Camry 2001 Steering Problem !!! HELP

[gelgamish]

Hi
I bought Camry 2001 with 84000km on it, few days ago. It has a good gear and engine and everything is going in perfect way except the power steering!!!
I suffered a lot in those few days, the steering is so heavy to move at any speed and specially at stand still. The funny thing is that, the steering is so smooth when the car is off!!!
I went to the dealer and to another work shop, they checked the car, steering oil, and they do tires alignment, but they did not discover any problem or actually they could not understand what is the problem !!
they told me, the steering was very good before checking and after checking it becomes perfect, but in fact the problem still there and my shoulders are killing me with heavy steering.
Any one has any idea to solve this problem !!!
Thanks and regards

[gelgamish]

Help !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[chronoti]

did they test the pressure from the pump? is the belt recently replaced and tensioned right? rack seals? is your rack loose? i had that one jut recently.

[gelgamish]

Thanks a lot chronoti
you are right in thinking about the pump, and I fix it myself.
I checked many website who explain how the power steering working , and other website which talk about troubleshooting and based on that I made my decision to change the pump!
Yesterday I went to some workshop and I asked them to change the Power Steering Pump, and now the car is working in perfect way

Cheers

Information from websites:
1) Q:i went overseas for 7 weeks and after returning when i drove my car the power steering was heavy and very heavy when turning right..... the power steering oil is full.... so wat could be the reason? please help.
hey
A:Problem looks quit similar to mine. There could be a leak in one of the hous or and the prower steering pump leak.
U might wanna change the COMPLETE RACK ASSEMBLY AND OR THE P/S PUMP.

2)Another common, but thankfully fairly easy to diagnose problem comes with the vehicle either being difficult to steer, or having too much play in the steering wheel. While this may seem to be a major problem, more often than not there is a fairly simple solution. Generally, if a car has power steering, and steering has become difficult, than it is probably a problem with either the power steering fluid or the pump. To check this, simply pop the hood and check your power steering fluid. If the reservoir is low, or the fluid looks dirty, you may just need to either put some power steering fluid in, or have the existing fluid flushed out. If you put the steering fluid in the vehicle and it seems to be empty again in a very short amount of time, than it may be possible that the car has a leak somewhere in the system; thankfully, a mechanic should be able to diagnose the problem in a relatively short amount of time. However, if this does not seem to be the problem, than simply take your car out for a ride, if you can hear noise or resistance while going around a corner, or while you have the wheel turned, than it is more than likely the power steering pump or the power steering belt. If you suspect any of these problems, the best thing to do is simply to take the vehicle to a mechanic and have it diagnosed.

3)and many more....