tinytec

I bought my used 2000 Impala in 2008 with 92K miles on it. It steered hard then and the Chevy dealer replaced the struts but the steering wheel still offers abnormally high resistance to being turned.

What could cause this? The tire pressures are to spec at 30 PSI and appear in good condition. All the other cars I've had can steer easily by using just one finger.

Fred in NYS

EvansBlue

Checked your Power Steering fluid? Can you hear the pump whine or make a swoosh sound when you turn the steering wheel all the way in either direction?
Your power steering could be out.

tinytec

Brent,

The power steering fluid is fine. I wonder if this problem is somehow caused by mechanical binding in the steering shaft assembly. Maybe the spline shaft has never been lubed??

Fred

EvansBlue

Unless you have extremely worn tie rod joints (metal to metal).
Theres not much in the steering that can cause it to steer hard except and inoperative pump. The pump may be working, but not working correctly.

tinytec

Lubed the upper universal area of the ISS and that made no difference. Today I installed a new power steering pump - the steering wheel still has abnormal resistance to turning it.

What's left to try?

MDTAHOE

I have seen the rack fail in these cars several times causing it to be hard to steer. Before you replace the rack you should make sure nothing in the front end is binding. strut mounts, tie rods and ball joints

tinytec

My mechanic has worked on this problem (off and on) for almost 4 months, with no success. He has replaced the PS pump twice, installed a replacement compression spring to maximize the pump output pressure, replaced the rack with a used one and corrected some misc. front end problems, all to no avail. The steering problem seems most noticeable when cruising on a straight stretch of road - the steering wheel offers abnormal resistance to turning in either direction from going straight ahead, as when starting to change lanes. A relative has an identical 2003 Impala that steers normal like you would expect so we compared the steering wheel ratio between the two cars: My 2000 steering wheel turns about 2 3/4 rotations vs. about 3 1/4 rotations for the 2003 Impala when steering fully from side-to-side. My mechanic is thinking about installing a used rack from a 2003 model. Any more opinions/ideas from the readers will b be appreciated.

2000 Impaler

Aloha, I'm new to Impalas but experienced a similar problem with my wife's van (Replaced the P/S pump based on lots of noise; 6 months later doing it again) on YouTube.com if you lookup dodge minivans and power steering noise you will discover that the reservoir contains a filter that will become clogged over time with buildup of 'gunk' in the system... So, next with my 2000 rebuild (rescued this heap from the auction lot for $450.00; $2500.00 back into it and just about everything works! (A/C could use another can of freon, just got the 'Check engine' light on again, and the aforementioned P/S problem. Here's how I fixed it on the minivan: drained the system (used the turkey baster; fortunately wife doesn't baste turkeys!) removed the reservoir and blasted the $%*# out of it with three cans of brake part cleaner (be sure to flip it over a couple times and shake it as there is a float to prevent 'backwash' into the system from the clean side of the filter) then I just allowed it to dry over dinner, installed a replacement P/S filter from NAPA ($1.99) to make the next clean out easier; re-assembled, re-filled, bled the system by cycling the steering wheel to the stops until the noise went away, then cleaned up and had a celebratory beer over not spending $1500.00 paying some hack to tell me that he thinks it could be the power steering rack or struts!
I just figured out where the low side of the A/C was today but the P/S reservoir is the next 'project' on my 'hooptie' (lovingly named the 'She Devil' by my wife)
Hope it helps, I'll post if I am successful detailing exact steps and some pointers of what not to do (I usually discover at least one of those on every project ;-)
Aloha!

tech2

If you got pressure from the pump, and there are no restrictions in the lines, the rack is bad.

If you don't have gauges to check the pressure; feel the high pressure hose. It should stiffen when the steering is turned to the stops.

2000 Impaler

Here is the update to my earlier post about the power steering problem... I tried a few things before finally resorting to the rack: turns out- it was the rack! I also changed the feed line that goes into the rack (it has a nice heat shield and commonly can get kinked or clogged? it looks prettier, that's for sure ) The rack was around $300 out here in Hawaii and has a nationwide lifetime warrenty with NAPA; I did the outer tie rod ends at the same time and had Sears realign it once it was back together. Took an afternoon and while I had it apart I added an inline fluid filter ($3 from NAPA) they're generic and fit inline the return tubing to the pump and reservoir; Everybody I've talked to about these cars says the design is great and the pressurized coolant system is especially good; that said, I think I may end up doing a thermostat in conjunction with the valve cover and intake manifold gaskets; just gotta do it all when you bother taking off the fuel injection system!