sebaxx

hi there, i dont know why my steering is getting hard.. i check all the system and theres no leak of fluid, everythings fine...i hear a little noise when a move to the left side, and the same if i move(steering) to right side...is exactly when i change the direction of the wheels..is tick, tick, tick.i was like 2 hours trying to figure it out where was the noise...and is exactly on the TB...if you look your TB at the same level of the butterfly is...on the right side(outside) theres some electric sensors...well is exactly there.

some guy told me that is a valve that open an close when you move the steering...tomorrow i will clean all the TB and that valves...i hope everything go ok.....any suggestion?

sebaxx

Dave Holmes

Old post I just found while doing a search.

The electrical connectors to the right of the TB (actually they are on the Idle Air Control Valve or IACV) are used to bump the idle higher when the engine load is increased by the AC or power steering. Of the 3, the connector on the left is for the power steering, the one on the right is for the AC. The middle is the connector for the IACV.
These are to bump up the idle so the engine doesn't stall when an increased load is put on it from power steering or AC (this is why at idle, with AC off, RPM is around 625. With AC on, idle jumps to over 700 rpm or so). I'm not too sure if this could be the cause of hard steering. Do your rpm's drop when you hold the wheel to the left or right without the rpm's "adjusting" back up to maintain a smooth idle? If they drop and don't come back up, your probably losing some of the engine power used to drive the ps pump, thus maybe increasing your steering effort. This is the only thing I can see this electrical connector affecting as far as steering effort.
Have you just changed tire size (wider)? This has a big effect on steering, as increased width means more friction from the tires on the road. Make sure your PS fluid level is right. Don't know if it would really affect it too much, but has your PS fluid ever been changed (how many miles are on it)? Remember it is just a hydraulic fluid, and degrades with age. I'm searching for stuff like that now just to do it as preventative maintenance (it uses Dexron III, same as auto tranny, which should be a deep red color, but not "dirty" or varnished looking. It should also not smell burnt). Check the fluid level and condition, and we can troubleshoot more from there.
Since this thread is old, you can email or PM me if you don't feel like keeping the thread going. Keep me informed so I can learn more about this car's steering stuff. Hope this helps.

Dave

Miasma

the tick is the power steering compensator switch. when it detects that you begin to turn the wheel in either direction it engages the power steering to compensate and help out.