hello everyone im a new member here and i must admit im not a mechanic!

i would like to know if anyone has had a similar problem to my focus and what remedy they found to cure it.

my problem is the power steering.it at times can be heavy particularly at slow speeds and at other times light and im convinced something is wrong

took it down to the local garage who flushed and replaced the fluid in the power steering .they tole me the fluid was "shot" black and smelt bad.

this improved things a bit ,but im now thinking its the pump or the rack.

the garage says there is no way of telling .their solution is to put a recon pump on (cost circa 200) and see how it goes ,and if no improvement fit a rack .great idea if youre rich! which im not.

is there anyway of finding out which one its likely to be rack or pump.

any help would be appreciated

thanks

kevin

hello everyone im a new member here and i must admit im not a mechanic!

i would like to know if anyone has had a similar problem to my focus and what remedy they found to cure it.

my problem is the power steering.it at times can be heavy particularly at slow speeds and at other times light and im convinced something is wrong

took it down to the local garage who flushed and replaced the fluid in the power steering .they tole me the fluid was "shot" black and smelt bad.

this improved things a bit ,but im now thinking its the pump or the rack.

the garage says there is no way of telling .their solution is to put a recon pump on (cost circa 200) and see how it goes ,and if no improvement fit a rack .great idea if youre rich! which im not.

is there anyway of finding out which one its likely to be rack or pump.

any help would be appreciated

thanks

kevin

Remove the bottle and get them to check for contamination. This will show any break up within the steering system. Also have they checked the power steering pipe going to the rack for a split?

thanks i will fix it

dont know what you mean by the bottle .the power steering fluid was replaced and the old fluid flushed out .it was contaminated .i dont know whether they checked the pipe going to the rack for a split .i will ask them .wouldnt there be a loss of fluid in the reservoir if it was split?

there appears to be no drop in fluid levels that i can see

many thanks

kevin

thanks i will fix it

dont know what you mean by the bottle .the power steering fluid was replaced and the old fluid flushed out .it was contaminated .i dont know whether they checked the pipe going to the rack for a split .i will ask them .wouldnt there be a loss of fluid in the reservoir if it was split?

there appears to be no drop in fluid levels that i can see

many thanks

kevin

teres a preslve in the steerin rack if contaminants got into that then the fluid wont be goiing through the rack the whole system needed to be flushed out to remove any contaminants from it from the bottle right through the steering rack

just bought a 2002 focus,noticed the compartment i put power steering fluid in ,is well below min mark(maybe about a inch) will it do the steering any harm?

just bought a 2002 focus,noticed the compartment i put power steering fluid in ,is well below min mark(maybe about a inch) will it do the steering any harm?

i would fill it up asap! as long as the pump has not run dry it should be ok. fill it up and run the steering full lock both ways a few times to bleed out any air

i hope the squealing noise your hearing isnt from the pump though...

just bought a 2002 focus,noticed the compartment i put power steering fluid in ,is well below min mark(maybe about a inch) will it do the steering any harm?

Check your pump for any leaks! Common for the seals in the pump to leak therefore a new pump is required!

Top it up in the meantime...