On one of my cars, the power steering doesn't feel right when I first drive it. The steering wheel is more difficult to turn and it feels "notchy." What I mean is it doesn't move smoothly-it moves in small increments and there is a bit of resistance before the wheel continues to turn-almost as though the steering mechanism were passing over gear teeth. As I drive it, the steering eventually smooths out and feels normal. Any thoughts as to what might be wrong? o No:
The steering box is going out. Do yourself a favor and change it out with a rebuilt or used one. I had the same thing years ago on my '74 Rivi and after a night out and a run in with the cops because it got "notchy" in front of a cop at 2am I decided it was time to change it. Mike
Just follow the two hoses from the power steering pump as the other ends will be attached to the steering box.
Before going to the effort of replacing the steering box, I'd flush the system first to ensure your problem is not caused by contaminated hydraulic fluid - mine was. To do: pull off the low pressure return line, tape it into a suitable container, get a buddy (I've done it by myself though) turn on the car and run the steering wheel 1 or 2 times, turn off the car, refill the reservoir, repeat a couple more times until you've gone through 2 quarts of ATF. Twenty minute job.
Buy a new power steering belt first Get the right type belt for your car and from a reputable manufaturer (like Good Year, Dayco ...), then tigten it to the proper tension. The "notchy" feeling you describe is often caused by a slipping power stearing belt. As a belt gets older the rubber gets harder and it doesn't have as much "bite". People try to fix this by increasing tension, but that doesn't usually work and can cause further problems like water pump failure. I would certainly at least try to replace the belt before I replaced the steering gear.
Come to find out that the pulleys on the car are the wrong size....so changing to the correct pulleys and a new belt are the first things I'll try.
