98 Power Steering Problem...

[Shewter]

The other day I was turning left when halfway through the turn the power steering went out, no noise, no vibration, or any signal that something was wrong. Since the car has rack and pinion steering it was still driveable. I took it to the dealer because I didn't have time to diagnose the problem myself and I needed the car for the weekend. They said the power steering pump shaft was broken and that it would cost me $1,200 to fix. I said I would look into replacing it myself, which of course they didn't recommend since it was so labor intensive. So I paid the money for the diagnosis and was on my way. I took the car to a corvette club rally in Palm Springs where the car performed great except no power steering. That was last weekend. On Monday, on the way to work, I again was making a left turn when the power steering mysteriously came back and has been working perfect since.

My question is...has anyone ever seen an intermittent power steering failure? I was a mechanic for many years and have never seen a power steering pump that would work one minute and not the next. To me it sounds more like an electrical problem due to the fact these vettes have speed sensitive steering. I do have a code that comes up in the DIC that says the steering wheel position sensor is bad or at least out of its parameters, but isn't that for the Traction Control System? Anyway, I thought I would throw this one out there and see what anyone says. My next step will be to get the factory service manuals and diagnose this myself. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Kevin

 

[c4c5specialist]

HI there,
Please post the code for the TCS. The system relies on the steering wheel position sensor, to correct add or take away power steering resistance.
And, the TCs control computer ALSO controls your MAGNASTEER power assistance system.
The 2 could definately be related.
Allthebest, c4c5

 

[Zektor]

This just goes to show you just how much rubbish dealers come out with. They obviously did not diagnose the fault properly. If the shaft was broken, you probably wouldn't have any steering at all.

Sometimes I just hate the dealers!!!

Cheers
Dazza

 

[Shewter]

HI there,
Please post the code for the TCS. The system relies on the steering wheel position sensor, to correct add or take away power steering resistance.
And, the TCs control computer ALSO controls your MAGNASTEER power assistance system.
The 2 could definately be related.
Allthebest, c4c5

Thanks for the reply c4c5, I didn't think about the TCS controlling the power steering to correct for oversteer or understeer...makes perfect sense. I will work on getting the codes shortly.