Hello everyone and thanks for taking the time to read this and possibly help me in an interesting situation I've been having for some time now. As stated above, I own a 1988 Buick Park Avenue. A couple months back, after purchasing the car, I noticed a grinding noise coming from the power steering pump. Another issue I was having at the time was that the car was unbelievably hard to turn when in a stationary position and parallel parking was out of the question. In a buick, power steering should be like butter, able to turn with a pinky at any point in time. So I decided to change the power steering pump. I went to my local Autozone and picked up an Atsco direct OEM replacement power steering pump with reservoir attached. I replaced the pump after changing out the old fluid for fear that there were shavings in the fluid. After replacing the pump, the grinding noise had stopped, yet I was still left with the issue of not being able to turn the steering wheel in a stationary position. It seemed however, that everything was fine when I got going along the road. HERE'S MY POINT**: the current idle setting on the car is approximately 550 rpm's at idle. In order for the steering to work the way it should, i would gas the car in park in the park position up to 800-900 rpm's and the steering would be smooth. So then I figured the idle needed to be set higher. So I called my local Buick dealership and they said not to change the idle, because it is self-adjusting and is supposed to be around 550 rpms. So ultimately my question is, what the hell might be going on that would cause the car to still not want to steer properly, at the appropriate rpms, (according to the dealership), even after a new pump is replaced. I've told this to many people and have gotten many ideas, but thought I would post here and see what you all have to come up with.
THANKS FOR READING.
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08-21-2008, 09:46 PM
Im sorry know one answered yet,but my problem is a loose steering wheel..wobbles left to right up and down,cant locate any bolts to tighten,
Re: 1988 Park Avenue Power Steering Issue
