This is for a '96 Mercury Sable. We are having intermittent issues with the power steering on certain turns, even simple wide 90's. The steering will tighten up and it feels as if it power steering is lost. We are kind of out of ideas and are simply looking for some input on what to check next. Fluid is fine, belts are fine, so we need to know if there is anything else we can look at.
Thanks in advance.
My AE92 does that in autocrosses because the power steering is being overwhelmed...is the alignment still good? Could the lines be clogged or are there any soft sections that could be bulging and wasting pressure?
my '96 probe GT had similar condition, but only with pretty aggressive steering input. upon recommendation by Danny Shields (multiple Pro Solo championships in Mazda MX6), i flushed the power steering system and replaced fluid with RedLine synthetic. it made a big difference, even though the old fluid was not low and was not burned.
at $9/qt, it's worth a shot. takes a little under 2 quarts to do the job IIRC.
i heard of people having similar issues with RSX's, they found that because of the way the variable assist power steering works, it was limiting assist in high steering rate situations (autox). his solution was to unplug the solenoid on the rack, which made it run at full assist at all times.
Check the hoses if you've done any work in that area you might have crushed the hose and torn it on the inside causing a flap to block flow.
Check the rack for slop in the shaft bushings.
Check the colum slide and the factory U-joints for rust or stiffness oil / grease as needed
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