it's really close to the edge (you'll be able to tell) you may want to consider rebuilding that tensioner. it's a easy $6 fix from the dealer.

 

You're getting the belt wet and it's slipping! Really simple to fix, tighten it up a bit or replace. Do you have the factory undertray or plastic protective covering under it?

 

its the power steering belt. Does it squeal too?

mine does it all the time cos my belts are loose, just tighten them up. Have you removed the splash guards from under the car?

 

haven't taken care if this problem yet, trying to avoid rainstorms

i am also reaching 60,000 miles and i think it would be a good idea to replace these belts, which ones would i have to change and what is the best way to do this?

*if i get an rrm pulley, would it be easier to install during changing of my belts?

sorry if this has already been covered