Hey Lads,

Replaced my steering rack a few years ago and went with a rebuilt unit. Never had an issue until about 6 months ago when the left/right started to feel stiff - and not consistently, meaning that there was resistance left to right at points but it was not like all power steering was lost permanently.
A little naively, I decided to replace the power steering pump as I had no idea how old it was and it may have been original equipment - and since the steering rack was on the young side, I turned my doubt towards the pump. Went ahead and got it installed and low and behold - no change. At the time, I figured the only other culprit it could be was the remanufactured rack. Contacted the seller and discovered that it was covered under warranty. A couple of weeks later, I had the replacement on the car, alignment completed and I was back in good shape.
It lasted for about 2 weeks and the exact same feeling came back again - and suddenly. Resistance to turn left and right and very inconsistent. Immediately blamed the rebuilt rack again and then, decided to do some research to find out if the rack or replacement pump was really to blame or had I missed something in the process?

Have since learned about a couple of other potential issues. The first being the speed assist solenoid valve built into the rack itself. I always knew there was an electrical connector there but really never gave it much thought. I now know that this is a potential issue as it may be sticking or stuck halfway closed. There is the potential for a clogged filter screen at the bottom of the fluid reservoir. Again, not something I ever gave any thought to. If it is clogged and the amount of fluid reaching the rack is restricted, it could cause symptoms like these. The speed assist solenoid of course, backs up to a computer, so there is potential for electrical problems and finally, it may even be as simple as a fuse. So our systems have a lot more going on with the steering than I ever considered. I am getting ready to do some checks on the car later this afternoon, which is why I am writing this post in the land of the unkown - lol. Oh, and I did not mention the physical steering column itself or the u-joints involved. This is because my car is a west coast car and has never seen the level of corrosion that eastern and north-eastern cars have seen. A potential for others in the cold and snowy areas of the country for sure.

As I often like to do, I wanted to see if anyone else has experienced issues in their steering similar to what I have listed?
I am getting the car lifted up and will do some electrical tests first. Want to measure the connector on the solenoid, check the fuse, etc. I will even get eyeballs on my steering rack to 100% rule that out. My hope is that it doesn't come back to the steering rack again as it is a PITA to work on and then you have another visit to the alignment center plus what that costs. Since I just had this all done only a couple of months ago, it would suck.
Will followup with any of my findings in case it helps someone else down the road.

 

I've experienced something similar on a BMW where the universal joint in the lower steering column started to seize up. I blasted it with brake cleaner to get any crud out, and then followed up with WD40, and it was good as new.

 

Can you disconnect the steering column from the rack and then check that the steering wheel and column revolve freely, and also check the U/J as well as mentioned above. That would rule out any resistance in the column bearings or joints

Richard

 

If the variable assist solenoid is bad it should set a code. Can you get the car scanned with a JLR SDD system? Might save you a lot of work?
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No, you would need to drop the rack out to check that. My feeling is that it is not the column or joints but in the end, I need to look at all angles.

 

I wouldn't know about what code may be thrown but the good news is that I indeed have the JLR/SDD software.
There are no codes for steering in the system right now, so I do not think that whatever this is, is triggering anything.
It ended up pouring rain yesterday so I did not get the chance to get the car up for a look but I am confident - with Mr. Sunshine, that I will get a chance today

 

I'm gonna throw this in just because of past experience. Have you checked the hoses for blockages? Hydraulic hoses tend to break down internally. A friend of mine kept returning to the dealership for power steering issues. The dealership kept replacing pumps. Turns out, the supply/pressure hose was severely restricted and caused premature pump failure. Additionally, as you mention in your dialogue, a filter could be clogged. I've run into this issue with several newer vehicles. The filter/strainer is clogged up prohibiting full flow from the reservoir to the pump. Just my two cents, good luck with the repair.

 

I've never had that symptom. First, with the car raised and the engine off, you should turn the steering wheel from side to side (and then again with the engine running). Since it gets stuck in some areas, I'd like to think it has nothing to do with the immobilizer (that it might have been accidentally activated). You should also try changing all the hydraulic fluid (automatic transmission fluid is fine), which I'm sure you've already done. Once it's drained, as others have mentioned, you can check the hoses. In another car I owned, I replaced the steering with a rebuilt one, and it didn't cause any problems. I don't think the problem is coming from the rebuilt rack/piston.

 

Don’t forget there is also a special servotronic relay that drives the solenoid on the rack, it could be that is on its way out.

 

I would try pulling the fuse for the power steering control module and see if you then have a consistent feel to the steering - that would rule in or out electrical issues..

 

Great that you have a SDD. I would go into SDD and use the symptom guide. Starting with telling it the car has hard steering and see what SDD suggests? If there is a code it won't light any dash lights.

It could be the sensor as posted above.
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A faulty Servotronic relay will not generate any error code, because there's no data connection to the body processor module. It works only from a 12v ignition power and a speed signal. It's something that either works or doesn't work, it's strange that it causes that problem. In any case, try removing the fuse. If the mechanical parts are ok, the steering will be stiffer, but consistent and linear.

 

Good to know. Would the best way to troubleshoot this be as suggested above to unplug the sensor and see how the steering reacts?
If the sensor is not too expensive maybe just replace it anyway.
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"The sensor" is a solenoid that increase the servo assistance at low speed, driven by the Servotronic relay (which isn't a relay but a little electronic control unit). Usually the problem is the "relay" itself, I replaced mine three years ago with a used one. So yes, you can try disconnect the solenoid connector on the steering rack and see what happens.

 

Why not just pull the fuse?

 

The longest (read laziest) repair i have ever done on my Jag lol.
Ok, I have been very busy, and I also purchased a pickup so I have wheels and this has slid down the priority list.
Finally took a bunch of data that I had collected and did a tentative dive back into the steering issue.

To summarize, this is a mechanical issue and not electronic.
I jacked the front up and put it on jackstands.
With the steering unlocked, engine off, I started turning the wheel from left to right. The resistance is there.
Started the car and even with the pump running, I could still feel the resistance, so we have a mechanical issue.

Decided to check and see if there was any rhyme or reason to it and guess what - there is.
I have discovered that I am feeling resistance (binding) at around the 11-1 and 5-7 o'clock positions on the steering wheel. Between those areas, the wheel frees up.
This is repeatable whether the car is off or on.
To try and home in on the area of the problem, I got under the car and sprayed a bunch of Deep Creep into the universal joint on the steering column. I worked that in pretty good turning the steering wheel back and forth quite a few times but did not notice any difference. I felt I should feel some release even if the u-joint is failing.

There is one thing that I wanted to post here and that is when I installed the rebuilt rack, I was able to slot it into the splines of the steering column shaft without loosening the column. As I sit here, I wonder if there maybe have some level of misaligned with the column, or that the joint between the rack and the column is not "settled". I plan to release the column clamp and the steering column itself, just to see if there is any movement between the two in terms of settling. If that yields nothing, I guess the next step is to separate the two and see if the steering wheels moves freely when not attached. Can't imagine it wouldn't since it is free-wheeling at that point. Although the test has taken out a lot of the possible candidates, it does have me wondering what is left that would have a consistent bind at those positions?

I hate to think it, but I might be right back to a defective rebuilt rack again. And if that is the case, I don't know my next step because it is not the cost, it is the labor to swap them in and out. It is more than an hours work lets say and then yet another front end alignment ugh. I will report back what I find today and maybe I will get lucky. Sure would like that

 

This may sound a bit odd, but check to see if your horn still works. It is possible if the steering wheel was rotated one turn one way or the other before you reconnected it to the rack that the steering wheel cancellation module behind the wheel has become damaged. This is a long flat multicore cable coil that winds and unwinds when you turn the wheel, to keep the steering wheel controls connected. If it has wound one turn too much, this can have caused it to get messed up and start pulling, of disconnected and start jamming. This happened to mine.

It sits right behind the air bag, which is easy to remove, although if damaged likely some controls like the horn no longer works.

The other thing to check is if any heat shields have got bent and are rubbing on the steering shaft.

 

If the clockspring is damaged then yes all the steering wheel controls will start acting up. Horn, cruise control, stereo controls on the steering wheel. If bad enough you might get an airbag light too.
Are those working OK?
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Will do a bunch of looking around today and followup