95 Camry Wagon - Power Steering Issue - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

iinh3 · 12-18-2010, 09:55 AM

My 95 (5SFE) wagon has developed a pull to the left. My tire shop did an alignment and assures me all 4 wheels are within spec. Still the car pulls pretty hard to the left. When I let go of the wheel, the car heads for the lane to my left.

I did some study on the power steering system in this car. I understand that there is a control valve that directs the fluid to either side of the power cylinder depending upon the position of the steering wheel. If the steering wheel is in the neutral position, the control valve should send all of the fluid into the relief port and back to the pump.

Could it be that the control valve is malfunctioning in the neutral position? What other problems with the PS system could cause this pull?

***Mister_Perkins*** · 12-18-2010, 10:15 AM

It could be a PS issue. One thing you could try to do is to swap the tires from the front to rear and see if the problem is still there. Its something quick and easy to check and is way easier than tearing into the Power steering system.

Reason I am suggesting this is because I've personally seen this problem, and this is what I did to correct it

iinh3 · 12-18-2010, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mister_Perkins

It could be a PS issue. One thing you could try to do is to swap the tires from the front to rear and see if the problem is still there. Its something quick and easy to check and is way easier than tearing into the Power steering system.

Reason I am suggesting this is because I've personally seen this problem, and this is what I did to correct it

I had this problem before my most recent rotate and balance. It didn't seem to be much different after the tires were moved. That's what prompted me to do an alignment as well. I was hoping the R&B would fix it, but it didn't.

***Mister_Perkins*** · 12-18-2010, 11:55 AM

Well i would suggest since the tires were recently rotated to rotate them again and see if it changes.

I think if that doesn't fix it, the thought you had about the relief valve could be suspect

88 LE · 12-19-2010, 05:50 AM

If the wheels/tires and suspension are okay, the next thing I'd check is the steering.

Raise up the front end of the car and check for freeplay (looseness) in the steering (inner and outer tie rod ends, steering rack, etc...)

If you don't find anything in the steering, move onto the brakes. Brakes that drag can cause a car to pull to one side.

Frodo65 · 12-19-2010, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iinh3

My 95 (5SFE) wagon has developed a pull to the left. My tire shop did an alignment and assures me all 4 wheels are within spec. Still the car pulls pretty hard to the left. When I let go of the wheel, the car heads for the lane to my left.

I did some study on the power steering system in this car. I understand that there is a control valve that directs the fluid to either side of the power cylinder depending upon the position of the steering wheel. If the steering wheel is in the neutral position, the control valve should send all of the fluid into the relief port and back to the pump.

Could it be that the control valve is malfunctioning in the neutral position? What other problems with the PS system could cause this pull?

Another item easy to diagnose is a dragging brake caliper - just take your IR thermometer after a drive and measure rotor temps - the dragging brake will have much higher temp than the rest..

iinh3 · 12-19-2010, 11:27 AM

I jacked the front end up and set the front of the car on jack stands. Before I took the tires off, I grabbed each by the sides and tried to move it back and forth. Everything seemed solid and the steering wheel reacted to each movement I made with the tire.

With the wheel/tire off, I inspected all of the steering components. The ball joints and tie-rod ends seem to be tight without any obvious excessive play. I then grabbed each brake disk and tried to move it from side to side. No obvious play or slop here either.

All of the boots are tight with no leakage. There's no obvious leakage of power steering fluid either.

The brake pads on each side and from side to side are all about the same thickness. I assume that if a brake was dragging one or more of the pads would be a different thickness than the others.

I don't have an IR thermometer at home. I will have to check the disk temperatures when I get to work in the morning.

I haven't looked at the rear brakes yet. Would a dragging rear brake make the car pull hard? It pulls to the left hard enought that it only takes a couple seconds for it to be in the other lane if I let go of the wheel.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

***Mister_Perkins*** · 12-19-2010, 11:41 AM

To confirm your brakes hanging up is simple. Once you stop from a trip, touch the palm of your hand in the center of the rim on both sides (right around where the lugnuts / hub assembly are). If one is warmer than the other side the warmer side is hanging up.

2win2rbo · 12-20-2010, 12:06 AM

i had the same problem with our BG5. I had a recent alignment but we found out that it was just because of a very low tire pressure on one of the wheels.

LittleWhiteBubble · 12-20-2010, 08:55 AM

It's possible the tires could still be at fault even after rotation. One of the guys I work with got new tires put on his scion and it pulled crazy left, he rotated and it still pulled pretty hard to the left. He got 4 new tires and it tracked straight again. I guess it was a bad batch of tires. And I agree, tire pressure also makes a big difference. If mine is more than 4-5 psi off I can feel it. I try and check mine twice a month.

If the power steering is pushing it left, the pump will be under strain. You can physically hear the difference when its under strain, so I would straighten the wheel and listen, then turn slowly at a stand still and see if it sounds different. If the pump gets louder when you're turning, its probably working fine. If it doesn't change, then maybe the valve isn't working right and it's under load all the time. You could flush the p.s. system for some peace of mind too.

iinh3 · 12-20-2010, 12:26 PM

Yesterday, I pulled the front and back wheels to check the brakes. I found both back wheels needed to have the caliper sliding points cleaned and relubed. One of the pads was worn significantly more and differently than the others. I took this to mean that it wasn't releasing like it should.

The front pads were all basically the same thickness, so I assumed they were working alright.

I checked the 4 disk temperatures with an IR thermometer at work today. The rears were basically the same. However, the right front was about 30 Deg F hotter than the left front. I assume it's not releasing quite right. I'll probably have to clean and lube both the fronts to see if that frees it up.

I don't think the right front dragging would cause the car to pull to the left. At least that's not the intuitive thing. When I have the front wheels off for the brakes, I'm going to go ahead and swap the tires around. We'll see what effect that has.

Any more thoughts or ideas?