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This is the only problem that the car has had since I got it back on the road last year..

When I first fire up the car to pull it out of the garage its fine. When I turn the wheel it makes a weird squeaking noise until I stop turning the wheel. This only happens while the car is cold for some reason, even though lately I have noticed it a bit more.

I don't know if this could possibly be a steering rack that needs replaced or if it could be the control arm bushings.

Could bad control arm bushings make this sound? I will get a video tomorrow if I have time. Thanks

power steering pump, just run it, my quad z26 ate about a dozen of them, all under warrenty though so it was all good, my best suggestion is when you change it, to either use an automatic radiator and run lines to cool the ps fluid, or just put a power steering cooler in. but either way, i'll bet its the ps pump.

There is a company called BG that makes an absolute KILLER good power steering flush. Yes, your issue sounds like your rack is squealing a little bit and simply throwing parts at it is NOT the answer. I had a similar issue in my aqua '93 Olds SCX only a little worse groaning and noise. I used a bottle of BG and flushed the system and bam. Problem went away.

Product is the top one on the page. It's pricey , but like all things , you get what you pay for!

http://www.bgprod.com/products/steering.html

Speedy if you went through a dozen pumps dude you had other issues you needed to address. Do you know the odds of that many bad pumps in a row????

To flush simply use a turkey baster or similar to empty the reservoir on the PS pump. Then add the BG , replace PS pump reservoir cap, start car, turn the steering wheel lock to lock 3 times, turn car off. Pull PS pump cap, use baster to empty reservoir again, add NEW PS fluid, replace cap, rinse ,lather,repeat. Do this until the fluid you're pulling from the pump is brand new looking and clean. Then you've successfully flushed the system of the old crap and added all new.

PS flushes are overlooked by almost everyone. No one stops to think the reason their 18 year old car has a steering squeal is because there's a damn good chance the PS fluid is as old as the car.

I would check the fluid level first but you probably checked that already.

I would be hesitant to use a ps flush as a lot of them have solvents which could potentially cause more leaks on worn seals. I would however try to drain as much of the fluid as possible and refill it. On mine the lines are not that hard to get to to take off. I don't know about yours since mine is missing a lot of stuff. Maybe even use SGR's method but with fresh fluid instead of a flush.

Then I would go to the PS pump if it did not change. The PS pump was the source of my sqeel a couple of years ago and my rack was still Fd looking but worked like a champ. They are very durable.


It has been replaced since this photo.

Didn't even think about the power steering pump.. when I bought the car it had a bad power steering line so maybe that made the pump bad.

Thanks for the feedback! I'm going to start with trying fresh fluid and see what happens.

Since the Ps pump was basically starved so to say since it had a bad ps line, could that have toasted the pump? Maybe I should replace it anyways?

Yes, that could have toasted the pump. However, that said, it's gonna cost you like $2-$4 (price of PS fluid by the quart at Wally World), and your time to try the fluid swap method first. Much easier. Not to mention your PS pump is a bastard to swap, a bit, as the bolts for the bracket are a bit of a pisser to get to and it's cam drive. So , you might just save yourself a lot of headache and hassle if fresh fluid fixes your issue!

Check the rack itself. Mine was busted up, and leaking. Replaced it, and it's all good.
If it's a PS issue, your hearing like, groaning right? Or is it just squeaking as you driving straight, or with the wheel slightly turned to either side? PS groaning, and squeaking are completely different things. Could be a rack, or pump, could be the bushings, but if you replace the rack, replace the pump also, and flush all that crap out! When and if the rack is shot, the rotted crap, from the rack can cycle itself through the pump, and make it hell to turn, and cause all kinds of noises and odd feelings while turning. I'm going off of my experience with my Z26. Maybe your problem isn't this serious, but inspect you rack first.

Thanks for the input everybody!

I got the power steering pump replaced and the sound is gone! The mechanic I had replace it said the rack might be going bad if I keep hearing the noise. I got it back today after I dropped it off last night. It drives like its new now with no hesitation while turning the wheel.