granturissimus

So I had rack and pinion and power steering pump replaced, by a possibly suspicious mechanic.

After the replacements, it was working fine but power steering fluid was leaking. I added some more fluid because a lot leaked out, and next morning the wheel went really stiff when I was reversing out of a supermarket... drove home with a very hard to turn wheel. Then started the car up, and it was working fine again like nothing happened. A few days later more fluid slowly leaked out (5 2-inch drops on cardboard per night) and I added more fluid. And again next morning the wheel went super stiff when reversing from a different supermarket.

The mechanic fixed the leak, but the issue persists... the wheel is harder to turn, and usually goes super stiff when shifting into reverse gear. It doesn't go super stiff every time I shift into rear, but from time to time. However it is always a little stiffer than normal.

Today I added more fluid after the leak was fixed, and started turning the wheel end to end when parked. It was turning really easily as if everything was fixed, but after like 6 times of turning, it got stiffer again... on and off stiffer. Tonight I drove a like 1.5 miles on it, and it was consistently stiffer than its supposed to be, but not totally stiff.

The wheel does automatically straighten out when exiting a turn though, I read that if it doesn't straighten then its faulty rack and pinion.

What could this be? Is there any electronics that could be at fault, since it seems to go super stiff when reversing? Or is it the pump? Mechanic said pump may be defective, but I am suspicious of him.

JvG

You paid the mechanic to fix it.

Take it back, demand that he really does fix it.

It's a mechanical, hydraulic system.