Thread: power steering knowledge needed

the car is a 97 b14 ser with stock usdm lowport motor.my high pressure power steering hose had a leak from being dryroted and the dealer wanted over $200 for a new one. a couple guys told me about a place to get the hose rebuilt... they removed the switch and fittings from the ends of the hose and put a new rubber hose on but in doing so they did not put the end fittings on exactly as they were before. on top of that the hose had a slight curve that went in the opposite direction of where i needed it to curve. so in putting it on i had to catch the bottom bolt that holds the hose to the pump first then twist and fight to catch the top threaded line that goes to the rack and the p.s. switch/sensor. then some genius told me to put auto tranny fluid in my power steering reservior...when i let the car down everything was perfect, steering felt great. by time i backed it out of the shop and onto the street it felt worse than a damn honda. the steering wheel is extra stiff and i literally have to fight it to turn even when the car is rolling. one thing though, if the car is cold like in the mornings of when i leave work and i get in and start driving it goes back to perfect, but by time i drive a half mile it gets tuff again and stays that way. i drained out most of the tranny fluid from the reservoir hose but i can tell theres still some in the system because when i fill the reservoir with clear ps fluid and check it later its pink from the mixture of the red tranny fluid. im wondering if the diameter of the inside of the hose is too small from when it got repaired or if the tranny fluid has anything to do with it. also i was thinking maybe they crimped the end fitting down too hard or used ones that are too small cuz those arent even my original fittings. has anyone ever had this problem before??? btw, when im driving i can hear the pump a little bit not very loud i have to be idling to here it but does that mean that its not getting sufficent fluid? someone please help asap i dont wana buy a 200 dollar hose and thats not the problem with the car.

wow man, that hurts to read.

Tranny fluid is correct for our PS systems, but you have to use the right one. Is the belt in good condition?

lol. i know, i think the belt might need to be changed considering i never changed it and a bunch of tranny fluid n power steering fluid leaked onto it. but do u think that would stiffen up the steering? o yea i forgot to add that today it was on and off from stiff to perfect through out the day. when the car is in place and i turn the wheel its hard then if i rev the engine while turning the wheel its easy so a friend told me the pump might be going or there still some air in the ps lines

Get rid of it! I drove for nearly 2 years in my 200 with no power steering then I finally fixed it and then took it back out when I went turbo. Unless you have T-Rex arms, try changing the belt, it definately has an effect if it's bad...

idk wat happened but it magically fixed itself. the wheel jus free'd up one day and it drives perfect now. thanks t for the help tho.