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It happenned to me with my 96 4cyl cam LE, i would try to steer and it would feel as if the steering is locked (before steering the wheels, not after). It happenned to me once last may when it was raining very hard and it hapenned to me once yesturday (first snow of the season). The thing is that it comes and goes, i would try to do steer it again shortly after and everything will be fine. I took it to the dealership last may and he told me he wasnt able to see any problems.
The steeringservo fluid needs to be changed
Many Camry owners (or toyota owners in general) completely
ignore this, or just dont think about it at all. when ATF fluid
gets old it starts to act more like liquid soap, turning into foam when
it goes trough the servo pump. and with no pressure the servo doesnt work
until the fluid becomes solid again. thats why your steering suddenly "locks"
or just becomes very heavy.
check your accessory belts. are you getting any wierd sounds when turning?
when i turn the steering all the way to any of the sides it'll screech, ive always had that
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zandro
The steeringservo fluid needs to be changed
Many Camry owners (or toyota owners in general) completely
ignore this, or just dont think about it at all. when ATF fluid
gets old it starts to act more like liquid soap, turning into foam when
it goes trough the servo pump. and with no pressure the servo doesnt work
until the fluid becomes solid again. thats why your steering suddenly "locks"
or just becomes very heavy.
well it rarely locks. it hapenned but it hapenned few times. im guessing if that was the problem it will lock all the time. please correct me if im wrong
yea i think try and add some fluid. i was low on fluid a couple of weeks or so ago and had a horrbile sounding screech when i turned the wheel. when i added fluid, voila, it was fixed.
Well your wrong, because the fluid has to be real bad for the servo to lock all the time.
yours is in a borderline condition between bad and realy bad.
The screech is completely natural when you turn all the way over to one side.
Got to go with Zandro on this if you are not low on power steering fluid I would replace it . Does it only happen when turning in one direction (left or right)? I know some of the older GM cars had a problem with a relief valve in the powersteering system but it would only happen when turning one way and usually first thing in the morning when cold.
Gary
__________________
Don't worry about what other people think....as most of them don't!
Well your wrong, because the fluid has to be real bad for the servo to lock all the time.
yours is in a borderline condition between bad and realy bad.
The screech is completely natural when you turn all the way over to one side.
i'll do that. thanks for the input
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gary_602Z
Got to go with Zandro on this if you are not low on power steering fluid I would replace it . Does it only happen when turning in one direction (left or right)? I know some of the older GM cars had a problem with a relief valve in the powersteering system but it would only happen when turning one way and usually first thing in the morning when cold.
Gary
it happened on both way (turning left and turning right). when it locks in one direction it will usually have no problems stirring to the other one
it happened on both way (turning left and turning right). when it locks in one direction it will usually have no problems stirring to the other one
In that case I would look at a relief valve problem. The easiest and cheapest thing to do at this point is to drain and replace the fluid to see if that helps.
Gary
__________________
Don't worry about what other people think....as most of them don't!
This is actually just happening on my 95 I4, but it only does it when i steer to the right, and when the engine has just been turned on, but it doesn't have to be cold, because on a warm day a couple of weeks ago it did it.
When I said cold I did not mean cold outside but when it is first started up. Do like Zando said and change out the powersteering fluid and see if that helps!
Gary
__________________
Don't worry about what other people think....as most of them don't!
I think i just fixed my problem. I took the reservoir off and drained it, i looked in, and it has this screen which had a lot of junk on it, so i ran some power steering fluid and kerosene to break it up and flush it out, i then hooked the intake tube up to the reservoir, and led the output to another container, i filled the reservoir and ran it to flush the lines (be careful when doing this, it circulates the fluid very fast, adn you dont want the pump running dry). i put in more transmission fluid, and it hasn't done it yet.
I have had the same problem with my 96 Camry, took it into two shops and have never been able to replicate the problem or have it found by a mechanic. I have noticed that mine happens when I drive through a decent amount of standing water. This has been true for the last 4 years. If it has been raining heavily and I go through a very deep puddle, my steering sometimes locks up if I need to make a 20 degress turn or better. Always goes away after a couple of tries.
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WTF, cannot turn/steer ??
Linear Mode
