'94 850 turbo-Power Steering Weirdness.

IG-88A · Post by **IG-88A** » 15 Mar 2016, 07:50

So yesterday I got the steering knuckle reinstalled and everything buttoned up. I decided to take it for a spin and not hear the front bearing for once. That was really nice. As I was going down my street, I was intermittently swerving back and forth, just to make sure everything felt nice and seated. That's when i noticed the power steering acting funny. If I just casually turn, everything is nice and fluid as it should be. However, if I jerk abruptly one direction or the other, its as if the pump cuts out for a second or so, making the steering very stiff, and then catches back up with itself. This seems to be more pronounced when steering to the right than the left.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 15 Mar 2016, 08:22

Try to bleed it by running it from lock to lock, left to right and right to left, several times. Officially you should do that with the front of the car on jack stands. Since you were just working on something steering related make real sure that nothing is binding by not being totally tight. There are some bolts on the suspension that will bind going into place and torque properly but not actually be tight. Loose stuff in the steering usually results in a "popping" sound.

...Lee

IG-88A · Post by **IG-88A** » 15 Mar 2016, 10:07

I'll try the bleed on stands tonight. I tried it a little bit ago in the work parking lot, and noticed no improvement. Which bolts are the suspects that can seem torqued but aren't actually tight? I made sure to go through and torque everything to spec. maybe I got a false positive somewhere. I'm not noticing any popping sounds.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 15 Mar 2016, 20:40

The worst offenders are the sway bar end links but they won't cause any real grief in the steering department. The strut bolts to the steering knuckle can bind as well.

Did you remove the strut in the process? I suppose a strut bearing could have cocked a bit and it could be hanging up if the strut was suspended by the bearing plate while the hub was being removed. Hanging the strut normally doesn't cause a problem but if the bearing was nearing the end of its life that can push it over the edge.

...Lee

IG-88A · Post by **IG-88A** » 16 Mar 2016, 05:48

All I removed was the knuckle. So the only bolts/nuts removed were the two to the strut, the ball joint, and the tie rod. Also those strut bearings are less than a year old, so I sure I hope I don't have a bad one already. I didn't have a chance to get it up on stands last night, so I'll have to check it out when I've got more time on my hands. Thanks.

Post by **abscate** » 16 Mar 2016, 08:29

Did you go OEM on the strut bearings? There is a lot of junk out there. Pay once and cry once.

The ball joint bolt/nut can be tricky to get back in right...I think technically it should be replaced on each application too, since it is angle and stretch torqued. They are hard to find in hardware stores and Volvo would not sell me the nut and bolt standalone. WTV??

IG-88A · Post by **IG-88A** » 17 Mar 2016, 10:23

Spring seats were Sachs, Bearings were FAG. I bought them as part of a Koni set on FCP last year. Interesting on the ball joint nut/bolt. I can't see how that would create enough drag to feel like my power steering is lagging, but I'll check it out. However, I noticed a major discrepancy in torque values for that nut between my Haynes and Chilton manuals. If I recall, the Chilton had it listed at only 12 ft lbs. That's insane. So Volvo wants you to buy a whole new control arm just to get the nut and bolt? That too is insane.