Steering Is Hard

[wax]

hi guys

just bought a toyota gs 'w' reg and i am finding the steering quite heavy!!! i have cheked the tyres and filled more air in them but stil the same..checked the power steering oil all ok.

i did have a toyota lucida and the steering on that was mush lighter than this one.. any ideas???

thanx

[T600]

Welcome.

Is the power steering working at all?

For example, if you turn the steering with the engine off is it noticeably heavier than it is with the engine running?

Are there any noises from the steering pump at all? If the belt is slipping slightly then you tend to get a screech from it, especially at full lock. Is the belt even there?

Is it running stock tyres, or wider ones?

[wax]

Welcome.

Is the power steering working at all?

For example, if you turn the steering with the engine off is it noticeably heavier than it is with the engine running?

Are there any noises from the steering pump at all? If the belt is slipping slightly then you tend to get a screech from it, especially at full lock. Is the belt even there?

Is it running stock tyres, or wider ones?

yes i have turned off engine and the steering is harder.. and there is no noise in the p/s pump and te belt is there if it wasn't it wouldnt work at all (would it?) the tyres are the standard pnes. just dnt understand wats going on with it.. or is meant to be this heavy????

[T600]

yes i have turned off engine and the steering is harder.. and there is no noise in the p/s pump and te belt is there if it wasn't it wouldnt work at all (would it?) the tyres are the standard pnes. just dnt understand wats going on with it.. or is meant to be this heavy????

No, the power assist wouldn't work at all without the belt, it would be like driving it with the P/S completely off. But from your original post I didn't know if that might be the case.

Difficult to know if it's too hard or not. In my experience many cars are over assisted. It seems they're built with enough power to allow you to turn the wheels easily when stationary at the expense of steering feel.

When are you finding the steering too hard? At very slow speeds, or whilst on the move?