power steering is hard at times

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Lee Hildebrand

New member
On my 98 LSC with 78000 miles, lately the power steering seems to be acting up. When I back up, it seems hard to turn the wheel, sometimes the same happens going forward at low speeds. The car already[twice] stalled in the parking lot while steering it. The resoviour is full with no apparent leaks. Is the pump going or are there other issues that I am not aware of with the power steering system.
Thanks in advance,
Lee
 
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beerdog

New member
You could try flushing he system and replacing the fluid. It is a long shot, but is easy to do.

MAybe you belt is not getting enough tension to always turn.

I have never experienced this behavior. The whole system should last longer than 78K.
 
tixer

tixer

Lincoln Evangelist
Beerdog. Didn't you and Mark deal with something like this that ended up being the speed sensor on the steering column?
 
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beerdog

New member
Mark's sytem still steers hard, but his does it all the time. I don't think he replaced the sensor ont heback of the steering column. The steering EVO is tied into the sterring wheel speed sensor and the vehicle speed sensors. It is always possible this car is erratically cutting out the EVO.
 
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Lee Hildebrand

New member
steering problem

I bought some bars leaks steering system "fix all" today. I used a turkey baster to remove the fluid from the resoviour and added the bars leaks. I'll give it a couple days to see if this helps. The steering system is dry and other than the hard steering at idle speeds, it's fine.
Thank you guys for your imput, please keep it comming.
Lee
 
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Lee Hildebrand

New member
Positive, I just, within the last 1000 miles, completely changed from air-ride to strutmasters, new upper/lower control arms with ball joints, inner and outer tie rods plus all new rotors with pads. Had it realighned with no issues.
 
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M Darrah

New member
Yeah I'm the Mark Beerdog was talking about. My car has had seriously stiff steering and won't return to center since I bought the damn thing in 2002. Every last thing has been replaced - suspension, steering rack, pump, lines - except the steering shaft, the sensor on the back of the column, and the air ride computer (which controls the variable assist). None of it made a bit of difference. My car's in storage right now, but I have new replacement parts for all those remaining things and will get to it in a few weeks when I tear the car completely apart.

It seems to be a problem with some cars, and there's NEVER been an answer that solves it to my knowledge. It seriously takes away much of the enjoyment of driving the car. I consider it my personal Moby Dick.
 
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M Darrah

New member
With that said, I think you have a different problem. Yours seems to be intermittent while mine is like that all the time. Also, my engine doesn't stall, it runs just fine, but like the power steering is only working at 25%. It's definitely providing SOME assist because I've had the car stall on me once and it took a LOT more effort to turn the wheel.
 
SCTBIRD1173

SCTBIRD1173

Mark my Bird!
Mark, did you ever try pulling the connector from the EVO sensor? I know on my SC and Taurus that defaults the system to full assist. Not sure if the Mark does the same thing but I would imagine so.
 
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beerdog

New member
The Mark8 also defaults to full assist. You would want that from a safety perspective. Better to have full assist thenno assist. The EVO would have to be stuck in the energized (no assist) position to cause stiff steering. Or it must receive a false signal at slow speeds. Disconnecting it is one of the tests in the Ford manual. Disconnecting it would be a good test on Marks car. Not sure if he did that.

Lee should try that.
 
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M Darrah

New member
SCTBIRD1173 said:
Mark, did you ever try pulling the connector from the EVO sensor? I know on my SC and Taurus that defaults the system to full assist. Not sure if the Mark does the same thing but I would imagine so.
Click to expand...
I didn't intend to hijack the thread and make this about my problem, but yes, we tried disconnecting the EVO and it didn't make a difference.
 
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beerdog

New member
It is not exactly off topic. If lee has a flaky EVO or someother part of the circuit he could verify this by disconnecting the EVO. If that is the problem, it will go away and the steering will be loose feeling at high speeds.
 
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Lee Hildebrand

New member
Hey Beerdog,
I don't have a whole lot of mechanical knowledge on the mark 8, where is the EVO located so I can disconnect.
Thanks again guys,
Lee
 
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