Thread: Steering problems after heavy snowfall.

Hey guys,

Don't know if this is the right section for this but here goes anyway.
It snowed here last night, heavily. I parked the car for about two hours while it snowed, the steering was working fine. When I came back the steering was extremely tight and hard to steer. The problem is still occuring today. Wondering if anyone knows what this could be? Only mechanic open in my city today said its a min. charge of $150 for him to just look at it, so if anyone knows anything it'd be really helpful.

Thanks in advance.

I have a '99 GT coupe, snow tires on.

*edit: if it's a mechanical issue, could you post what you figure it would cost to fix? I realize it varies, but if you could give me a general idea that would be awesome.

You probably have snow and ice built up in the fenderwells?

Have you physically looked at anything?

Check the fluid level for starters.

how cold is it up there? its possible its frozen. or just so cold its to thick to pump.

ive used bullet heaters to un freeze hydro lines on roll off trucks in the past when its real cold. well more of the pto.

i remember a faulty steering hose line under cold conditions, but i cant remeber the model it applied to.

add some wind chill to that # and thats cold enough to make the fluid real thick.

my guess is it was warmer the day before?

my wheel gets stiff when its cold, loosens up after the cars good and warmed up.

it snowed here yesterday temps around 25 ish. my steering seem firm driving it in the snow. but not to hard to turn, not like its locking up or anything. just cold.

Originally Posted by scottydoggs

add some wind chill to that # and thats cold enough to make the fluid real thick.

my guess is it was warmer the day before?

That's not how windchill works. Just because if feels colder doesn't make it effectively colder.

i would avoid driving it with a bad pump, you'll kill the rack in a weeks time. im not kidding.

no more damage lol ha! new cars, hell even older cars, if you drove with out the pump the steering box would crap out sooner or later.

rack and pinion with no pump is almost instant death. they are not made to be muscled around.

If there is a multi-bay self service car wash that is open nearby, have a buddy follow you there. Park your car in there and come back an hour later or longer if it is not busy. It will be as good as parking in a heated garage. Then take it out for a test drive. They also work great for "quick repairs" under the hood. I parked mine in one overnight once when living in Wisconsin.