Steering problem

[Posimoto]

Hello, new guy here and from what I've read so far it looks to be a lot of knowledgeable members on board.

I have an issue with hard steering. I own a Camry I bought new in 94 and have developed a steering problem.

I find it intermittently hard to steer left or right and I have to manually turn the steering wheel back to center after a turn. When I’m driving straight or changing lanes on the expressway it steers as should. The belt doesn’t sequel, has proper tension, and is in good overall shape. The power steering reservoir is full with no leaks. I removed the two front wheels and checked the steering components and nothing seems to be binding or leaking.

Thanks in advance for your time.

[EEngineer]

i have the exact same problem.

i think it's the rack & pinion that needs to be replaced since they are usually due for replacement at 60k-100k miles.

[BMR]

Probably your rack and pinion needs replacing. It's a fairly common problem with Camrys for a few model years in the early to mid '90's. (At least that's what my mechanic told me.) Early on, it leaks into the rubber bellows on the end of the unit, so it contains itself for a while.

[Posimoto]

Thanks for the replies.

Mileage 162,000

I will try changing the fluid first seeing how it’s the least expensive thing to do and post the results.

[cykaaro]

Had the sme problem a few months ago. On the highway, you're not moving your whell much to turn lanes etc, so you won't notice it much. While actually turning though, it would be total manual steer, and then would kick back to power steering. Ran into someone who told me that the power steering boxes rarely go, although I have spare now anyways. He said it's usually the belt that causes it.
So changed the belt out and all has been fine since. The belt looked ok, but once we got it off, turned out it was pretty hard with no pliablility Bending backward revealed tons of small cracks in it.
Can't say if this or the R&P is the issue, but something worth checking out.

[BMR]

cykaaro makes a good point. Those belts can be deceptive. The first time I changed mine at ~100k miles "just because", I was surprised at how cracked up it was. Before I took it off I didn't think it looked very bad at all. Cheap and easy to do, too, compared to a R&P replacement. Take a closer look at that belt before you spring for the high dollar repair.