Power "not" Steering!
 

Ok, my power steering has been working fine until today. Now it appears to work ok at slow speed (comes back to center position after a turn), but when I'm going down the road the steering feels very tight and difficult to turn and the wheel doesn't come back to center on its own. I'm constantly having to correct the direction of the truck.

As a little background, yesterday while trying to back my boat next to the house, which takes forever because it's a tight fit, I had to turn the wheel from lock to lock dozens of times to get the boat into position. Same thing I do each time I put the boat back.

I'm wondering if that had anything to do with the power steering working the way it does now. Anyone have any ideas? The only thing I can think of is the power steering pump. But why would it work at low speed and not while going down the road? Brakes work fine. Thanks.

while sitting still engine idling, step on the brakes and turn the wheels. If it gets quite harder to turn then you have a pump issue.

That is a good thought. Ran out and tried it but there's no difference. Steering worked fine with the brakes on. It appears to only happen when you're driving at speed.

I finally got my ps gremlins worked out. Five pumps and a gearbox later, and she's good to go. Yours sounds like the pump and it is an easy fix. Generally if its the gearbox you'll have a ton of play in the wheel and itll leak. I also replaced the hydroboost and lines in mine just to be sure. :) Only thing left thats stock on it is the cooler. I dont think there's much could go wrong with it. Good luck.

I guess I'll change out the pump. I don't see what else it could be. How hard is it to remove the pump? What has to be removed to get to it? While I'm at it I'd like to flush the old PS fluid out - is there a trick to doing that?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

I would have the PS pump checked out. Mine went out after getting my touhauler stuck in the sand I was seesawing the steering back and forth in 4wd by the time I got home the pump was dry.

Jack up the truck and see how the steering feels. It sounds like you may have a tie rod or ball joint locking up? Check to see if the pump is full, and check at higher rpms to see if it is circulating fluid. May be as simple as a sticking relief valve. Even without power steering the wheel should return to center after turning. That is wht leads me to believe there is something else wrong.

I do appreciate everyone's help. I checked to see if the pump is circulating fluid and it is. The fluid is not a pure red color though, more like a brownish red - is that normal? Also, when I took the cover off the PS pump there was a lot of pressure released as I removed the cap. I don't remember that ever happening before? A quick look under the truck to see if the tie rods were bent didn't lead to anything. I think I'll have the front end alignment checked first before doing anything else. The steering stabilizer wouldn't cause this would it? Maybe it's hanging up?

I still need your help on this. I've noticed when removing the power steering cover that there is a lot of pressure released when the cover is removed. Is that normal?
Thanks.

You can clean the cap out with some brake clean. There is a vent in the top of the cap. I read awhile back that one guy took his apart and made the hole bigger or something, but minie has been fine with just a cleaning. I don't think that would cause your stiff steering though. Maybe take the tie rod ends loose from the steering knuckle and see if there is a ball joint froze up or something. Could even be a tie rod end froze up. You won't necessarill be able to visually see it. You'll have to feel for it.

I doubt anything's wrong with the HydroBoost or steering - otherwise slow speed maneuvering would be a big chore!

Check for loose or damaged steering components by visually inspecting under the front of the truck while someone turns the wheels back & forth with the engine on (make sure it's a trustworthy soul! [laugh]).
Then raise the front wheels off the ground and check again with the engine off (makes it easier to feel binding or slop), and inspect the balljoints for their wear-spec (.090" lower vertical & .060" upper lateral).

Sounds like insufficient caster - giving poor return to center, and/or toe-out, which causes darting side to side (camber out of whack from ball joints or bent axle housing makes the truck twitch laterally over bumps/potholes.)
If the steering at speed is heavier than it is squirrelly, I'd suspect excessive toe-in, likely from a damaged or worn out tie rod/ends... possibly drag link ball studs.

Also, it's common to vent pressure when removing the filler cap - the HydroBoost purges air from ATF+4 very well!

After cleaning my vent = no more pop when taking the cap off. Cleaning/making the vent slightly larger will take care of the excessive pressure, but again.......I doubt that is your steering problem.

Thanks to everyone for their input. I had the alignment checked and it was good, the steering stabilizer was also ok, so I changed the power steering pump. That didn't fix it, and set me back over $200 [verymad].

Turned out to be the steering box itself. Had it changed out at the dealer and the steering is working like new. Hopefully this will help the next person who has similar problems.

Wow Im having the same exact probmel as you.

So the new box fixed your problem?

There's a new re-man unit for $98 + 30 shipping from an internet company called REMART Auto Prts

Do you think I should buy it?

SSS