Malibu - Chevrolet :: 1998 - Power Steering Fail Causing A Total Loss Of Fluid
Jan 14, 2013
I recently had the high and low pressure tubes on my power steering fail causing a total loss of fluid. After about a week of living with manual steering, I brought it in and had the tubing replaced. Everything worked fine, though the steering felt a bit sloppy to me. Today, on my way home from a 100 mile trip, the car decided that turning left just wasn't something it wanted to do.
So to turn left, I would have to back up and turn the wheels to the right. Not exactly an efficient way to drive in traffic. Do I try to get the car back into my mechanics place to see if he can fix it for a reasonable amount, or should just bite the bullet and look for a newer car? BTW when I had brought the car in for the tubing replacement, they showed me where the bracket holding the strut on the left had begun to crack, probably from driving without the power steering. 1998 Malibu LS ....
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After installing new struts and springs, I have now lost power steering. The car was fine after the strut install, but after driving a bit, the power steering quit. Can this be related the install, or completely unrelated?
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About 2 months ago, I needed to test my engine cooling fan motor. Was using two lead test wires with alligator clips and stupidly connected the battery ends first and then the wind blew the other connection ends together creating a spark. That may or may not have anything to do with what has happened since then. About 3 days after that, I started to notice that my lights were dimming and ac fan motor was slowing when the engine was under load as in 1st or 2nd gear or going uphill.
After about a week, the ALT/BAT light came on and I replaced my alternator. The problem with that was that getting the belt back on the new ALT nearly killed me and I got several pretty bad injuries and ended up having to get it done. The old alternator tested bad so I figured my problem was solved. But ever since then, I am still getting the same problem - a voltage drop or loss of electrical power causing the lights to dim and the fan to slow - except this time is doesn't happen under load - it happens while driving and just after I have come to a stop at a light or stop sign. I have had the battery and alternator tested several times and they always show up as being fine.
I checked all the cables and connections and changed the positive battery cable bolt. I get no codes thrown. I cant just take the alternator out and change it because of what I went through with the last one - not to mention it tests OK so I can't use the warranty as long as that is the case anyway. So I am left with this troubling, annoying problem and don't know what the cause or solution is. I am guessing the list of options has to have the alternator, battery, connections, belt (though I have no sounds or evidence there is a problem with the belt - I suppose if the tensioner was damaged with the belt fiasco that it might cause such a problem). What to do? It is the biggest problem at night because my headlights are affected.
2001 Cavalier 5-speed manual 2.2
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So I have multiple issues that all seem to stem from a power steering leak. According to the dealership, the PS pump is leaking fluid onto the serpentine and timing belts causing them to swell. This in turn has something to do with the AC compressor not working but they wouldn't give me details. When I looked at the clutch wheels on the AC compressor, there seems to be a good amount of rust in between the two wheels. I can't say that I trust the dealership because the original owner was bought out by a larger group that is known to just say "replace everything". I usually do most of my own work on my 95 Tacoma, so I'm no stranger to import v6 motors.
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My wife drives a 2004 Chevy Malibu and for the past year has had issues with the power steering periodically going out while driving. It has primarily happened when making turns at lower speeds <45 MPH and a dashboard warning will flash power steering when it happens. The temporary fix has been to pull over, turn the car off and back on and it corrects itself, but when taken to mechanic nothing registers as wrong. Was not as serious of an issue when it happened at low speeds, but the other day it happened at freeway speed. Nobody seems to have a solution, including Chevrolet.
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2005 Malibu Maxx, automatic transmission, well maintained mechanically. About a year ago, while driving up a small hill, my display panel starting dinging and all of the lights came on and my steering felt like it was losing power. After I got to the top of the hill, all the displays went off and bells stopped dinging. I've had the codes checked at the local dealership and the only thing found was that one of the battery cells was low. We replaced the battery about 3 months ago and that hasn't stopped the battery light and bell from coming on when driving up any incline. It still feels like I'm losing steering in these instances. I also tend to accelerate when going up a hill, so I don't know why that would be a problem. A recall has been issued for my car, but I'm not sure if it has any bearing on this problem.
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My Wife has a 2006 Chevy Malibu Maxx Lt, we recently had a series of factory safety recalls performed. Now we have a message coming up saying "POWER STEERING" and the steering wheel is tight and kind of jerky. We didn't have this much trouble before we had the recalls done.
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My wife was driving yesterday from work and suddenly felt the steering becoming hard to steer so she was able to drive home but barely made it to our driveway (very hard to steer). I saw fluid dripping down the right side of the car. I opened the hood and saw lots of brown fluid spilled all over. Power steering fluid reservoir was empty. So my question is, is this primarily caused by power steering pump failure causing spillage of fluid contaminating the drive belt causing it to slip (car overheated a little bit) or Serpentine belt failure (120,000 miles with original belt) causing power steering pump to fail and eventually leak fluid.
Photos: [URL] .....
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Driving the 98 Passat this morning everything fine. Then total loss of power, give it any gas and it stumbles and almost dies. Idles fine, can rev it in park or nuetral. Starts and idles fine, give it gas and it starts to move thens just dies down. If leave foot on accelerator, will move at idle pace but stumble with no power whatsoever. No "check engine" light. DOn't have a VAG tester but do have OBDII. Haven't checked if any stored codes. Will an OBD code be stored an not light up the CEL?
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I drive a 2007 Prius, I just purchased it about four months ago. Today after filling up with gas I drove about 60 miles and suddenly three lights on my dash came on. The all system light (the red triangle), the check engine light as well as the VSC or VCS what ever way it goes, my electric batter was also low on charge having only one bar(my car is not a plug in, the battery is recharged by the engine) then the car lost all boost and while pressing on the gas it was not accelerating. I pulled over and put it in park so the battery could charge. It charged to half way, however the lights stayed on.
My car then started running really rough, I am still in park at this time. I put some gas stabilizer in my tank because I thought maybe I got some bad gas. I left my car sit for about five minutes before turning it back on. All the lights were off except my check engine and my car started running normal. Then about three minutes later all the lights came back on and the car started running jerky again. When I push the gas to move I can, however I've only gone about four feet because it is running so rough.
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The other day I was driving down the 710 I-CA at around 80mph but as soon as I got on the east ramp for the 105 fwy I lost total power as the engine had just cut off and my check engine, battery, and oil lights went on so I came down the ramp in neutral. As soon as I stopped I popped the hood and saw that everything was ok I tried to restart the engine but it didn't work.
At the time the starter would crank the engine so I thought that the alternator was the problem. I had it towed home and changed the alternator but now when I try to start it all I get from it is a single crack from the starter and no crank. I tried to move the engine by hand and it wouldn't budge. I opened the engine thinking if could be that the timing chain broke but it is completely intact. My car is an 04 Toyota Matrix XR with a 1ZZ-FE engine....
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I have a 2003 Chevy Malibu, V6, 3.1, auto, 140k miles. Car started out with code 0420 with no noticeable symptoms, but then added code 0303 (miss fire cyl #3) with loud knock (mostly after warmup) and loss of power under load. Now internal loss of coolant (no puddles or external drips). Changed plugs and wires - no change - all plugs looked good with no sign of contamination. Questions - if this is a valve/piston/lifter problem (which would explain the knock, miss-fire and loss of power), why would I get the loss in coolant? If the loss of coolant is fouling plug #3 (which would explain the coolant loss, miss fire and loss of power), could that give me the loud knocking? I don't see how a valve/piston/lifter issue would cause a leak in coolant but I also don't see how a coolant leak into cyl #3 would give me such a loud knock. Do I have two different problems? If it is a leak into cyl #3, is there any way to tell if it is the intake manifold gasket (which leaked before and was replaced five-six years ago and which I could do again if I had to) or a blown head gasket (which I don't think I could fix or afford to get fixed)? Engine will occasionally get hot (but not overheat).
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What would cause my truck to have a long turnover start, a really rough idle, and a loss of power after idling at a stop light for about a minute?
This problem gets worse as the truck warms up. It feels as if I'm not getting power from all 6 cylinders but this goes away after about 20 feet of acceleration. The truck has never not started. It just has to turn over for about 5 to 10 seconds before it fires up. I changed the spark plugs and wires thinking it was that and then i tried the fuel filter and it wasn't that either.
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Bought a 98 last week and noticed an issue a couple of days ago. The car seems to be leaking power steering fluid from right in front of passenger front tire. Looks like it's coming down from somewhere behind the bumper, just not sure what line are over there. I had to replace one of the clamps on the line below the ps bottle and it seemed to be fine for 2 days.
The weird part is that it doesn't seem steady. I had the car parked in one spot for an hour the first time I noticed the problem and the wet spot was about a foot in diameter. But then I drove the car last night and left it parked in the driveway for hours and nothing. This morning when I was leaving there was a puddle about 4" in diameter.
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1965 F100 300cid electrical drain...
I am attaching a link to my thread in the 1960's truck forum : [URL] .....
With my limited skill level, I have given up! It could very likely be something I am doing wrong with the diagnoses/troubleshooting.
Basically, When I turn the key to start the truck, I get a clicking solenoid at best and what appears to be a total loss of power. Not even the dome light will come on. The starter is new as is the solenoid.
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I blew a power steering cooler line yesterday and lost a bit of fluid. Removed and replaced the line, consequently losing most of the fluid in the system (during line replacement). Re-filled the system and now i have great power steering when driving but none at idle. If I bring my RPMs up about 150-200. I get it back in full force. Could my PS pump be on the way out or might this just be air in the system?
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After filling the gas tank yesterday, as I was on my way to work, the check engine light came on. For the last couple of days the temperatures outside have reached 118 degrees. I have checked the oil and coolant and have resealed the gas cap as well, yet the light still remains. The research I have done leads me to believe the problem may be the catalytic converter, but I'm wondering if there is any further troubleshooting I can do without heading to a mechanic.
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The vehicle: 2002 Chevy Silverado 1500 w/ Z71.
The problem: Steerage issue. No problem exhibited while driving. However, at stop or very slow there is a loss of power steering but only when turning the wheels right. There is also an audible sound when turning to the right. Kind of a whooshing or air expulsion?
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I have a 2007 Chev Tahoe. Description of Problem: Past month engine light came on. Then some days for a short time will go off. When light is on the auto start wont work. Battery has been drained so today I changed the battery and have a total electrical power system failure. Zero power to anything. Last month I put a scanner on it but i didnt save the code. It was related to a "throttle body module" i think. Have been reading about the BCM also so im at a complete loss...
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Last night at 2am and it was about 10 degrees out (I say the temp because it might matter?) I started my car, let it warm up to normal running standard and backed up. My car moved backwards but the wheel would not turn at all. I pull forward into my parking spot and noticed that the wheel is extremely hard to turn left or right... almost impossible.
I check under the hood and noticed that my car was leaking something onto the group but it was dark and I couldn't quite see what it was.
Checked this morning and I found that my power steering fluid was completely empty. I had a half bottle in my trunk and put it in my car, then turned my car on. All of a sudden I noticed that the fluid is leaking onto the ground. Not really leak, more like a slow/medium pour and the wheel still wouldn't not move.
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After a little less than a week of clunking noises the steering on my daughters 2004 Malibu completely failed. The steering wheel moves the steering column, but not the tires. NHTSA has done 2 investigations and issued 8 TSB's on the steering system, but no recall. My question is if there is a way to determine if it is the rack and pinion system or the power steering control module. It seems many people have replaced multiple components on their cars without resolving steering problems. I am hoping to avoid that...
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