92' 240sx power steering mysterious issue...

[skydragoness]

I've posted my problem in other threads and I just got some anecdotal stuff.

I'm trying to diagnose my problems, here are the symptoms:

-steering wheel does not return to neutral (center) position if you turn the wheel about 20 degrees or so (if you turn it to almost full lock it does return to center but very slowly). You could actually make a simple left or right turn and it will keep going in that direction unless you move it back to center-reservoir levels normal-sometimes i hear a tiny squeaking sound (like a mouse) when i maneuver in/out of parking spaces. -when its cold in the morning and i start it up and maneuver out of my driveway it does make a short whirring/moaning sound when i move the steering wheel around but I'm assuming it's 'fluid noise' from the pump.-car has a perfect alignment, caster was set recently at 7 degrees ( i have adj. t/c rods) to see if it would 'help' but it hasn't.-car started to act like this after an autocross in June (its first autox)-everything up front is new or upgraded parts from my prev. S13: control arms, t/c rods, inner/outer tie rods, strut mounts, relatively new struts, etc.-very 'stiff' steering wheel but some mornings the wheel would be easy to move. It flucuates from time to time.

It seems to me the power steering is very 'weak' so i orderd a p/s pump just in case. I also have new p/s reservoir lines from Nissan i ordered last year but never got around to replacing because the slow, gooey leak i had last year suddenly stopped.

So I'm not sure if it's the p/s pump or the rack. I just installed swaybars wednesday night and now the car wants to pull right (slowly, not suddenly), so i took it to my alignment guy to see if something maybe got bumped out of spec but nope, everything was fine. I am at a loss. I have the p/s pump sitting here but i don't want to replace it if its really the rack or vice versa. People are advising me against flushing my p/s lines saying its 'pointless' but i think it may help if some valves in the rack are clogged or if the pump is clogged.

Help?

[skydragoness]

*BUMP*

[skydragoness]

*buuuump*

[180fan]

sorry bout the late reply. it's been a hectic week at work and gettin ready for school *wipes sweat*

Alrighty, well from the squeaking, I'd check to see if it's more localized from the engine bay or down below. If you've not changed the rack yet, it's something I notice alot of aging s13's needing change once they start passing 15 years or 150k.

How was that gooey leak? Color and just how viscous was that gooey stuff? Like ATF gooey or gooey like a bunch of crud and grime mixed up?

[skydragoness]

Thanks for getting to me. I really appreciate anyone's input in this ordeal.

Its black goo, around the ends of the low-pressure reservoir lines.

The car only has 106k too. I noticed its stiffer to steer once the car warms up. The noise i mentioned is extremely intermittent and when it does happen its not very audible.

To put it simply the steering is stiff (both directions), and unresponsive to small inputs of the wheel (not anything dangerous thankfully). It's like there is a lag time between making a sharp turn and it returning back to center after i exit. It doesn't make backroad excursions very fun. It like i'm driving a buick or something.

The car also has 16x7 225/50's on the front, but the wheels are 16lbs a piece, tires are Bridgestone UHP RE750's. My bf used to be a tech (entry level) at Nissan and when he test drove it he thought it was a weak p/s pump.

[180fan]

yeah sounds like the vanes on the pump are probably going.

[skydragoness]

In case the p/s pump doesn't fix the problem. What are the signs of a rack going 'bad'?

[180fan]

usually a bit of play in the wheel, a feeling of looseness.