Power steering acting strange in cold weather

[Camry LE 94]

Ever since it turned cold at the end of last year, my steering wheel became HARD AS HELL to turn! I did a flush of the old fluid and replaced it with new PS fluid, however, though the fluid change has helped, my problem isn't alleviated 100%. Now, instead of being stiff all the time, the wheel is easier to turn for more of a majority of the time, although it still has bad stiff points. Do you think the PS pump is shot?

I did have a leak in the PS system (a couple years back) so I used Lucas Stop Leak, which seemed to help stop the leak.. I think I was supposed to change that Stop Leak out after a while, and not just leave it in there?

[hzt30]

Hard steering when cold is referred to as "morning sickness". It is usually caused by worn seals in the rack. It would work normally after it warmed up and the seals expanded. I had this problem on a '90 Camry and I too put Lucas in it but eventually replaced the rack.

My Daughter had a 2000 Camry with hard steering in the warm weather. I flushed the system out and put new fluid in and it was OK ever since... no Lucas.

Does your pump make noise? Did you check to see if the belt is slipping?

[JohnGD]

+1 it's more likely a problem in the rack than in the pump. Now that you have new fluid (nearly all?) you can try Lucas again as a temporary fix. But eventually you will have to replace the rack. That's why it helps to periodically siphon out the the ATF in the reservoir and refill new new fluid. Takes about 3/4 pint and helps to remove the abrasive particles in the system.

I don't think Lucas can help with teflon seals (or anything can). If these are the ones go bad then the time may be sooner than later.