97 GP Steering Major Problem! Help Please

[bkb447]

Hey guys I just recently bought a 97 GP for 20 dollars from this girl and the only problem which is huge is it feels like there is no power steering it is drivable still exept that when turning right the steering wheel just gives out because of the force that is needed to turn and turn a quarter turn before catching again and the continue to turn right can anyone tell me what this could be? The woman said that she got the powersteering pump replace not to long ago and than this happend. She also mentioned something about the under brackets but who knows if she knows anything about the car. Well thank you for any advice or info you can give me guys!!!!

[BNaylor]

Did the prior owner replace the power steering pump due to the same problem or did it show after the pump was replaced? Based on the symptoms it sounds like a bad rack and pinion, however, maybe the power steering pump installed is defective.

"Under brackets" is pretty vague so no way to determine what is meant by that.

[richtazz]

I agree with Bob that it sounds like a bad rack. There was a TSB that covered 97-98 GM vehicles (the FWD Vans for sure) where the rack input shaft bearing fails and causes it to turn hard to the right. I'm not sure if there was a recall for the GP on this issue (there was for the vans), but you might call a GM dealer with the VIN and see. It might be a free fix.