Power steering troubleshooting help

[Chuck H]

I just wanted to close the loop on this issue in case anyone was having a similar problem. Turns out the check valve (on the rack side) was stuck and preventing fluid from the supply line flowing in the proper direction into the rack.



I pried the cover off the line, and tried to extract the plastic valve with needle nose pliers. It was stuck fast and would not budge. I ended up taking a hacksaw to the fitting and using a nail punch to get the valve out. It looked a bit deformed and I was confident this was the cause. Long story short, I purchased a line from a breaker, popped it on and the fluid began circulating normally. I'll post a pic of the mangled fitting another day.

[ssiggu]

great work,
I have same issue. would explain more if you see this message?
Thanks.
Alex

[paganrj]

Just experienced a similar PS reservoir failure as Chuck H four years ago.
Lost power steering while turning on a slow corner on the track (and spun). When parked the car noticed PS fluid leaking out so put on the trailer and drove home. Inspected all lines and could not find any leaks so it was obviously coming from the pump/reservoir. After removing it, the picture below is how it looked.

Ordered/installed new reservoir and refurbished pump. Immediately after starting the car the PS pump started making a high pitch noise, shut car down and started investigating. Opened the high and low pressure connections under driver seat area and drain some fluid. Left the high pressure line disconnected and started the car. PS fluid came out immediately and pump was not noisy. I guess next thing to do is disconnect the high pressure line at the steering rack and find out if there is an obstruction. Looking at the parts manual it doesn’t mention anything about a check valve in the PS rack area that Chuck H mentioned, does anybody has more information on it? Anybody experienced a similar failure since 2016? Any information will be appreciated. Thanks, Rey

[Gilles]

Hello Paganrj, when I got my '07 the dealer removed the check valve (at the steering rack) and mentioned that sometimes I could get (as a side effect) pump whining noise when reaching turning the steering wheel to the max, but the pump rarely made any noise, therefore it may be ok to remove the check valve all together, I drove that car for 11 + years without the check valve.
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[paganrj]

Originally Posted by Gilles

Hello Paganrj, when I got my '07 the dealer removed the check valve (at the steering rack) and mentioned that sometimes I could get (as a side effect) pump whining noise when reaching turning the steering wheel to the max, but the pump rarely made any noise, therefore it may be ok to remove the check valve all together, I drove that car for 11 + years without the check valve.
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Gilles, I was thinking about doing that without knowing the consequences but now that you share your experience I will go that route. Thanks for the information.
Regards,
Rey

[paganrj]

Gilles,
Thanks for your sharing your experience. I was considering doing it but was not sure about consequences, now I will do the same.