oooo,aaaaah, power steering
Moderators: kamzcab86, CalAltaDubber
oooo,aaaaah, power steering
Abby is our fourth VW and the second with, drum roll, power steering. Abby is also the first to have power steering that makes noises. I don't know my way around this new-fangled piece of equipment yet, so humor me. It doesn't scream like a ford, but there is an audible wail when the wheel is turned at parking speeds. I thought the pump belt might be at fault, and it was loose, so I tightened it up. Now I have the noises while turning and now it does sound like an old tempo when I start it up! This new noise goes away during driving after about 1 mile. My next guess would be the pump itself, but I'm not taking the belt off and running it to test. It shares a v-belt with the water pump.
- Briano1234
- Whats that smell?
- Posts: 4105
- Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2005 5:45 am
- What year is your cabby?: 1992
- Do you own a Cabriolet?: No
- Location: Duluth, Ga
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Try flushing out the Fluid... I had the same issue and I flushed it and used Dextron 3 ATF fluid, then I added some Lucas power steering rack oil. Not the whole bottle but some bought a third. Noise went away....
Take the return hose off the fill jug, and place in a bucket, it can spit so be careful turned on the car, then as my son turned the wheel from rack stop to rack stop, I kept poring fluid in the res, when the fluid stopped coming out yucky, I reattached the return line to the res, added the lucas, and filled with fluid noises went away.
Take the return hose off the fill jug, and place in a bucket, it can spit so be careful turned on the car, then as my son turned the wheel from rack stop to rack stop, I kept poring fluid in the res, when the fluid stopped coming out yucky, I reattached the return line to the res, added the lucas, and filled with fluid noises went away.
Briano
Yes as matter of fact, I have the Luck o'the Irish...everything I touch turns to fertilizer of the bovine variety.
You can lead a user to a link, but you can't make him Click....
Yes as matter of fact, I have the Luck o'the Irish...everything I touch turns to fertilizer of the bovine variety.
You can lead a user to a link, but you can't make him Click....

- Briano1234
- Whats that smell?
- Posts: 4105
- Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2005 5:45 am
- What year is your cabby?: 1992
- Do you own a Cabriolet?: No
- Location: Duluth, Ga
- Contact:
Ya know I got a used rack off a friend for my 90 cabby 60 bucks was easier to take than the 200 for a new one and then the 200 core...., and decided that I would change the manifold for a header as I was tired of the put put put out of the broken manifold. Well 4 broken studs later and taking the head in to get it Heli-coiled only added to the misery of the job. not to mention the 3 days under and over the car, the bright side was I was saving a dollar a day on p/s fluid and my car was less noisy and had more power.montmil wrote:Lucas products have saved me considerable headaches over the years. At least it can buy you a little time while you start collecting aluminum cans to pay for the replacement parts. Right, Briano?
If I knew that the damn thing was that much of a pain in the ass to change out, I would of done it all when I had the tranny out to replace the clutch.
Briano
Yes as matter of fact, I have the Luck o'the Irish...everything I touch turns to fertilizer of the bovine variety.
You can lead a user to a link, but you can't make him Click....
Yes as matter of fact, I have the Luck o'the Irish...everything I touch turns to fertilizer of the bovine variety.
You can lead a user to a link, but you can't make him Click....

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- Frozen Guy in the Northern Country
- Posts: 2012
- Joined: Thu Aug 12, 2004 11:10 pm
- What year is your cabby?: 1987
- Do you own a Cabriolet?: Yes
- Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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Thats the last time I try to come off as funny, I should face facts that I usually come off as a dork instead.
As for the the steering, I'm all about manual steering! My former Scirocco was a manual. If I had the facilities and the donor rack, I would dump this one for a manual. One less belt, pump, and noise to worry about. The car would probably be 20 pounds lighter too.
As for the the steering, I'm all about manual steering! My former Scirocco was a manual. If I had the facilities and the donor rack, I would dump this one for a manual. One less belt, pump, and noise to worry about. The car would probably be 20 pounds lighter too.
- kamzcab86
- Queen and Popette of Cabbydom
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Except for a couple of factors:
1) All USA Volkswagens came equipped with power steering from the early '90s onward.
2) Manual steering is fine for the A1 chassis cars, but the A3-A5 chassis cars are quite heavier and really "need" power-assisted steering to maneuver them. There again, they'd provide one hell of an arm workout!
1) All USA Volkswagens came equipped with power steering from the early '90s onward.
2) Manual steering is fine for the A1 chassis cars, but the A3-A5 chassis cars are quite heavier and really "need" power-assisted steering to maneuver them. There again, they'd provide one hell of an arm workout!

- gull
- Posts: 817
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Definitely try changing out the fluid. I haven't had this problem on my Cabriolet, but my Crown Vic had power steering that would groan during low speed turns, when it was providing maximum power assist. I could hear it and feel it through the wheel. After a fluid change the noise and vibration went away completely.
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- Postus-Whorus-Maximus
- Posts: 2160
- Joined: Sat Oct 11, 2003 2:49 pm
- What year is your cabby?: 0
- Location: Escondido, CA
Re: oooo,aaaaah, power steering
sounds to me like the pum is taking a crap....
if the belt is good ans the fluid is good, the only other thing it can be is the pump.....unless you have a clogged line....which is doubtful
if the belt is good ans the fluid is good, the only other thing it can be is the pump.....unless you have a clogged line....which is doubtful