I have a problem... Hope you guys had a similar one to help me narrow this one down.
Car: 2004 Grand Prix GTP (recently purchased-2nd owner-ready for mods once she's fully operational)
Issue: Power Steering problems and too many unknowns to narrow down what action to take.
Symtoms and Observations: At idle(park) wheel stiff when attempting to turn. Revving the engine (high idle) results in normal operations. Noted the following... when having a person turning the wheel RIGHT to lock - I hear a loud hiss (puff of air) sound from drivers wheel (although pump is on opposite side)?? when turning wheel left it binds right at the straight position until they jiggled wheel right slightly and wheel continues turn to lock position left (but only if they turn right to lock). The Puff of air noise on this side is suspicious. Checked fluid levels... noted fluid brown... siphoned off reserve, refilled - drove around 5 minutes, repeat the process 5 times until a satisfactory color appeared. Removed boot from inner tie-rod (recently change 3 months ago) to make sure didn't come loose, on crooked, or something caught. Drives normal... wheel operates normal while driving but if I stop and then attempt to turn wheel it stiffens.
I been working on cars to long to jump to conclusions... don't believe in fixing something that is NOT broken (narrow down the problem part and fix it). I've seen people replace pumps and problems persist, steering racks, problem persist. I avoid just taking a shot in the dark... and hope one of you have had a similar problem. (Whats the puff of air noise???)
