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Hi guys,

When i turn the steering wheel completely to the right or left and hold it there there is some grinding noise in the belt. Is this normal?

The belt feels tight enough.

I have '90 legacy.

Have you checked the level of the fluid? When mine gets low on fluid it gets noisy and rough near the extremes.

But there will always be some complaining from the pump when you're at the limits. You're not meant to hold it there for more than a few seconds at a time.

MAke sure the fluid level's good and be easy on the steering specially when cold. If you MUST turn the wheel 100% at cold, do it slowly. This is advice from a guy with the original PS pump that doesn't complain at the travel limits.

Steve

Could a flush be in order?

I've never flushed my system, though it may've been done when the rack was replaced a few years back. I guess it wouldn't hurt as moisture could get in there after a while.

Steve

The fluid level is good. I topped it up a few weeks back. There is no problem when its not at its limit so i shall take the advice of not holding it there for too long. If the sound increases then I think I shall go in for a flush.

Thanks guys.

Cool.

If the sound does increase and the flush doesn't help, or only helps temporarily, you might try swapping the pump out. It's pretty easy to do.

Just to scare people into obeying the "don't hold it at the limits" rule: my friend with a 2002 WRX was once playing in the freshly fallen snow, doing donuts and such, and was interrupted by flames in his engine bay. Because he held the steering at full lock for too long, the ATF overheated and actually caught fire. There wasn't any permanent damage to anything other than his power steering pump, but it's not hard to imagine it being much worse.

Wow! You couldn't have told a better story to reinforce that!

Yeah, don't hold it at full lock for too long.

Good way to break your p/s by doing donuts

Noise at full lock is normal... Once you get to full lock, just back it off a little. It won't make much of a difference in turning radius. You can even do that while doing doughnuts.

Andrew

I almost never turn full lock anyway. Good thing these cars have a decent turning circle.

Steve

hmm... the fire story is scary. gives me a good reason to stay away from full lock..

I'll say.. i've noticed some noise as well, but its been awhile since i've had to turn full wheel...
i'll keep this one in mind..
good story, vikash..

-=tristan

what would make the p/s squeak?? after i topped mine off it does that when i start the car.

Any chance you spilled some on the belt?

i dont think so. i'll check that tommorow it very cold here now. it snowed!!!!

If it's not the belt, it might be a sign that the pump is going. When stressed they make noise when they're on their way out. Cold, full lock, and rapid turning back and forth of the wheel are stressors that will cause the most noise.

Steve

it just started to happen when i topped it off. so i dunno. i dont think i got any on the belt. and it squeaks when i turn on the car and it goes away but when i stop for a second like at a light it lightly squeaks.

power steering belt squeels when it is slightly loose

Thats what it was. found that out when i went in to change my oil. i felt the belt loose so i fixed it but broke the bolt lol. so i got a new one and funny think is subaru didnt know what it was and a car part shop took one look at it and said oh thats a part of the belt tensiner i was like wow haha.

weird, i broke the bolt on mine the other day when i was fixing the front crank seal...

Those threads are especially exposed to the elements, so it's not too surprising that they get screwed up. It helps some to spray them with penetrating lubricant and clean them off some with a wire brush beforehand. In my experience, it's good to clean off the lube afterwards with brake cleaner, since otherwise dirt sticks and collects.

I broke my bolt too... only the stealership in town couldn't find it listed anywhere, so i did my best to use another bolt... its a little short, but works. That reminds me... I should pick up a new bolt from the junkyard now that they actually have some Legacies. Perhaps tomorrow...

Andrew

I'd like to reinforce Vikash's statement about the PS pump.

WRX newbies often blow their powersteering pumps in the snow by holding at full lock. It's happened to several people I know.

When I drive spiritedly in the rain (i.e. drifting), and get close to full-lock drifts, I just back off the steering a little and give it a bit more gas. Full-lock = bad, no matter HOW cool it looks from the car behind you

You shouldn't need completely full lock to hold a slide. My wheel wells get packed with too much snow up here for that anyway.

Steve