My power steering went out tonight, just want to know if it may be OK to drive in manual mode until I get it fixed. I'm doing the Google search thing to check on fixes, but nothing will happen tonight. Any help is appreciated. - and yes, the power steering unit was replaced under the recall, but it's been a number of years. Thanks, JB
It won't hurt anything that isn't allready broken. Safety wise, might not be wise. It'll take muscle to steer it now.
Just went out and fired up the car, steering was normal. So now it's a WTF scenario, where do I start to figure out the glitch? Fuse panel in the morning, but after that it'll be guess work. It's easy enough to steer manually, just don't want it to lock up west of the tunnels.
Power steering fluid level okay? I'm sure you checked already but never hurts to ask lol, do the lines maybe need to be bled? Otherwise I'm with you on the fuse panels, pump or pulley going out? Maybe got wet and slipped a little while? As to if it'll do any damage I haven't a clue. Good luck !
Yes it is. It sounds like the motor is shorting out. So the motor was replaced during the recall? Find your receipts/ docs. Sounds like it wasn't fixed properly.
Yes, electric. I almost wish it was hydro, that would be an easier diagnostic. Probably 80K- 100K on the new unit, car has over 220K . It's been a really good car.
I found this while googling it. Roy Culp Nov 12, 2007 I have personaly replaced the "electronic power steering assist" and it wasnt that hard. my car was acting exactley like "wilson from atlanta". i bought it off of ebay for 150.00 and got it in 3 days. it only took me a half hour or so to install. all you have to do is remove the plactic pieces under the stering wheel. then there are two bolts holding it up on eather side of the colum. there is also a third "pivot" bolt that is rather quite long and anoying that is located on the top of the colum but 3/4 the way down. and the head of the bolt faces the left. so thats there the bolts are. after you drop thoes first two bolts then you muct disconnect all of the wires, there are a lot different wiring harnests but they all fit only in there respected place, so you cant put it somewhere it shouldnt be. so after you have disconnected all of the wiring harnests and the three bolts all you have to do to rmove the colum is take the last bolt of the very bottom, you will notice there is pivot joint then you see a clamp, just remove the bolt and with a little force it will slide off. now you mst remove the steering wheel off the colum, on eather side of the wheel there are two holes, just place two allen wrenches in them to pop the air bag out, and under the air bag there is a bolt, just remove and slide the steering wheel off.(with some force) then you must remove your turn signals and just place them exactley like they were before. then place back together. i understand that was real confusing but its really not. and in the long run you save money.
05-10 COBALT / 07-10 G5 / 06-11 HHR / 03-07 ION ELECTRIC POWER STEERING MOTOR $85. Sounds easy enough
Got a scan tool? Manual says if it's failed it will kick a code or codes to the ECU. May also be soft codes so it won't light the check engine light. Better to test first in case it's not the issue.
Electric power steering, whats next, cars that drive themselves? Sound easy enough and cheap enough to fix, if that is the problem. loose connection?? bad ground??
i have changed engines or done other mechanical work on several cobalts. there is an item called the transmission control module(tcm)that needs an external ground added to correct some strange symptoms. i have seen it stop the car from shifting, disable traction control,and other crazy things. it is on the drivers side behind the headlight, about 3/4 inch thick,3to 4 inch square silver box that plugs in from the bottom and is held in a plastic clip. adding an extra ground to this tcm has solved many problems for me. not sure if it will help you or not.sorry for the long post. good luck!
Thanks for the link and Roy Culp explanation. Good stuff there. I took it in to a dealer for a code reading this afternoon ('cause it worked fine this morning- damm cars) 3 codes came up for the steering, 2 others unrelated and minor. I may spring for a full diagnostic before I throw money into it. One of the codes was for the PS ECM but the others they had to check. They gave me the go-ahead to drive manually if it shuts down again, just have to muscle it around at slower speed. Luckily it's a manual trans so I don't have to worry about the TCM. Thanks all for the information and help, I really appreciate it. JB
Cars suck. There was a time about 12 months ago that i wanted to set my 24V cummins on fire..... Of course some JD and High Life would be on hand to sip while we watched....
Can't like that post because I miss my Cummins like crazy. Although there's something about a nice bonfire and a few drinks. Drove mine for 13 years and 250k miles and repaired everything except rebuilding the auto trans. Never learned auto trans building. If you ever need info on it I might be able to help. Have the service manual if needed. Back to Chevy topic.
Jack continued: 24V HO, 6spd. When i bought it the dealer advertised new injection pump. Well, it had beed replaced, 100K ago...... I bought the truck then spent money on; batteries, VP44 pump, Lift Pump, Wiper motor, brake lines, ball joints and tie rods..... all told ive dropped 7K after sale price on this POS but im soooo upside down on it im stuck.
Biggest expense I see is the VP44. The rest is kinda normal for most heavy trucks. Stock lift pumps and no pressure gauge is a death sentence for the VP44. Pump relief valve doesn't kick until 14 psi and anything less hurts cooling which is what usually causes the electronics in the VP44 to fail. Must have good fuel flow for cooling and lube. Gotta get up at 3:00 for work so shoot me a PM if you're looking for reliability pointers. With the right parts you can push the Cummins to a million miles. The Dodge parts, in the north east, maybe not.
