my very first mod...should have been cake..and it was
fstb..everything went smoothly. I had to disconnect a plug near the passenger strut tower in order to get the bracket on..but reconnected it once i got the bracket on. bar is tight, nuts are torqued to 35 lb/ft
now...my power steering is TIGHT...really hard to turn...harder than my '90 sentra that has manual steering...what could the problem be???
please help...

 

Try torquing it lower... like 30 lb/ft.

 

ok...now the bar is off and the nuts arent torqued at all the steering is reallllly tight...im scared now

 

Did u install it on perfectly flat ground?

 

not 100% perfectly flat but real close.. i just took it into the garage (which should be 100% and retorqued all 3 nuts to 30. still really tight. there was a connector near the drivers side bracket..it had a tube coming out of one end and wires out of the other. at first it was being crimped..but not anymore. do u think that got messed up and is messing with my power steering? im not sure what that part does.

 

Did you torque the center nut on the strut insulator? You shouldn't have touched that nut if you did.

 

didnt touch the center one...just the 3 on the outside...anyone else? why would power steering just conk out?

 

could it be a coincidence? take it off and try the steering again. and then just make sure nothing is rubbing, although a LOT of rubbing must occur to have such an impact on a power steering system.

 

right now the bar isnt even on

 

the fstb shouldn't effect steering in any way - aleast not like the big problem you are having.

i had to plug the plug also to get mine fitted in place - what is that plug anyways? could that have something to do with it?

 

It's probably the tube that was crimped since that's the only thing that was affected. The tube probably has to do something with the power steering. Maybe you need a new one.

 

my fresh copy of the Haynes Manual says reasons for "hard steering":

"1. Lack of lubrication at balljoints, tie-rod ends and rack and pinion assembly.
2. Front wheel alignment out of spec.
3. Low tire pressure"

not sure if any of those match your problem.

 

It could also be a broken power steering pump, broken belt to power steering pump, low power steering fluid, broken rack, etc.

I would inspect the power steering pump and make sure fluid is OK and that it is being driven by the belt OK.

My acura had the exact same symptoms when the rack broke. That cost a small fortune to fix.

 

stupid sun
ill be up at dawn to check everything out...wish me luck

 

The plug you disconnected on the passenger side, is the power steering oil pressure switch. If you haven't done so yet, disconnect it, check the pins, and reconnect it.

Not sure what is on the drivers side.

 

Ahh, sounds like that would probably be the culprit. Hopefully it's just a bent pin and nothin worse.

 

good call...sound like the prob

 

woke up at like 9 to get started...somehow i knew there would be a long day ahead of me. popped the hood...cut belt to the ps pump...saw it right away.
so...3 hours, $13.49 and a couple bruised knuckles later, power steering is back.
i must have kicked up a rock or something...it was a pretty clean cut...
the correlation between steering and fstb? the only thing i can attribute it to...is freak accident coincidence. thanks for your help guys...keep on moddin.