Steering Problem - No power at all

[high.desert]

My son's 1997 Q45 has had a leak for a while from the power steering rack, but it was minor. We kept the reservior full of fluid. The other day there was some noise and the power steering power stopped. I thought it was the pump, so I picked up a rebuild kit and replaced all of the seals. The pump appears to be working fine. I put it back on with a new belt and flushed the system with new ATF power steering fluid as it calls for. We tried to bleed the system but could not get the air out. Worked on it for 45 minutes bleeding the system, but still have air bubbles appearing in the reservior and the air noise in the pump. Still no power steering. The hoses look okay, with no leaks.

I checked the resistance of and the voltage going to the steering solenoid on the rack which controls the variable power assist and both were in the normal range.

Can someone advise what the problem is? Could the rack be bad?

If the rack is defective, how difficult is it to replace the rack? It appears easy to get to for removal. Are there any things to be especially careful of when replacing it?

The local repair shops want big bucks to replace the rack.

Thanks..... Eddie

[maxnix]

Rack replacement is fairly easy on a lift. But you must use new OEM bushings.

Did you slush the rack using the low pressure outlet?

[high.desert]

Thanks for the reply... What if no lift is available? How difficult is it to do with the vehicle on stands?

I flushed the system by disconnecting the return line from the reservior and emptied into a bucket, while at the same time pouring new ATF fluid into the reservoir with the pump running it through.

You're referring to the tie rod bushings? Why is the OEM so important?

[Q45tech]

Roughly about 20x more difficult!Don't forget you need an alignment afterwards.

[high.desert]

I do not mind it difficult, even very difficult.... its the impossible I would be worried about. Yeah, lying on my back doing it doesn't sound too swift at all.

The car only has about 115,000 on it. But, I'm guessing from the area where I bought it, the car has a lot of city miles on it... Therefore, more wear on the steering system.

The rack was leaking... the only thing on the vehicle that leaks... And I've rebuilt the pump. So, I don't see anything else it could be. Before I drop the dollars for a remanufactured rack, I want to be sure I'm doing the right thing.

[Infinitiguy19]

So the resivoiur is defintaly full and the fluid is fresh right?

When does the sound occur?

When were the belt tensioners replaced?

I would clean the engine and everything part of the steering system and see where the leak re-appears from.

Did you slush the rack using the low pressure outlet?

What does that mean?

[high.desert]

Yes, we flushed the system with completely new fluid. Replaced the belt and rebuilt the pump. Tried to bleed the system, by turning the steerng wheels left and right with the engine off. But after 45 minutes of doing this, there was still air bubbling up in the reservior.

Now the only noise is the sound of the air bubbles popping as the fluid flows through the pump.

The engine is clean as a whistle. Any leaks in the rack are very small. No other leaks.

I replaced the belt and put the proper tension on it. Not sure what you mean by replacing the belt tensioners.

An earlier reply was asking me if I had flushed the system from the low pressure side, which is the return side to the reservior. Yes, that is how I flushed the system. All new ATF in the system.

But, there is still no power in the steering at all. I think the rack is defective. The steering had made some noisy sound but went out all of a sudden.

[masoQist]

Did you examine the pressure valve in the pump? See this thread:

zerothread/239910

I'm having a similar problem. My pump started making sort of a thrashing sound, and power assist became intermittent, but is mostly gone. I'm replacing the pump to see if it fixes the problem.

[adam-gtX]

Did you examine the pressure valve in the pump? See this thread:

zerothread/239910

I'm having a similar problem. My pump started making sort of a thrashing sound, and power assist became intermittent, but is mostly gone. I'm replacing the pump to see if it fixes the problem.

Did it work? I replaced my pump and its still doing it.