98 V70 Steering Pump out?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 27 Jan 2005, 13:22

Bought this volove a month ago. A week after purchase it started making this horrible noise when you turn the wheel. Took it in to a mechanic who said:
1. Looks like someone put bad fluid into the power steering pump. They said they'd flush it.
2. The rack and pinion is bad. They replaced it.
3. Something about the gear box. They fixed it.

$930.00 later it's still making the same noise. I took it back a couple of weeks ago and he said it was air caught inside and topped it off. Noise hasn't stopped. As of the other day I can't even turn the wheel. I ASSume this means the steering pump is out? Shouldn't that have been the first thing they checked? So now I'm wondering what to do. Take it back there and hope they give me a deal since they didn't fix the noise I took it in for in the first place? Buy the part online and see if my husband and I can figure it out (if it's a semi simple job)? Take it to a volvo dealership? Any knowledge and advice would be appreciated. Also, the service light is always on. Would this problem cause this? I know we need a serpentine belt or timing belt soon so that might be it too. Ugh!

Post by **dosbricks** » 28 Jan 2005, 11:32

On this particular year the service light comes on every 10k and stays on for 2 min. every time the car is started. The dealer can turn it off, but they usually want to charge you. Most people just ignore this annoyance. It's not connected to your other problem. If you had a check engine light that would be a different story.

First, did the seller give any kind of warranty?

My experience with repair of major problems that I did not understand the cause of has been that I would have saved money by taking it to the dealer (who knows these cars). I have wasted a lot of money with independent mechanics that didn't know what they were doing.

Steering problems are uncommon on these cars (more common on XCs).
The mechanic may have been correct that someone used the wrong fluid in the pump. It requires automatic transmission fluid rather than the usual power steering fluid (see your owners manual). Best of luck.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 30 Jan 2005, 23:45

Unfortunately no warranty. I'll call a dealership tomorrow. Also, thanks for engine light info.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 05 Feb 2005, 11:10

It turned out to be a faulty rack and pinion. It was new but had a bad seal or something. They replaced it at no cost and no more noise - as far as I know (dh has been hogging it:)). Thanks again.