power steering problem

[gchen]

Since last month, my 95 Mercury Villager became very stiff to steer when it is cold, usually the first time in the morning. After driven for a couple of minutes, it turns normal but still squeaks loudly in big turns.

I took it to some garages and seems it is a common issue with old cars. They called it 'morning sickness', and said steering rack or some kind of valve is worn out.

Has anybody experienced this? Any idea how much it costs to fix it and where would you recommend? thanks in advance for your help.

 

[月下独酌]

要是换steering rack就贵了去了

最简单的maintenance就是做个powersteering fluid flush吧，不过这个好像也不便宜

 

[PrideOfChinese]

It seems dealers don't have good way to fix the problem except changing expensive parts. My Toyota has this problem when it's 3 years old, the dealer said it needed lubrication and did it. But I found it's useless after the 2nd lubrication. Anyway it's not a big issue except the noise.

 

[gchen]

Thanks for all the replies.

Good news is the problem is fixed in a simple way. I took it to YMH for a power steering fluid flush and also had the belt tightened. Surprisingly both problems are gone.

YMH is quite honest in giving his advice of trying something simple and cheap first, compared to those big garages.