Steering Problems

[dan3317]

I am having major problems with the steering of my '97 328IS, the wheel starts turning very hard, the gets easy, then hard at intervals, these intervals don't seem to be consistent at all, I can't tell from the feel if this is power steering or damage related. This happened suddenly the morning after a friend had used my car for the day. I checked the power steering, the lines are a little damp and grimy near the steering rack, but that looks normal, no visible leakage and the level in the resevoir is full, no visible bends or damage to tie rods or control arms. I am worried that this friend might have hit a curb or something and didn't tell me.

Any ideas or suggestions?
thanks

[Dnz]

the fluid is topped up? (just coz you havent mentioned it)..

The pump might also be dying..

Or the belt is slipping?

[dan3317]

fluid was topped off almost a year ago and has not gone down one bit. I don't think the belt is slipping, but I will keep my eyes open for that.

[10kken]

I'm also thinking the belt, given that the symptom is intermittant.

[dan3317]

Wouldn't I also experience problems with my alternator and air conditioning? Both seem to be working fine. Another problem is that my steering is intermittently hard while driving fast, which if I had no power steering in the car, I would feel low resisitance going at highway speeds, which is not the case, this resistance does continue at high speeds also.

[dan3317]

This is going to have to be a DIY, I have no budget for the stealer or a shop, and I can't afford to buy another power steering pump if I don't need to. Is there any way I can test the pump, or is there anyone else that would have a better idea of what is wrong with my steering?
I checked the belt, it is not slipping
:help

[PhEaR]

Most likley you are going to have to fork over some cash for this problem.Your choices are runin your BMW and ignore the problem and wait for it to get worse anddd worse, sell the car and buy a Buick which you can afford to replace parts for, or just hand over the loot. I would find the money and get the work done at a shop, and also don't go to some hack shop, not worth it.

[JRK]

I would kill the friend if I were you.

[Kevin325i]

Don't we have speed sensitive steering assist, it sounds like this system is acting up. It's supposed to be stiff at high speeds.

[Kevin325i]

Oh yeah, I had kinda the same problem where it would get hard and then easy to turn at odd times. Then it went away, but I did replace the belts and it hasn't come back since it went away.

[NegativeCambre]

Your A/C compressor is on a different belt, so that's one reason why you aren't experiencing that fading.

Your Powersteering is on the longer accesory belt that also connects to the alternator, so that could be fading, but since its an intermitent problem, I could realistically see you not feeling the difference when the alternator starts to cut out.

Replacing the belts is cheap and easy. A couple notes on the install, there are plastic dust covers on both the belt tensioners, get them off with a pick or a small flathead screwdriver. Note the belts path, I would even suggest drawing a diagram, as its very easy to forget later, I've done three belt jobs now, and I still get the order all muddled up.

Remember... you are going to have to remove the fan. This requires either some patience or a set of special tools. With the special tools, this is a cinch. You can make your own tool, and there are some write-ups on that here, too.

Another thing... for no rhyme or reason as I can see, these cars seem to have manic consistency with what hex key you use to turn the tensioner. Since the clearance between the radiator and the tensioners is pretty tight, and the torque required to pull back the tensioners is fairly high as well, I suggest a long, thin 3/8th's wratchet with a hex-key socket on the end. This works great and allows you to get a lot of leverage on the tensioners.

Since you are going to be removing the A/C belt to get to the longer belt, might as well cough up the money to replace that too, its not expensive and it'll save you the hassle down the line. While the belts are off, check the tensioners for bearing trouble by giving them a quick spin, if you hear anything that sounds like the bearings are going, those might need to be replaced in the future. Its generally just an annoyance problem, but remember, anything cuasing resistance down there could theoretically be taxing on your engines power output.

If you need more help with the belts, BabyM just wrote up a great write-up to the process with her own hints and suggestions, it would be worth your time to read it.

I hope this solves your problem! Otherwise, its time for a new steering pump, it sounds!

Steve