Steering stiff at cold weather, opinions?

[Avantgarde]

I have checked the other topics but couldn't find something very relevant..

I have my 96 Camry(4 cylinder) at 181k. Since I bought it 1 year ago at 164k, power steering leaks. I have been using Lucas Stop Steering Leak(if you know, it's sth sticky at cold weather). It never completely stopped the leak, however now its leaking less.

Until October I drove the car daily, put a lot of highway miles. Everything seemed to be alright(I was adding 2-3 oz every 1k or 3 weeks). Since I bought another car I didnt drive my Camry very often for the last 2 months(I ride it 30 minutes once a week to keep the battery charged)...

My problem is, since weather got cold my steering is very stiff when I start the car. It's like that even if I idle the car for 2-3 minutes in the morning. Once I use the steering a little bit, it immediately gets lighter as it was all the time. No need to wait for engine or anything else to warm up. However I'm afraid to kick some seal or the pump by using steering when it is stiff.

What could be wrong with that? If it was the fluid, I was using the same brand last winter too. I never felt it stiff like this.

Can that be because I didnt drive the car daily for almost 2 months? I'm driving it since 3 days, but it didnt help at all.

Thanks for your answers..

[Avantgarde]

I wanted to add, this issue happens just that when I start the car, and it goes away when I was trying to get out of the place where I parked. Even if my engine is warm after a drive and I park the car for ~20 minutes, it doesn't change. Steering is stiff at start...

[Hajoca]

Did you find leak location?
I had a leak on the drivers side rack this summer, so I used the stop leak and it has been fine for me.
No stiffness in the morning.

Is there air in the system?

Since the system loosens up as it warms, I am curious what fluid you are using?

[Avantgarde]

Well, a guy looked at it and told that its steering pump or rack. He said expensive and difficult to replace on north cars, so that we decided to keep it.. Mine is on drivers side too..

This morning it was better and i didnt had much stiffness. Maybe it will get better if I keep driving it daily, but not sure. It was weird because it was so stiff(comparing to usual)..

I dont know if there is any air in the system to be honest. I dont think there should be.


I'm using Lucas brand fluid.

http://www.lucasoil.com/products/dis...tid=2&loc=show

[Hajoca]

That is stop leak, how about the rest of the fluid? It should be Dexron ATF, currently I am using DEX IV and some Mobil 1 synthetic AFT.