No power steering?

My wife decided to show off and do a donut at her school in her 2001 impala.
She then called me to complain that she doesn't have power steering. I
found the fluid was empty even though I check it every couple weekends so I
thought maybe a line was leaking. Topped it off and we still don't have
any power steering and I can find no leaks and the fluid is staying full?
Bad pump or internal leak in a valve in the rack?

She broke it, tell her to fix it! She practicing for "Extreme Police Car
Chases"? Kidding.....Anyway.....there may be a bubble in the system. Fill
the system and jack the front end off the ground. Then start the car and
rotate the wheel (at a driving type pace) from stop to stop about 30 times,
and see if it comes back. Don't hold the wheel in the stop position too long
as this WILL cause problems. Your owners manual may cover what happens when
you hold the wheel at full stop for too long.

Maybe that is what she did when she pulled the donut......jammed the wheel
to full stop and held it there too long.

Eightupman


"Eugene" <nospam@columbus.rr.com> wrote in message
news:P42dnZJcJ5c_H1bcRVn-2A@wideopenwest.com...
> My wife decided to show off and do a donut at her school in her 2001
> impala.
> She then called me to complain that she doesn't have power steering. I
> found the fluid was empty even though I check it every couple weekends so
> I
> thought maybe a line was leaking. Topped it off and we still don't have
> any power steering and I can find no leaks and the fluid is staying full?
> Bad pump or internal leak in a valve in the rack?
>

Eightupman wrote:

> She broke it, tell her to fix it! She practicing for "Extreme Police Car
> Chases"? Kidding.....Anyway.....there may be a bubble in the system.
> Fill
> the system and jack the front end off the ground. Then start the car and
> rotate the wheel (at a driving type pace) from stop to stop about 30
> times, and see if it comes back. Don't hold the wheel in the stop position
> too long
> as this WILL cause problems. Your owners manual may cover what happens
> when you hold the wheel at full stop for too long.
>
> Maybe that is what she did when she pulled the donut......jammed the wheel
> to full stop and held it there too long.
>
> Eightupman
>
>
Well I have driven the car a couple times over the last couple days now (it
had only 1/2" of ice on it and my truck had an inch) and it hasn't worked
any air out yet, I'll try lock to lock with it jacked up and see.

She didn't know that you can't really do donuts in a front wheel drive, said
she remembers me doing it once in my truck, but I was just testing my
locker

Well, you CAN do donuts in a FWD car. As long as she doesn't find out that
the secret to doing donuts in a FWD car is the emergency brake, and some
fancy steering wheel work oh and a big icy parking lot somwhere in upstate
NY. NOT that I have done that in the past or anything!!

:-)

Eightupman


"Eugene" <nospam@columbus.rr.com> wrote in message
news:IsadnT0FE_Yk4FHcRVn-hA@wideopenwest.com...
> Eightupman wrote:
>
>> She broke it, tell her to fix it! She practicing for "Extreme Police Car
>> Chases"? Kidding.....Anyway.....there may be a bubble in the system.
>> Fill
>> the system and jack the front end off the ground. Then start the car and
>> rotate the wheel (at a driving type pace) from stop to stop about 30
>> times, and see if it comes back. Don't hold the wheel in the stop
>> position
>> too long
>> as this WILL cause problems. Your owners manual may cover what happens
>> when you hold the wheel at full stop for too long.
>>
>> Maybe that is what she did when she pulled the donut......jammed the
>> wheel
>> to full stop and held it there too long.
>>
>> Eightupman
>>
>>
> Well I have driven the car a couple times over the last couple days now
> (it
> had only 1/2" of ice on it and my truck had an inch) and it hasn't worked
> any air out yet, I'll try lock to lock with it jacked up and see.
>
> She didn't know that you can't really do donuts in a front wheel drive,
> said
> she remembers me doing it once in my truck, but I was just testing my
> locker
>

On Sat, 25 Dec 2004 05:58:33 GMT, "Eightupman"
<eightupman@newemail.com> wrote:

>Well, you CAN do donuts in a FWD car. As long as she doesn't find out that
>the secret to doing donuts in a FWD car is the emergency brake, and some
>fancy steering wheel work oh and a big icy parking lot somwhere in upstate
>NY. NOT that I have done that in the past or anything!!
>
>:-)
>
>Eightupman

Shame ! That's so.... rally Old school.

If it's being done in a school parking lot the routine is to:

"put the car in reverse, lock the steering & nail the gas..."

Hence the blown PS seals & disappearing fluid.

Full_Name wrote:

> On Sat, 25 Dec 2004 05:58:33 GMT, "Eightupman"
> <eightupman@newemail.com> wrote:
>
>>Well, you CAN do donuts in a FWD car. As long as she doesn't find out
>>that the secret to doing donuts in a FWD car is the emergency brake, and
>>some
>>fancy steering wheel work oh and a big icy parking lot somwhere in
>>upstate
>>NY. NOT that I have done that in the past or anything!!
>>
>>:-)
>>
>>Eightupman
>
> Shame ! That's so.... rally Old school.
>
> If it's being done in a school parking lot the routine is to:
>
> "put the car in reverse, lock the steering & nail the gas..."
>
> Hence the blown PS seals & disappearing fluid.

I'm glad she doesn't read here so she won't be going out to try again.

What seals could it have blown, I assume they will be in the steering rack
so I would just have to replace the whole rack (whomever invented rack and
pinion steering should be beat with it)

THat will work too, but I like to feather the E-brake, and control the spin
a little more...Old school or not; either way works!!


"Full_Name" <Email@address.com> wrote in message
news:tc4qs0l8gk8la8km3epbt2a9v7o84hofa1@4ax.com...
> On Sat, 25 Dec 2004 05:58:33 GMT, "Eightupman"
> <eightupman@newemail.com> wrote:
>
>>Well, you CAN do donuts in a FWD car. As long as she doesn't find out
>>that
>>the secret to doing donuts in a FWD car is the emergency brake, and some
>>fancy steering wheel work oh and a big icy parking lot somwhere in
>>upstate
>>NY. NOT that I have done that in the past or anything!!
>>
>>:-)
>>
>>Eightupman
>
> Shame ! That's so.... rally Old school.
>
> If it's being done in a school parking lot the routine is to:
>
> "put the car in reverse, lock the steering & nail the gas..."
>
> Hence the blown PS seals & disappearing fluid.
>
>
>