Power Steering pulling hard right

[shark2000]

My 2000 GA GT has been pulling hard at first when driving down the highway, as I change lane to the right, or the road curve to the right, it pulls hard for half a second. Some times it gets really bad. Scary at times. The last time I took it to the dealership, it wouldn’t do it. Now it's getting worse. It will be WARRANTY, so I'm not to worried about cost of the fix. I was just wondering if anyone else has had this problem before?

[matt919]

I have a '93, and with in the past month, i could be driving straight, and its like the steering wheel has a mind of its own. It will just jerk to the right, sometimes for a second, and other times repeatedly. It is scary because im not sure if it ever would get so severe where i would lose control.. im assuming there may be something broken in the front suspension, but im not sure. I have yet to get it checked out, but it comes and goes.

[shark2000]

Yes, it comes and goes here too. If I don't hear a solution before I take my car to the dealer to figure it out, I'll leave a post on what they find out. I do know there is a grease pack on the rack and pinion that is to be replaced. It's cluncking when turning. If that was it, I would think it would be more consistent. They are suppose to pute a grease fitting (zerk) on it for future LOF's (lube, oil, filters for those not familiar with it). Just be careful driving it that way.

[Markgase2000]

This is my second grand am , i had some rough left turns before about a year ago , checked the fluid and it was nearly gone topped it off and the rough steering went away. Next week my pump decided to puke most the fluid out the cap and onto my serp belt and underhood. Well now i just carry topper till the pump decides to go. My 85 was same way but the pump would just puke it as soon as i drove anywheres so I went armstrong , I got a shorter belt and called it good enough for a 300 dollar beater. The worst thing that will happen is the wheel will jerk and if your not firm on the wheel it could try to jump on you , take no risks if your a commuter and try have it fixed if topping it off dont work.

[shark2000]

The pulling I get is like a jerk. When I remember, I'll take it in again to the dealer. (I have Narcolepsy, I forget a lot) lol

[Markgase2000]

ya ,if the fluid pulses through the line like a clogged artery it just bursts in at times and turns suddenly or jerks , the fluid can turn into like a thick grease coating the inner walls and hoses and chunks can clog hoses or pumps with thicker stuff that breaks off and floats around. I heard of purges that will liquify the thick crud before you replace the fluid , its supposed to help save your pump. Ill post it when i find out what it was.

[randy78]

could just be bumpsteer issue however, hard ot tell without seeing driving the car in person

ive got a 94 G/A out here and it has a new rack and pinion in it and the sdteering wheel sits pretty crooked going down the road and when you hit bumps it feels like the column shafct jerks inside the column and has some slop to the steering

got a billion miles on it and is on 50k miles into the brand new replacement quad 4 and almost 200k on the car


good luck

[grfnkl]

Wow the thread was convient for me, I just drove my fathers 87 grand am today when i noticed the car would be hard to turn right , but then would go away. I know his car has been leaking some power stering fluid, i guess the problem lies within the pump.

[Markgase2000]

I think our cars have the pukiest power steering pumps i ever seen. Every day i wash my motor , and every day i do , theres a greasy strip of power steering fluid under the hood. I guess its not a gm/chev product unless it leaks lol been that way since new anyhow , but im curious why do they leak so bad through the cap.

[shark2000]

Just got my car back from the dealership yesterday for this problem and a couple others. Warranty, Oh-Yah!!! There is a problem with the intermediate steering shaft needs replacement. They did lube it, and so far it doesn't seem to the it any more. He said it was probably just the worn shaft shifting causing the jerky feeling to the steering. They ordered the parts, but they did lube it, and it hasn't done it yet. The drivers window was clunking when rolling up, and they actual took the door apart to inspect it this time, and said the regulator gear was binding. They replaced it, and now the window works great. Actually, they replaced the regulator and the motor. Last time they just spayed oil down the sides of the window, and every time I rolled it down and up, there was a line of oil across the window. It took about 2 months of wiping the window clean every time I rolled it up to get it mostly clean enough to not do it. It still dose it a little bit.