power steering

[mck]

Hi all, I have a 05 1.9d Berlingo van. It has to be tested soon and the power steering is acting up. when started sometimes its fine, then when left on tickover it gets harder to turn, but when revved up to 1500rpm the power steering comes back ? there are no leaks, and none of the pipes are crimped. is it the power steering pump or the steering gear. I did dip me finger into the steering fluid resevoir and to my eyes it had small, I mean Tiny particles glittering in it, but was wine/red in colour, like outa the bottle. any help much appreciated, Mick :thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Gadgetman]

Tiny particles in any sort of oil is not good.
Tiny particles in hydraulic fluid that runs through delicate equipment is bad...

Do you have a good camera?
Could you extract some of the fluid and dump it over a paper towel or a coffee filter to separate the particles from the liquid?

To me it sounds like the pump is worn out.
Is it noisy?

The reason you get the power back when you rev it is that the efficiency of the pump is directly related to the speed it rotates. A good pump should deliver enough pressure even at tickover, but yours need that little extra.

I miss the old Hydraulic pumps that was on the GS, C and BX. You could tell the health of the system by counting seconds between 'ticks'...

[mck]

Dont think I could do that, microscopic realy, its only a glistening of particles, not pieces. Eveything is pointing to the pump to be honest, I might just have to bite the bullet :brickwall: not noisy at all

[geoff]

Try a fluid change first and see if there is any difference as fresh oil often works wonders.
As an example a vacuum pump in work will pull 23" yet after its 6 monthly oil service it will pull 28"

I have to say though that glitter will be metallic particles which will probably be expensive.

[mck]

thanks, Ill try new fluid first :thumbsup:

[mck]

dont know what happened to the lack of power steering lads, but the problem seems to have fixed itself :thumbsup:, steering back to normal after putting up with no power steering for a week cratch:. now to renew the cv booth and new rear lower arm bushings alut:. thanks for the help, and I'm sure I'll be back !