Sudden loss of power steering in 99 Malibu

[stevedap]

I'm a first-time poster here. A few days ago I started my 99 Malibu (V6) and I noticed there was no power steering. What a bummer. I checked the fluid level and noticed it was down. But after I topped it up and started the car the fluid when down right away and I noticed ps fluid leeking out from under the car. The power steering worked perfect until this happened. No noises or anything. I'm still driving the car, but man, is it tough to park!

I'm wondering, could this be something minor to fix? Like a broken hydraulic line or something? Is it likely the rack and pinion box has to be replaced or the ps pump, or both? Can I damage anything if I keep driving the car?

Thanks for any suggestions anyone might have.

[igkyoa]

if it is truly due to a lack or fluid i dont think it will hurt anything, and as far as possible causes i would just try and look around underneath to see if anything is wet it, could be something very minor, like a hose or possibly something more expensive like the steering box or something

[stevedap]

Originally Posted by igkyoa

if it is truly due to a lack or fluid i dont think it will hurt anything, and as far as possible causes i would just try and look around underneath to see if anything is wet it, could be something very minor, like a hose or possibly something more expensive like the steering box or something

Thanks. I ended up taking the car to the dealer to see what they think. It turned out that a hose or something came loose from the ps pump to the steering box/cooler? and they replaced 2 clamps. The Clamps cost 7.50 each, but with labor and taxes it ended up costing $130. Everything considered, I guess I got off easy.

[igkyoa]

thats way too much for 2 clamps, thats why i hate the dealerships

[exmonkeypunk]

Originally Posted by stevedap

Thanks. I ended up taking the car to the dealer to see what they think. It turned out that a hose or something came loose from the ps pump to the steering box/cooler? and they replaced 2 clamps. The Clamps cost 7.50 each, but with labor and taxes it ended up costing $130. Everything considered, I guess I got off easy.

You really need to learn how to work on your own car. It is never worth it to take your car to a dealership. Any local garage will tell you what's up with your car for no cost,and usually fix it for real cheap if it's just a clamp or two. The power steering setups on 3.1L generally are pretty tough. so usually if you have a problem with it then it's either a hose issue or you're wailing on the wheel during U-turns a bit too hard. But yeah,dealerships are whack.