Hi all,

I have a 2004 Ford KA. A couple of weeks ago my steering started to go really weird. The wheel would move on it's own while I was driving so I took it straight to the garage. Initially the mechanic fitted new stabilisers and wheel mounts to see if that might be the problem. This didn't help at all so he suggested it might actually be the steering rack. A new (refurbished) steering rack was fitted and I then took it to have it tracked. The problem has gone now and the car will drive straight without any movement on the wheel. The only problem now is that the steering will often be nice and light, then other times is quite stiff - not so stiff that it won't turn but still needs a bit more effort than normal. The mechanic did give me a bottle of power steering fluid and said that sometimes it does need topping up when you've had a new steering rack fitted, however I have checked the levels and it is at maximum. What could be causing the stiffness in the steering?

Thanks

Tim

 

Pump on it's last legs probably! Or could be the belt slipping so it causes the pump to stop running when it's under load. Check the condition and tightness of the belt first, then I'd be looking at the pump.

 

Thank you for your quick reply. The belt was slipping a couple of months back and I had it put back on. I just presumed this is something the mechanic would have checked when I took it in to have the rack changed. Hopefully it is just a belt issue and I won't need to fork out for a new pump.