Power steering faulty

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DustyM

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Folks,

Does anyone have good knowledge as to how the E9 power steering system works?

I have a fault with mine which I thought was just a loose belt, the symptoms being that the steering goes heavy and the belt squeals when manovering at low speed or through tight corners.

However the belt is tight and in good condition, so the fault appears to be elsewhere.

Any Ideas, There is plenty of fluid and the system doesn't seem to have any leaks.

Cheers
 
Last edited:
Folks,

Does anyone have good knowledge as to how the E9 power steering system works?

I have a fault with mine which I thought was just a loose belt, the symptoms being that the steering goes heavy and the belt squeals when manovering at low speed or through tight corners.

However the belt is tight and in good condition, so the fault appears to be elsewhere.

Any Ideas, There is plenty of fluid and the system doesn't seem to have any leaks.

Cheers
Jon
 
If you force the lock, ie you keep trying to turn the wheel even though you are on full lock this will happen.
I can look in the blue book for you to see if there is anything in there
 
If you force the lock, ie you keep trying to turn the wheel even though you are on full lock this will happen.
I can look in the blue book for you to see if there is anything in there
 
DustyM said:
the symptoms being that the steering goes heavy and the belt squeals when maneuvering at low speed or through tight corners.
However the belt is tight and in good condition, so the fault appears to be elsewhere.
Click to expand...

Three things come to mind.

1. It is possible that with age and expected wear your pump does not develop the pressure it once did or other wear in the system prevents the normal maintenance of that pressure.

2. The fuel pump reservoir filter may be plugged and impeding the fluid flow. The filter sits at the bottom of the reservoir and, to the best I can recall, is accessed by lifting the reservoir cover and then the spring and secondary cover that seats the filter. There is a simple round press fit clip that seats over the same center fastener that runs through the middle of the reservoir. Be careful not to lose that clip!

3. As far as I can tell, most coupes steering pumps were driven by a belt directly from the water pump (the water pump being driven by a double row pulley -where the other row was primarily driven by a belt off of the crankshaft). Since yours has its own individual belt that turns directly off of the crankshaft pulley, there is no need to further explain the limitations of the former drive design. Suffice it to say, later models using the M10 engine rerouted the accessory drive belts.

Issue 1. was glossed over since repairs and adjustments can be fairly complicated. Most manuals discuss hooking up test equipment to determine if the pump is operating normally. They also discuss rotor and vane replacement, which presupposes these are readily available off the shelf. There is a valve that screws into the back of the pump that evidently can get dirty and stick, but a well drafted manual can offer better guidance than this post.:(

hth
 
DustyM said:
the symptoms being that the steering goes heavy and the belt squeals when maneuvering at low speed or through tight corners.
However the belt is tight and in good condition, so the fault appears to be elsewhere.
Click to expand...

Three things come to mind.

1. It is possible that with age and expected wear your pump does not develop the pressure it once did or other wear in the system prevents the normal maintenance of that pressure.

2. The fuel pump reservoir filter may be plugged and impeding the fluid flow. The filter sits at the bottom of the reservoir and, to the best I can recall, is accessed by lifting the reservoir cover and then the spring and secondary cover that seats the filter. There is a simple round press fit clip that seats over the same center fastener that runs through the middle of the reservoir. Be careful not to lose that clip!

3. As far as I can tell, most coupes steering pumps were driven by a belt directly from the water pump (the water pump being driven by a double row pulley -where the other row was primarily driven by a belt off of the crankshaft). Since yours has its own individual belt that turns directly off of the crankshaft pulley, there is no need to further explain the limitations of the former drive design. Suffice it to say, later models using the M10 engine rerouted the accessory drive belts.

Issue 1. was glossed over since repairs and adjustments can be fairly complicated. Most manuals discuss hooking up test equipment to determine if the pump is operating normally. They also discuss rotor and vane replacement, which presupposes these are readily available off the shelf. There is a valve that screws into the back of the pump that evidently can get dirty and stick, but a well drafted manual can offer better guidance than this post.:(

hth
 
Thanks for the comprehsive reply, I will check the filter as there is no sign of any movement in the reservoir with the engine running. How do i get it out?

On my car ('73 CSi) the power steering is driven directly from the crank with it's own belt. The problem has got progressively worse over the last month or so.

Cheers
Jon
 
Thanks for the comprehsive reply, I will check the filter as there is no sign of any movement in the reservoir with the engine running. How do i get it out?

On my car ('73 CSi) the power steering is driven directly from the crank with it's own belt. The problem has got progressively worse over the last month or so.

Cheers
Jon
 
Malc said:
If you force the lock, ie you keep trying to turn the wheel even though you are on full lock this will happen.
I can look in the blue book for you to see if there is anything in there
Click to expand...

It's not on full lock, it happens as soon as you try to move the wheel at all (and you really have to heave on the wheel to turn it)
 
Malc said:
If you force the lock, ie you keep trying to turn the wheel even though you are on full lock this will happen.
I can look in the blue book for you to see if there is anything in there
Click to expand...

It's not on full lock, it happens as soon as you try to move the wheel at all (and you really have to heave on the wheel to turn it)
 
DustyM said:
the power steering is driven directly from the crank with it's own belt. The problem has got progressively worse over the last month or so.
Click to expand...

This information mooted most of my original post which has been revised. As noted, wear and contaminants may be at the root of your problem. What condition is you fluid? ATF, by its very nature acts as a solvent and has a cleansing effect. Yet just like fluid in a transmission, it can become contaminated and the system may benefit from a change. I can't recall seeing the manuals suggest this, but removing a lower hose and partially draining the system of old fluid and replacing it with new, may be therapeutic.

If none of the simple suggestions work, I would be more inclined to look for the pump off of a later low-mileage model. I suspect other models and makes (Mercedes?) might be suitable candidates but do not know this off hand.

Good luck and keep us posted. Your fix may be ours? :wink:
 
DustyM said:
the power steering is driven directly from the crank with it's own belt. The problem has got progressively worse over the last month or so.
Click to expand...

This information mooted most of my original post which has been revised. As noted, wear and contaminants may be at the root of your problem. What condition is you fluid? ATF, by its very nature acts as a solvent and has a cleansing effect. Yet just like fluid in a transmission, it can become contaminated and the system may benefit from a change. I can't recall seeing the manuals suggest this, but removing a lower hose and partially draining the system of old fluid and replacing it with new, may be therapeutic.

If none of the simple suggestions work, I would be more inclined to look for the pump off of a later low-mileage model. I suspect other models and makes (Mercedes?) might be suitable candidates but do not know this off hand.

Good luck and keep us posted. Your fix may be ours? :wink:
 
Thanks for the comments guys.

I removed the filter and there does seem to be a decent flow from the pump, enough to suck my finger into the hole at the bottom of the resevoir :shock:

One thing I did notice though is that the fluid seems to have a fair amount of metallic particles suspended in it :(

I'm begining to think the steering box and whatever valves it has inside may be at fault, does anyone have an exploded diagram of the steering box and can a kit be bought for DIY reconditioning?

I will change the fluid to see if that helps, but my instinct tells me not.

Thanks again
Jon
 
Thanks for the comments guys.

I removed the filter and there does seem to be a decent flow from the pump, enough to suck my finger into the hole at the bottom of the resevoir :shock:

One thing I did notice though is that the fluid seems to have a fair amount of metallic particles suspended in it :(

I'm begining to think the steering box and whatever valves it has inside may be at fault, does anyone have an exploded diagram of the steering box and can a kit be bought for DIY reconditioning?

I will change the fluid to see if that helps, but my instinct tells me not.

Thanks again
Jon
 
Metalic particles? that is never a good sign!

Could be anything of course, but I'd immediately look at the steering box as the culprit. You say the pump is pushing fluid, so I'd leave that alone for now (and don't keep running the pump with debris in the system - you'll only chew up the vanes and have another problem on your hands).

Unfortunately, I think the steering box is a bigger PIA to remove/replace compared to any other PS component.

The Blue Books show a very basic rebuild diagram, but I would not attempt it.
 
Metalic particles? that is never a good sign!

Could be anything of course, but I'd immediately look at the steering box as the culprit. You say the pump is pushing fluid, so I'd leave that alone for now (and don't keep running the pump with debris in the system - you'll only chew up the vanes and have another problem on your hands).

Unfortunately, I think the steering box is a bigger PIA to remove/replace compared to any other PS component.

The Blue Books show a very basic rebuild diagram, but I would not attempt it.
 
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