legacycentral bbs

When I am just starting to move and I make a hard turn ( like leaving a parking lot stall ) , the wheels have a hard time turning and they seem to catch or hesitate a little. Is this normal or could this mean that something is worn out?

Is your power steering fluid low? Or maybe the alternator/power steering belt is a little loose or worn out?

checked the fluid level - it was just a very little bit low. the belt seems tight enough.

How many miles? Have you ever replaced the fluid?

Try some of the transmission seal conditioner with new fluid.

Do you warm the car up first? That can help out a marginal pump.

Steve

could this be a CV joint problem?

Hmmm...Could be I guess but that's a pretty obvious problem and it doesn't sound like what you describe.

Here's a question, what you're describing, does it happen as you start moving and get the hesitation ect... or is it when you're sitting still and try and turn the wheels? If it's when moving then it's probably binding caused by your center diff. If it's while sitting still and trying to turn the wheels then it's most likely PS pump related.

Where in PA do you live?

The steering seems to be ok when I am parked and turning the wheel. I can turn it competely to the right or left all the way. When I start out slowly and try to make a sharp turn, however, is when the hesitation and jerking begins. It seems to be more noticible when I try to make a sharp, slow speed turn while in reverse. Also, when I put it in park and turn the key off, the car always lurches. It's a 96 legacy with 105 k miles.
I live in Cameron county.

Is it an automatic? Is this torque bind?

http://www.legacycentral.org/library/torquebind.htm

The car lurches? Do you use the parking brake? You're beating on your pawl gear if you're not. The car lurches because the gear isn't properly lined up and the car has to move until it does. This locks your drivetrain and stops the car from moving. However, keep in mind its just a little gear keeping the weight of your car in place, so imagine the strain - especially on a hill. Its one of those things everyone does with a car and I wonder why there aren't more failures.

Steve

I wonder if this isn't what I was experiencing recently: car would develop a shudder -most notably on the driver side (or so it seemed) when entering a turn and then it would basically go away once the wheels were straightened out and I accelerated. Also, I know exactely what happyboy is refering to; when I back into my parking space, I pull up to the garage door, put the tranny into reverse and slowlt back up and turn into my turn-around. Occasionally, the wheels will "grab" (for lack of a better description) during the turn and the car almost wants to stop moving. Finally, when I'm backed in and I straighten the wheel to 12 o' clock, I put it in park, turn off all my accessories and shut off the car -which is occasionally followed by a noticeable lurch. I have a flat, level concrete drive so there aren't any surface anomolies involved, but I have always wondered if this was part of the whole 'torque binding' issue.
I have a 90 LS AWD n/a and for the most part, I keep the car immaculately well maintained. How difficult is the solenoid to replace mentioned in the link by vrg3? I wonder if I shouldn't just go ahead and try that.
On a side note, I recently bled and refilled my power steering system (wow! what a difference that made) and some of the turning issues cleared up. I dunno, just trying to brainstorm a 'lil bit.

Bob

I went to a Subie garage and they told me I needed 4 new tires. The ones I had on were the same size but different brands. This seemed to help a little. The low speed turning problem is still there, though not as noticable sometimes. Also, they hooked up the computer to diagnose the flashing AT OIL TEMP light that comes on for 5 seconds every time the car is started. The computer found Code 24. The mechanic said it was hard coded and they could not fix it unless they took apart the transmission. big bucks. They said this was causing the binding symptoms. Anybody ever deal with code 24?