Power Steering and a few other things
 

SO I just had a lot of work completed on my vehicle. One of which is the power steering. When the car sits for a little while when I start the car and move the wheel it is like I have no power steering. However, after I get moving and after that, I have no issues. Does anyone have any idea?
My other issue is that I had all the diff seal and the rack and pinion done in the back and also had the breaks done. It seems that my gas mileage has gone down about 3-4 miles a gallon.

Did they possibly add something like Lucas stop leak into the system? Ive heard of shops doing stuff like this if a connection is leaking after replacing a part. If there's an overly thick fluid in the system it would take a minute to warm up and circulate. I've had to deal with this buying time until I could order a new rack and pinion. Is the pump noisy when it first starts to engage, like it's being starved? I would inspect the fluid and make sure it's correct for the system.

It might be worth jacking the back of the car up (and supporting it properly of course!) and checking that the wheels turn freely; you may have a brake pad binding (could be the handbrake out of adjustment).

One thing that it could be is that they used dye to check for leaks. I noticed when I got the car back that it was overfilled and you could see the dye. I am wondering if there is too much of it or the fluid has just gotten bad and once it heats up that everything is fine.

One other thing in front of the power steering pump there is a round part with a little window. What is it

Cam position sensor

It is a 3 wire hall effect sensor ( used only in starting sequence ) so it reads different then the 2 wire crank sensor ( inductance ) of 1300 ohms

The CEL code is 340

Back to your steering

The left rear wheel speed sensor may have been disturbed , this one sensor is also the speedometer

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...1a075a0a05.png

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...d0c6c87816.jpg
This is what I am speaking of

The window is for properly adjusting the Cam position sensor as a 1st circle appears coming around to the window 2nd circle as the missing tooth geared target of the Crankshaft position sensor is on # 1 cylinder top dead center

Keep in mind the crankshaft rotates 2 times for each camshaft rotation ( so will the sensor ) in a 4 cycle engine

See the curve in the bracket so it must come straight down to remove

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...795370e051.jpg

So I took my car into the shop that installed my pump. They are telling me it is a faulty pump and that there just is not enough pressure being generated at start up. I gave them the pump to install so I will have to work on replacing it. However, before I go about replacing it, changing it looks pretty straight forward except for the bolt closest to the block. Might be fun trying to get to it. Any suggestions. Also, I was thinking about rebuilding my old one. How difficult is it and will you have to pull off the "sprocket" that goes into the block. If so where can I find the tool to remove it?

Yea I have see this just a few minutes to go but where do you find one

Well, I looked for the JD 206 which is the Drive Dog Removal Tool and cant find it anywhere. I am sure there is another way to to get off the dog, if I have to to rebuild, but looked all over the place.

Hi cdma,

Another possibility on your steering is that when cold, either the Servotronic variable power assist solenoid (a.k.a. transducer or converter) is not opening properly, its electrical connector is not making good contact, or the control module is not operating. The default condition of the system is low power assist, which makes steering at low speeds difficult. The system is supposed to open the solenoid valve to increase power assist at slower speeds.

The solenoid is on the front of the pinion housing of the steering rack and the electrical connector releases at the press of the wire bail, just like the fuel injector connectors. It might be worth disconnecting the connector and flushing both halves with zero-residue electronic cleaner. Here's a photo of the solenoid connector on the front of the rack pinion housing where the steering column connects:

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...4c2d69c6e2.jpg


Another possibility is a problem with the Servotronic Control Module, which is mounted behind the left trim panel in the driver's footwell (on LHD cars). See the black component below:

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...ef9525bd2b.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...1326895c73.jpg


I might be worth pulling the control module and cleaning its terminals, and also cleaning the A-pillar ground screw and the eyelet terminal. Note the whitish corrosion on the eyelet terminal and screw in the photo:

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...133d39233e.jpg

A shop with the proper equipment can test the pressure from the power steering pump and possibly save you the cost of a replacement or rebuild if it is ruled out as a suspect.

The Electrical Guide contains information for diagnosing problems with the Servotronic Control Module inputs, outputs and speed signal, on pdf pages 107 and 108. Ir your meter can measure frequency in Hertz, you can also test the vehicle speed signal input to the control module. You can download the guide here:

Jaguar X300 Electrical Guide 1997

Lady P's mention of the left rear wheel speed sensor is relevant - do you have any ABS-related warning lamps or codes? Does your speedometer work correctly?

Cheers,

Don

I had a lot of work done on my car last week. Most of it was from the transmission back. They replaced a few gaskets on the transmission and fixed my rear differential leak. The only thing that they did on the front replaced the PSP. I got a rebuilt from jagparts on Ebay https://www.ebay.com/itm/REBUILT-JAG...53.m2749.l2649.

I brought it back to them and they said that they did not see anything with the installation so they went ahead and flushed the fluid and yet it still does it. So my plan was to take a day off, the weekend is for golfing, and replace it with the one that I pulled of my donor car. Does it leak....I don't know but we will see. Since I will be taking the day off I will go ahead and look at what you described above....could not hurt. Thanks for the info.

All Fixed
 

My power steering issue was my new power steering pump. I replaced it from my donor car and everything works fine. Too bad I cant get a response from the guy I purchased it from.