Power steering acting funny

My power steering sometimes works at idle, usually when the car is cold, allowing the wheels to be turned easily while stopped. Other times the engine bogs down and it feels worse than a manual rack, requiring me to shift into neutral and rev the engine before I get any power assist. If I do this, like while parallel parking, the car will sometimes stall when I shift back into gear (auto). Any ideas?

edit: This only happens at idle. I have normal assist whenever I'm driving around.

When the engine bogs down, your accessory belt is not spinning as fast so you will lose some assist when turning if the engine bogs. the problem is that turning the car puts a load against the belt from the power steering pump so if the car engine idle is not compensated automatically then the engine will bog which is your problem.

My car does it also, but I have a 5-speed so I can compensate myself. You may need to turn the idle up a bit, you have a different cam, right?

Chris

When I had this problem I had to replace the IAC as that is what says "hey there's a load but no throttle input I better increase the power to compensate"

Seriously, mine did talk to me.

Sean

Start with checking the power steering fluid level.
Next you may want to clean the IAC valve.
Are you sure you don't have any vacuum leaks?

Yeah, different cam but I still pull about 18" at idle when the A/C is off (drops about 3" when A/C is on ). PS fluid looks good as well, so I'll run up to Advance and pick up a IAC. Thanks.

i would buy oem not advance iac, i think i read before advance item is different they say it fits but will not fit

rlong said:

i would buy oem not advance iac, i think i read before advance item is different they say it fits but will not fit

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I always got the Advance one and it's worked fine. Autozone ones, on the other hand, have historically been worthless.

Replaced the IAC with one from Advance. It does look different on the inside (solid valve instead of the accordian looking one), but that's beside the point. Issue is still present when the car warms up.

For reference, steering when stopped is fine when car is cold but is hard to turn once it warms up, like a manual rack. Also likes to stall when changing gears, like from drive to reverse when parking. Idle is set at 750rpm and pulls 18" vacuum when a/c is off. A/C on and vacuum drops to 15" and idle remains the same. Issue happens independent of A/C.

and you are sure you have no vacuum leaks?

Pretty positive. Where would you think the leak is, pre or post blower?

keep in mind the rack and pinion has about 20+ years on it. as time goes on certain tolerances in the rack begin to break down causing extra friction and loss of power transfer to your wheels for turning thus requiring the pump to work harder.
now there are 2 things hurting your pump, 1: the same thing as the rack. 2: it is also working harder to compensate for a worn out rack.

changing out your iac, fluids ext are all good things that will help, yet they will only mask the fact that your components are still worn down and will fail sooner or later.

the only true way to fix it is by getting new hardware. its not hard to replace the pump, lines and rack. the big down side is you will need an alignment after your done.

if you replace your hardware make sure to place a 10micron or better filter on the system, keeping particulate out of your fluids will help ensure stiff reliable steering for years to come.

btw, thanks to my q-horse i have been able to lower my idle to nearly 600rpm at 180f operating temp. all new steering system has been in place for nearly a year and i have 0 bog at idle, you can here the pump work for its money but it does not bog the engine.

The rack is old, but the pump was replaced with the engine a little over a year ago. First quiet Ford pump I've ever heard. lol I wonder if I need to adjust the bleed screw on the TB. Maybe I'm at the limit of the IAC and have no room left to compensate. Or maybe it needs a rack. :/

make sure to flush the pump if you replace the rack. you dont want any contaminants from the fluid in the new system.

Well before I spend a boat load of money on a rack that works perfectly fine during all conditions except hot idle, let's focus on stuff that's easy to rule out. Remember, the car is also wanting to stall/stalling going between gears (auto) when the turning issue appears.

Where did you get that quiet PS pump?

Dalke got it and did the install, so he'd be the best person to ask.

Update - My pcv/oil catch system was full of oil snot (as I call it) from condensation not burning off properly. I cleaned it up and removed the oil catch for the time being. Also opened the throttle set screw 1/4 turn. I'll report back after I get some seat time in the car.

Ended up opening the bleed screw half a turn and that seems to have solved the issue. Power steering is still hard to turn but it isn't as bad. Stalling issue is gone so that's good. Need to close thethrottle stop a bit more to see if I can bring the idle down a hair. Still losing vacuum when I turn on the A/C, but that may be normal. Thanks for the feedback guys.