Random stall on sharp left turn at low RPM

[Steelwheel]

Just had a new issue pop up - sometimes, when making a sharp left turn when the engine RPM is low (going into driveway, turning at a stop sign), the engine will suddenly die. It seems to be running fine otherwise, it does not idle rough, and the idle RPM is around 600-700. It never dies on the highway or higher speeds, yet anyway.

I do notice that my power steering pump is making a little noise. It is an aftermarket pump. The steering assist seems to work fine though.

I recently had the spark plugs, valve cover gasket, and a fuel pressure sensor replaced. As I understand it, the mechanics checked the fuel pump and it was working fine.

Any ideas?

[MikeCStig]

It sounds like your power steering fluid level may be low. When the fluid level is low the pump has difficulty turning, so it takes more power to turn the pump. Putting that kind of demand on an idling engine could cause it to stall. If the fluid level is where it should be, you may have a defective power steering pump or possibly a pinch or clog of some sort in one of the lines.

[Steelwheel]

Originally Posted by MikeCStig

It sounds like your power steering fluid level may be low. When the fluid level is low the pump has difficulty turning, so it takes more power to turn the pump. Putting that kind of demand on an idling engine could cause it to stall. If the fluid level is where it should be, you may have a defective power steering pump or possibly a pinch or clog of some sort in one of the lines.

Fluid level is fine - it did overflow at one point a few weeks ago, even when the fluid was at normal level. Not sure if some sort of crimp in the line would cause that. Also, I notice that the power steering pump is very hot, I can't keep a finger on it or the line running out of it. Pump is looking very suspicious right now.

[Steelwheel]

Originally Posted by MikeCStig

It sounds like your power steering fluid level may be low. When the fluid level is low the pump has difficulty turning, so it takes more power to turn the pump. Putting that kind of demand on an idling engine could cause it to stall. If the fluid level is where it should be, you may have a defective power steering pump or possibly a pinch or clog of some sort in one of the lines.

Well, incredibly enough, after getting the Crankshaft Position Sensor replaced... it was still having problems. It was intermittent though. Would stall sometimes, then not others.

So, I did a little investigating on my own. Turns out, the power steering pressure sensor near the passenger side steering assembly (it's the knobby thing that has a wire running to it, on the power steering line) was loose and full of oil (power steering fluid?) I cleaned it out with a rag, blew it off, reseated it, and haven't had any issues yet. I noticed that simply leaving it unplugged keeps the RPMs higher, with less fluctuation. I am now fairly confident it was a flaky pressure sensor that was sending mixed signals to the engine, causing it to stall on low rpm turns.

Crazy cars.