Last time I was in Norfolk there was a original Fiat 500 for sale at the hobby shop. That would work: .

 

My wife had a real Mini Cooper when we were stationed in England. That thing was a soda can on wheels. It had a 998cc engine in it and I could whip it around a round-about so quick because the suspension was like steel rods welded to the axles. It was a blast to drive, but 100% unsafe in every way.

Looked like this, but it was gold...

 

Sous,

Did you eyeball your power steering cooler? Their location makes them prime for rusting.

Make sure you aren't getting some pin holes for air, rotted line or hoses there, etc.

I'm not so sold on the cold temp finding mystery air, though the fluid being thicker could have some effects on seals or whatever?

Usually if the explanation is too weird and uncommon....

Did you check your steering rack? Make sure no leaks there, either. Take a good look at the seals.

Just to be sure

 

I did, I not only eyeballed it, I had some up close and personal time with it once I realized there may have been a bubble trapped in it. That is only my guess of course though.

I had a good look at everything really. I agree that it was very weird, but I am glad it seems to be gone for now.

The cold weather causing the system to act the way it did is just an idea. Perhaps the system would have been upset anyway, but since we drive the truck so rarely, I correlated the symptom with the cold.

 

UPDATE: Great success on the test run tonight. We took the truck out for a 30 mile victory lap (test course) and had great success. If the brakes were any more smooth, they would be buttah... Since I bled the brakes and the hydro-boost system, I only need to put about 1/2" of pressure on the pedal in order to get the brakes to kick in.

Both steering and braking are very smooth. Truck is back in the garage and I hope to start on the other projects soon.

We have our foster parent home study on Wednesday though, so it will probably be the end of the week before I can start.

 

Glad to hear it's all behind you. It's easy to overlook the simple stuff like fluids, and with the hydroboost system, it's even easier to overlook the power steering fluid. That's why I always ask about those first.

Nothing like that feeling when it ends up being a cheap, easy fix.

 

That's the best kind. Plenty of frustration, FTE posting/searching, head scratching, cursing, and spitballing but in the end the wallet never comes out. Congrats on the simple fix.

 

@RacinJasonWV , I am not saying this is your problem with your recent description of noise from your power steering system in this post, but it might lead you to something quickly instead of waiting for it to get worse, if it gets worse. At the very least it will give you an idea or two going forward, if you need to take action.

Quick summary:

• Changed power steering gear
• Changed and flushed fluid
• Several months later ambient temperature dropped
• Strange steering and braking issue appeared as seen in the video

Conclusion, there must have been some air trapped in the system during the steering gear swap, but the issue did not present itself until the ambient temperature dropped several months later. I thought this was a strange problem at the time and have seen something similar to it on here at least 1 other time since posting in 2018.

 

Thanks for the info Sous. I don’t have time to read the entire thread right now but the summary sounds like you had air trapped in the system. Is this correct? How did you resolve?

Or I can read through it later and find out.

Your quick summary of the ambient temps is exactly what I was thinking my issue is. It’s not “that bad” and I don’t have any abnormal braking or steering issues right now.

One of my hoses was rusted so I did a preventive repair. Gates part installed and flushed with mobil1 ATF. I tried a few methods to remove the air, one of which is in the tech folder, and it was mostly good but still slightly present. Figured it may work itself out a little better over time. The cold seems to have made it more pronounced. I will try another cycle of bleeding the air in the future.

 

Totally quote warning. My version:

 

Summary grabs the key points, but immediately after performing the gear swap I flushed the system very well. Had the front end off the ground turning steering wheel from side to side and pressing on brakes while filling and flushing the ATF. Everything was good for months, until we had a few days of 20* or near there. There apparently was some air stuck in the system and it caused a problem after months of being in the system only after the temperature dropped. I troubleshot the problem for hours and as a last ditch effort before ordering parts, thought I would flush the system again.

About 1/2 through a gallon of synthetic ATF, things were slightly returning to normal. Just as the gallon bottle was being finished, things returned to normal, as they had been for months before the temperature dropped. All has been well since this thread started a couple of years ago.

This popped into my mind when you said you had some steering system noises now that the temperature has dropped a bit. Maybe not anything like I saw, but maybe it is...

 

Thank you sir for the information. The video wouldn’t load for me this morning but I was able to just watch it. (And now I’m thinking I’ve previously read through this thread and watched your video. Oh my memory. ).

This is much much worse than what I’m dealing with. Mine is just making a bit of a power steering growl. I plan to do the air bleed again but will also keep another flush in mind just in case.