Steering problem PT Cruiser URGENT!

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exranger06

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Jan 25, 2008
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My girlfriend has a 2006 PT Cruiser. She lives at the top of a steep hill and she got stuck on the icy driveway. She finally managed to get it up the hill, but the power steering suddenly stopped working. It was working perfectly fine one second, trhe next, it has NO power assist. She said it made a "flapping" noise at first, but then went away. I looked at it today. I didn't hear any strange noises. The belt looked fine and was still spinning the PS pump fine. I checked the fluid and it was a little lower than it was yesterday, but there was still a little left in the reservior. I looked down at the rack and saw one of the boots is damaged.

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She urgently needs this car fixed tomorrow. I want to fix it myself because she doesn't have much money to spend at a shop, but I don't want to run into a problem tomorrow and have her not able to get to work on Thursday, when she could have just brought the car to the shop today and be ready to go by Thursday. Is the car still safe to drive without the power steering or would it cause further damage?
 
You can drive any car without power steering, but it will be difficult. Worst part will be low speed turning, or turning the wheel after backing out of a parking spcae. Not to be mean, but I don't think most women, and even alot of guys, would be able to drive it well.
 
Without knowing what is wrong it's impossible to tell if more damage can be caused by driving the PT. The torn boot likely has nothing to do with the problem Try filling reservoy with ATF+4 and see if that helps. If it's been leaking you should see evidence. If filling the steering does'nt help take it to garage to fix cause your out of time.
 
Still safe. Have to get the car moving to turn. Drove a year without ps in my old LS. But that car was only 2500lbs. I would drop the ps belt to protect the pump since you do not know what is the problem exactly.
 
Originally Posted By: OriginalRocket
............ I would drop the ps belt to protect the pump since you do not know what is the problem exactly.


You can not do that as it has one serpentine belt.
 
You might want to check with Chrysler to see if there was a recall.

Chrysler replaced our '05 GT's rack at 50,000 miles. They said it was "leaking". It's parked in the garage and there is no evidence that our PT ever leaked any lubricants there.

They were most insistant that we replace it immediately under warranty and made arrangements to get us a loaner. A Caliber at first but I talked them up to a Sebring....couldn't get the Challenger out of them.

Maybe there was something wrong with the original they didn't want to tell us about.
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Maybe a class 1 leak is cause for part replacement at that particular Chrysler dealer.
 
the torn boot shouldn't immediately affect the steering at all, although it will let in grit that will eventually eat the seal.

Since the whole thing started with getting stuck, I have to assume something flew up and hit either a PS hose or the cooler that PTs have mounted down near the rack. Its probably not the pressure hose, or else fluid would be pumping out everywhere. It might be a collapsed return hose. No way to tell without real diagnosis.

It could also be a conicidence and something failed inside the rack. The rack is a fairly easy R&R, especially given how cramped everything ELSE is on a PT!
 
Its fine to drive it without PS, but if it was my GF I'd trade cars with her until its fixed. I've run out of power steering the odd time on the autocross course and it does take some muscle to do an emergency manuever.
 
So on the way back to her house I picked up a quart of ATF +4 at Napa. I would've picked up one of the half-used quarts I have at work for free, but it was too far out of the way. I went to the counter to pay and the guy said "That's full synthetic, you know that, right??"
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I just said "Yes" and he rang me up and I left. I'm really curious to know what he would've said if I had said "no" though.
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Anyway, I topped off the reservior and it still has no power assist. I couldn't see any leaks. The car apparently still has a dealer warranty so it is currently being driven to the dealer. I will let everyone know what it was.
 
Originally Posted By: Hootbro
You can not do that as it has one serpentine belt.


Actually, this car has 2 seperate belts: One for the alternator, and the other for the A/C and PS. The water pump is driven by the timing belt.

Originally Posted By: Chris142
Is the belt turning the pully?


Yes it is. My first thought was the belt somehow got knocked off, so that was the first thing I checked. The belt is tight, doesn't slip, and turns the pulley perfectly.
 
The car is at the dealer right now. My girlfriend just messaged me. She said they found 2 leaks. One is the steering rack, which is being replaced under warranty with $100 deductible. She said she forgets where the other leak was but it's not covered under warranty and will cost $194. I'll let you guys know what the other thing was when I find out.
 
So the dealer replaced the rack and the power steering cooler. My girlfriend goes to pick up the car, and the steering is STILL not fixed.
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She turned right around and complained. They gave her a loaner and will attempt to fix it again tomorrow I guess. The thing that makes me mad is there is CLEARLY no power assist. They even drove the car to another shop to have it aligned. There is NO WAY the tech driving it could think it was fixed. And they had the balls to hand it back to my girlfriend and think she wouldn't notice or something??!! Stay tuned, more to come...
 
Originally Posted By: exranger06
So the dealer replaced the rack and the power steering cooler. My girlfriend goes to pick up the car, and the steering is STILL not fixed.
mad.gif
She turned right around and complained. They gave her a loaner and will attempt to fix it again tomorrow I guess. The thing that makes me mad is there is CLEARLY no power assist. They even drove the car to another shop to have it aligned. There is NO WAY the tech driving it could think it was fixed. And they had the balls to hand it back to my girlfriend and think she wouldn't notice or something??!! Stay tuned, more to come...


I still say the power steering pump shaft is broken. I've seen that it does happen. Maybe the bearing siezed, or the shaft just broke. But that's just my guess.
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They replaced the pump and the car finally works as it should. I just did an oil change on the car yesterday. While I was doing the change, my gf noticed a tiny dent on the edge of the front fender, and the front bumper looked sort of crooked. It wasn't really crooked, but there's a lip under the headlight that the bumper should go over. It goes under on one side. I'm thinking they had to remove the bumper and grille to get to the pump (looks really inaccessible) and messed these things up. NEVER going back to that dealer again. I would take it back, but they'll just screw 10 more things up in the process. These aren't big issues and will just be left alone.
 
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