Hi, I have a 1997 Taurus GL 4-door 3.0 with 160k on the odometer. I've had the car for 8 years and it's been great. When I bought the Taurus it had 99k and looked it just had a tune up i.e., new plug wires, etc. I decided to give it a treat a few days ago and installed new plugs, wires, etc. I also changed the heater hoses which appeared to be original. After all the work I took it for a test drive and it runs great but I have one problem, it's difficult to steer, feels like the front tires are flat! I had a similar issue once before but only when placing the car in reverse so I changed the neutral safety switch and it cured the steering issue that time.
The car was driving/steering fine until I changed the anti freeze, plugs etc so what gives? Some coolant ran over the rack & pinion but I dont see how that would have caused this. The power steering reservoir is full and like I said it was steering great until I performed the work....any ideas?
Two things to look for is the belt slipping and your loosing power steering or check the subframe to make sure the frame has not dropped and restricting your steering.
Not sure what it was but it's working now. When I parked the car a day before working on it the steering was fine, I changed plugs, oil, hoses then it was difficult to steer. This morning I checked all wiring in the area that got wet with coolant and it checked okay, no moisture in connectors, etc. I checked the power steering fluid and it was a little low, not dry or anywhere close to that but just a little low. I bought some power steering leak fix and conditioner and topped off but still no improvement after driving 10-15 miles. I parked the car and posted my issue here. Took it for a ride this evening and from the moment I started the engine it drove just like it used to, smooth as silk. Maybe a coincidence? Perhaps the conditioner freed a stuck valve or something? I have no idea but the Taurus is good as gold again. Thanks for the replies.
Not sure what it was but it's working now. When I parked the car a day before working on it the steering was fine, I changed plugs, oil, hoses then it was difficult to steer. This morning I checked all wiring in the area that got wet with coolant and it checked okay, no moisture in connectors, etc. I checked the power steering fluid and it was a little low, not dry or anywhere close to that but just a little low. I bought some power steering leak fix and conditioner and topped off but still no improvement after driving 10-15 miles. I parked the car and posted my issue here. Took it for a ride this evening and from the moment I started the engine it drove just like it used to, smooth as silk. Maybe a coincidence? Perhaps the conditioner freed a stuck valve or something? I have no idea but the Taurus is good as gold again. Thanks for the replies.
If you get any coolant on the belt, it might slip and give hard steering.
I had '02 Lin Cont under warrenty and got hard steering and after dealer replaced rack and pinion, and pump, with no help I asked about the belt. I got that seconds of silence on the phone with, "get back to you". Turns out it was a slipping belt due to a bad belt. Seems like it would steer hard in "parking lot speed" but ok on the road. Dealer then told me to only use Goodyear Gatorback if I ever had to change it again. I am sure any water or coolant would do the same. Daughter had '98 and it would steer hard when hitting a puddle of water and spashing water on the belt. New belt helped that.
Funny you say that as I'm sure some coolant may have gotten on the belt when taking the hose off that connects near the alternator. Also, sometimes when I hit a puddle of water it squeals and becomes hard to steer AND it only had this issue at slow speeds. Like with most things in life I may have been overthinking it?
Funny you say that as I'm sure some coolant may have gotten on the belt when taking the hose off that connects near the alternator. Also, sometimes when I hit a puddle of water it squeals and becomes hard to steer AND it only had this issue at slow speeds. Like with most things in life I may have been overthinking it?
My exp with belts. See pic, this one used about a year, on '01 Sable DOHC, which has only 5 pulleys so it does not work hard. It is the right length, tensioner well in range, it is a house brand of one major parts houses. I do not remember which. Maybe 6K miles on it.
Belt life depends largely on how hard it is used and quality of materials used. Some good for 100K some not good at 5K. Fortunately inspeciton is easy. Belts not expensive, and Bulls easy to replace.
However, my Lin Cont has 7 pulleys, with 2 reverse bends, and spins the Alt 1.5X what my DOHC does. I would allow 2 hours to replace it. I have done only one. Someone gave me a valuable tip. Use 2" wide high quality masking tape and tape the belt to the underside pulleys so it stays in place while doing the upper ones. If you forget to remove it, no harm done. On the Lin, do the A/C from under, the crank through the pas front wheel well, and the lower idler there but with a yard stick, then the others from the top with the coolant tank removed.
Been there before----here's my idea as copied on the net:
TRS (Transmission Range Sensor)
Symptoms (Each bullet point is a symptom that doesn't necessarily happen at the same time):
Loss of power steering assist, all window controls (none are lit up), rear window defrost controls, half of the MFS controls (only Hi, Lo, and turn signals work), and radio only when car is in R, (D), D, and 1. Everything functions fine when put into P or N.
Transmission randomly downshifts/upshifts suddenly while driving.
i had a friends car do this and he left it go long enough that it wouldnt even shift out of first.
but at least the taurus trs gives you warnings before it really stops working. it was wierd cause radio on except when the car was in a moving gear. that was the first symptom to show up
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The Transmission Range Sensor is mounted on top of the transmission housing. Pretty much below the Master Brake Cylinder. It has the shift leakage mounted to it.
As copied on the net.LOL As copied from the TCCA Topic Finder to someplace else on the net and then back to TCCA in this post. That is an exact copy of what's in the TC here.
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