Please help because I do not know squat about cars.
2006-06-08 08:26:28 · 8 answers · asked by sunshine_12 3 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
1996 Toyota Tercel
2006-06-08 08:29:58 · update #1
It can also be a bad power steering pump or a loose serpentine belt that operates the pump.
Less common but still possible is a bad steering rack, which will usually evidence itself with seepage of fluid at the end seals.
You do not mention if the car has been in an accident recently, or if you have run over some significant potholes or the like. But damaged tie rod ends and upper and lower ball joints which connect your steering arms to the front wheels can also bind and make the wheel hard to turn.
2006-06-08 08:34:20 · answer #1 · answered by anonymourati 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
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It's normal for the car's steering wheel to be harder to turn after sitting in very cold weather. Especially when the car isn't moving (like if you were to turn the wheels in the driveway as you're about to leave). The power steering fluid is quite a bit "thicker" at low temperatures than it is on a nice summer day so you get less power steering assistance to turn the steering wheel as a result. You can see the same phenomenon if you leave motor oil sitting out on a zero degee night then try to pour it into something the next morning- it pours like maple syrup when it's really cold...same basic thing happens to your power steering fluid. As far as once you're moving, most people wouldn't even realize that their power steering system had failed once the car is moving - it isn't very hard to turn the wheel once the car is moving, even without any power steering assistance whatsoever. I wouldn't worry about it unless you hear a belt squealing or some other sign that the power steering system is failing altogether.
2016-04-06 23:45:13 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First off, is it manuel or auto. If it is manuel, usualy, getting old, it is hard to move before starting. My Saturn is like that. I can move the steering wheel great, after I got the car moving. If the car is auto, then you might want to check out the steering fluid or end point of the steering wheel rod. Or, what it is, most likely, is your power steering pump. They do tend to go out, when the car is pretty old or the type of the pump is not made properly.
2006-06-08 08:30:47 · answer #3 · answered by ibelieveps911 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You may have a worn or broken belt that drives the power steering pump.
2006-06-08 08:29:28 · answer #4 · answered by larry r 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Maybe the belt is broken or the power steering pump is broken
2006-06-08 08:29:49 · answer #5 · answered by meggiek97 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would check the power steering pump/belt(s)
2006-06-08 08:30:55 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
My guess is power steering fluid, but you said it's already full so I'd bring it in to a shop to find out.
2006-06-08 08:28:53 · answer #7 · answered by roger_v_kint 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you never changed the power steering fluid like you should have...... good chance its gone out.
2006-06-11 20:30:23 · answer #8 · answered by 572ci. 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your power steering pump is bad or the rack-N-pinion is bad...
Whats the car..
2006-06-08 08:29:12 · answer #9 · answered by Vulcan 1 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋