Jack_88

Driving along today when my power steering disappeared mid corner. Got a couple faults out of it. They do not clear upon restarting the car. A bit confused since there was no indication of any issue prior to it dropping off. No noises or hard steering before it failed completely. I'll have to get a look at it in the morning, but I thought I'd fish for ideas from you guys first. I should also note I am 600 miles from home, so that makes it all the better .

Astro14

Start with the simple: what's the fluid level?

Welwynnick

Any noises?
Any leaks?
Any smells?


Nick

Jack_88

Sorry, forgot to mention that it is low on fluid, it was at full without me adding any a month and a half ago. No sign from above of where it may be losing fluid, but there is wet visible on the belly pan. My dad noticed it when he was doing plugs for me(can't do it, just had shoulder surgery,) but I thought it was spillage from when I flushed the ABC fluid early October. There is a high pitch whine for a few seconds on cold startup that started yesterday, could be low fluid related, it seems to be coming from something pulley operated. I'll have to rely on family to help with diagnosis, but I'm not sure where to point them to look, other than the generic "look for something damp."

Jack_88

After adding a few ounces of Pentosin, it went from 1/2" from the min line to 1/2" above the max line. Power steering is working again but I still have no idea where it's coming from. Also, the ESP and ABS error messages are still there.

Welwynnick

ESP and ABS errors are often caused by a bad wheel speed sensor, or the battery going flat.

If it's the former, get a code reader to find out which one (tedious otherwise).

If it's the latter, you just need to manoeuvre slowly and turn the steering from lock to lock, to re-set the steering wheel position sensor.

Nick

Jack_88

I appreciate it, Nick. The ESP and ABS lights turned on while driving, and haven't gone off since. They came on the same moment power steering was lost. There is some sign of power steering fluid loss on the oil pan, of all places, but still no obvious source. I'll try moving it lock to lock to see if that somehow threw something out of calibration. I still don't fully understand these cars, but I can't seem to keep it running without fault for more than a couple weeks before something new comes along. If this keeps up much longer, you might see a green CL in excellent shape with a bunch of maintenance and new parts freshly done. I can only take so many surprises in a period of time, and that limit is approaching. Especially since I have to outsource my labor for the next few months.

Welwynnick

Come to think of it, I did have an instance when a speed sensor wire went bad on me, and I recall that the steering got heavier because of it. Everything went back to normal when I fixed it, but it was because of the sensor. Are you sure you lost the power steering altogether, or is it just heavier?


Nick

Jack_88

It got quite heavy, comparable to a complete loss. It's hard to be sure whether or not it was a total loss, but I can tell you it suddenly got quite a lot harder and all those lights came on at once. It was low on fluid, and adding some got the power steering back, and tonight when I drove it, the warnings quickly disappeared. I did try the lock to lock thing, but that didn't immediately get rid of the codes. I'm not sure what did it, but it's back to normal. I'm paying a mechanic I've known for 20 years to do an oil change Monday, and I'll ask him nice to have a look to see where the fluid came from in the first place. Also, since the plugs were changed, no more misfires, so that's good. The old ones definitely looked well worn enough to be the source of the issue, but the old boots looked pretty good. Had the new ones already, though, so no reason not to reuse the old ones even if I could probably do so without issue.

kraut56

I think it will be well worth it to check for fault codes with the wheel speed sensors. Went thru roughly the same, and it was a speed sensor (REAR RIGHT) , which has a rubber bulb below the connector that can fill with moisture.

DAS/Xentry will easily identify it.

tusabes

I agree the tightening of steering is usually a sensor issue , but since he reported a fluid loss this could be a different issue

Jack_88

After having the car on a lift, it's still not clear where the fluid loss is coming from. All that is clear is that it's losing it, albeit very slowly.