98 Olds Power Steering Issue

98 Oldsmobile, 104,000 miles, 3.8 Liter Engine

I've noticed lately the steering getting tighter, thought maybe the power steering pump is going bad, heard some whining. Well now it is really bad, but I've noticed that when I turn left it is almost impossible to turn (unsafe), but turning right it is no problem.

Any thoughts as to if this is the power steering pump, or a rack and pinion issue, or something else.

Feel like the car is starting to nickel and dime me to death...

thanks a bunch, it is appreciated.

Nick

Recall ID # 03V527000 - STEERING:RACK AND PINION
Recall Date: DEC 11, 2003 Component: STEERING:RACK AND PINION Model Affected: INTRIGUE Potential Units Affected: 750283 Recall Details (javascript:SwitchObjectViews(%20) Recall Date:
DEC 11, 2003

Model Affected:
1998 OLDSMOBILE INTRIGUE

Summary:
CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES HAVE LOWER PINION BEARINGS IN THE POWER RACK AND PINION ASSEMBLY IN WHICH THE RETAINER TABS WERE NOT CRIMPED PROPERLY. THESE RETAINERS COULD FAIL AND PERMIT THE BALL BEARINGS TO ESCAPE.

Consequence:
IF THIS OCCURS, THE PINION SHAFT CAN BE FORCED UPWARD DURING LEFT TURNS AND BACK DOWN AS THE STEERING WHEEL IS MOVED BACK AND TO THE RIGHT. IF THE PINION SHAFT MOVES FURTHER, THE DRIVER WILL NEED TO EXERT MORE EFFORT TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL, SIMILAR TO A VEHICLE WITHOUT POWER ASSISTED STEERING. IF THE PINION SHAFT MOVES EVEN FURTHER, THE DRIVER WILL REQUIRE MUCH HIGHER EFFORT TO TURN LEFT AND MAY NOT BE ABLE TO TURN THE WHEEL AS MUCH AS INTENDED. WITH THE MAXIMUM PINION SHAFT MOVEMENT, WHICH REQUIRES INTERNAL GEAR COMPONENT DAMAGE, THE DRIVER CAN ENCOUNTER HIGH RESISTANCE TO TURNING LEFT, FOLLOWED BY UNINTENDED POWER ASSIST TO THE RIGHT. IN ANY OF THESE CONDITIONS, A CRASH COULD OCCUR.

Remedy:
DEALERS WILL INSTALL A NEW LOWER PINION BEARING UNLESS INSPECT OF THE EXISTING BEARING INDICATES THAT REPLACEMENT OF THE GEAR ASSEMBLY IS NECESSARY. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN ON FEBRUARY 5, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT BUICK AT 1-866-608-8080; CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438; OLDSMOBILE AT 1-800-630-6537; OR PONTIAC AT 1-800-620-7668.

Potential Units Affected:
750283

Notes:
GENERAL MOTORS CORP. 03062

Thanks for the information.

Get this, according to Oldsmobile, even though my car is a 98 Oldsmobile Intrigue, my VIN number is not in the range for the recall, even though the exact thing described in the recall is happening to my car!

What a bunch of crap.

I bought this car new, maintained it perfectly for the last 10+ years, and in the last year have replaced the intake manifold (recall was not my VIN) and now am going to have to pay to fix the steering.

I'm fairly certain now my next car will NOT be a GM Vehicle.

Thanks for letting me vent.

Nick

Nick,
If I were you and I had the car for the last 10 years, I would go directly to the NTSB. The fact that GM has closed all of the Olds Shops up, and the fact that you are the owner from the beginning of this car should speak volumes to the NTSB. If you called the numbers listed in the TSB, you should be aware that you are calling a contracted "helpline" who's sole purpose is to fulfill the letter of the law from the NTSB, AND AT THE SAME TIME, MAKE CERTAIN THAT GM DOES NOT HAVE TO PAY FOR YOUR REPAIRS! Yea, I know, it sounds like a crock, right? The law requires GM to make repairs available to you, the consumer, but at the same time, GM does not want to fix your car, because it will cost them $$. If they can dissuade you by saying that your car does not fall into their VIN range, then they can get you to go else where, and foot the bill yourself. Just because they try this, does not mean that they cannot be forced to repair/reimburse you for it. I ought to know, I worked for them for 20 years. If you have a shop that you trust, and you cannot get anywhere with the AG of your state, the Better Business Bureau, etc., then get the car repaired by that shop, and make sure that you get pictures and the parts back. It is possible that the failure wasn't due to the issues in the recal, but it is probable that it was. GM builds hundreds of thousands of parts each year for these vehicles, and the VIN cutoffs are not an effective means of containment, again I know this because I used to work for them in an engineering position. Every year, we had many thousands of parts that were left over that we would continue to use up, despite the fact that we knew that they were potentially defective/old parts. The law of averages is on GM's side here, most people will not make the connection between a TSP issued by the manufacturer 6-8 years ago, and the defect that is discovered on their car. My car is also a '98 with the same problem. My brother owned it before me, and he had this issue with this very vehicle, back in 2001. GM told him that they had "no knowledge" of this defect, even as they were desperately trying to analyze and find the root cause for this very problem! Had I not worked for GM at the time, he would never have known that they were working to fix the problem! I believe that it took him about 4 trips to the dealer over 2 years to get it resolved, but ultimately GM replaced his rack, the power steering pump, and his transmission due to his stubborness! I can't remember how many times he had to threaten them with lawsuits, but in the end he persevered. Now, if they had ever actually improved on this crappy transmission, I wouldn't have to find a used one every 50K miles... Oh well, at least it still gets 28 mpg:runaround: