Thread: No steering,officer!

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Don't know much about steering systems so I hope someone can give some insight.
I almost broadsided a cop the other day. Let me explain. I have an 84 Caprice,305 ,automatic 700r4. About once a week the steering goes 'completely' out while turning corners. Also seems like the brakes go down at the same time but that part may be my imagination since I am in such a panic stricken state . I turn corners at a slow enough speed,so it's not that. And the steering comes back in as the car is stopping.
The steering system is the type that has the steering lines connected to the brake system (booster?)
This car has done this 3 times and after stopping 3-4 ft.from one of Columbus's finest ( I don't want to be pistol whipped and billyclubed all the way to the jail.) it's parked untill I can repair it. Any suggestions? Well,,,,ones other than wearing crash helmets and putting F.O.P. stickers on.

You must mean that you lose steering boost when turning....you cant lose your steering because there is a solid link between the steering wheel and the steering box......unless something is slipping in the system. If something slipped, your steering wheel would be way off so that's not happening.

Hydroboost in those years had some complaints that the boost went away when the pump drive belt got wet and slipped during high pump output situations. Turning while braking does put a load on the pump drive....have you checked your belt to see if it is (1)the proper belt for the application and not bottoming in the pulley and (2) not glazed or worn nor loose? Also, if your engine went into a really low idle speed situation, the pump output might be affected.

Next, the pump may be shot and not capable of sufficient output. Lastly, does it have the right amount of fluid?

You will need to have the pump tested, this same thing was happening to our 1 ton. We replaced the pump and it worked fine.

It sounds like you have a hydraboost brake booster ( because you claim you loose some braking power when it happens ), and the steering pump is going bad, or you have a bad belt, but I'd suspect that would chirp or squeal if it was slipping.

Yes it is the hydra-boost the manual says. And yes the belt does squeal, but the steering goes 'completely' out,as if the wheels turned completely sideways and locked there. No muscleing it at all, you can't budge it.One time I went completely off the road.When this happens it's as if the thing has a mind of it's own, never seen a vehicle act this way,I was beginning to believe in alien abductions Fluid level has always been good,no leaks. One other thing but I don't think it's related to this problem,maybe. The brake light comes on some times though the brakes have plenty of pad and there is no fluid leak. I'll replace the belt and check the pulleys,,,,hope it's that simple. But an alien abduction taking control of my car would be a good excuse to tell my boss the next time I'm late. PS- Don't imagine GM would fix this factory defect as a recall do you,it's only an 84 and according to the used car salesman only one old lady owned it before me?

are you sure that your steering column isnt locking up?

IF Hydrobost dies, you still have armstrong steering....tough but still works.

IF your steering column locks up, you cant steer. Did this car ever have the column lock dicked with? (that's a technical term)

Originally posted by shevy not heme
Yes it is the hydra-boost the manual says. And yes the belt does squeal, but the steering goes 'completely' out,as if the wheels turned completely sideways and locked there. No muscleing it at all, you can't budge it.One time I went completely off the road.When this happens it's as if the thing has a mind of it's own, never seen a vehicle act this way,I was beginning to believe in alien abductions Fluid level has always been good,no leaks. One other thing but I don't think it's related to this problem,maybe. The brake light comes on some times though the brakes have plenty of pad and there is no fluid leak. I'll replace the belt and check the pulleys,,,,hope it's that simple. But an alien abduction taking control of my car would be a good excuse to tell my boss the next time I'm late. PS- Don't imagine GM would fix this factory defect as a recall do you,it's only an 84 and according to the used car salesman only one old lady owned it before me?

hydraboost can be identified by it's small size, and the can on the side of it, don't tamper with that can, it is an accumulator with 3,000 PSI of powersteering fluid in it, it could KILL you if you break it open, just for future refrence, because you have identefied what you have, as a hydraboost. I'd check into making shure the steering lock isn't locking the steering wheel. check service procedures for servicing steering box, and check that out.

cops. alien abduction .hydraboost hmmm hey i did see that .it was on the Xfileswatch out for the probe

Seriously, it sounds like you have a broken, worn gear inside your steering box, or a warped casing. Have you hit any really big potholes or driven off from a non-shouldered road? Cheapest way to find out is to wander to your local scrapyard and grab one from basicly any GM sedan. Swap with the other steering box, and drive. As for the pump suggestions, always a good test. Raise up the front end and turn lock-to lock a few times. If you get smooth even travel, and your PS belt is in good shape, chances are its not the pump.

Thanks guys. As far as I know the lock cylinder hasn't been tinkered with. The steering doesn't lock up like the key is in the lock position,it's more like being 2-3 times harder to turn than a 30 yr.old truck manual steering,will turn just barely but impossible to make the turn. After reading the replies I think that a belt change and steering box change would be the way to go because the steering accuracy is great,,,,,when it's not having one of these malfunctions. Thanks again.

As strange as it may seem, the spool valve in the steering box is actually a two piece design, held together by an internal pin. It sounds like that pin has sheered or is loose, causing the internal shaft to "spin" inside the outer housing. Best to go to a wrecking yard and pick up another steering box.
The spool valve is what the intermediate steering shaft attaches to at the top of the box. It can be changed without removing the steering box from the chassis [if you can find one], but great care must be used to keep the lower shaft in place, along with the worm gear and recipicating balls in place on the shaft. Best to get another box and just replace it.
If the belt slips, try using a 10mm wide belt, or a 7/16 belt instead of the 3/8 belt. It will sit higher in the pulley groove and have a better grip of the pulley

I didn't notice anyone askng this but, if it's a hydro boost system have you checked the power steering fluid level?
I'm assuming that your in Columbus, Ohio. On Barnett Road is Steer & Gear. They rebuild gear boxes and pumps. They may even do hydro boosters for all I know. Good people to deal with and may even have them on the shelf for you to "swap" and turn yours in as cores.

.A company I worked for had this same problem with several of their early 80s pickups. The problem usually happened when turning and applying the brakes at the same time. The problem was diagnosed as being a port in the booster being blocked when using the brakes, effectivly putting the steering in a hydraulic lock. This was arrived at by testing a pickup that had a severe history of doing this. It was discovered that if the brakes were released, the steering would return to normal. This wasn't a viable solution though cause sometimes turning and braking at the same time is desireable. After a round of new boosters, the problem went away for the most part. The aforementioned rig was involved in a fatality accident later because of a return of this same problem.

i have the hydro boost on my wifes astro van, it was acting kind of funny about a year ago the brakes would apply really hard sometimes especially in the morning when cold i made a few calls around and none knew much. one guy said try to get some fluid out the of the oil resivoiur and put in some power steering fluid conditioner as there may be a sticky valve somewhere. is seems to have works almsot rith away as it went away and hasnt been bad since . remember power steering fluind resivoir not brake fluid resivoir.