Young driver at wheel, lost power while driving and turned onto side street. Steering very hard, so believe engine stopped. Could not get up slight incline, and shut off ignition because of red light on instrument panel. When trying to restart engine, starter would whine but not engage. Noticed a thump 2x in recent past. Could starter be loose? If so, it is a 4cyl. 2.5 block, and am I correct that the starter is on the driver's side of the car?

The hassle has to be with the power steering pump..Check to make sure that the fluid level is up to spec and there are no leaks in the hoses.. If all looks good then the pump has an intermittent condition responsible for issue. U might want to wait till it goes completely or replace it.

Fortunately when a car is in motion the absence of of the assist is no big deal/ it helps with parking and other slow maneuvering.

check for central position of the rack/ steering box. If there has been recent work on the steering ,it is possible that the box/rack was not in the straight ahead position before it was connected up.

to bleed power steering, with front wheels off ground slightly with front wheels pointing straight ahead.engine off. remove power steering filler cap.add power steering until fluid level stop dropping,wait couple minutes and wait, add fluid until level stay at full cold mark on power steering cap dip stick. dont over fill.when fluid level stop dropping, start vechicle,let it idle few minutes. see if fluid level drop if so add more fluid full cold mark.then turn steering all the way to left and right with out hitting a stop.turn steering wheel several times, then turn front wheels pointing forward check power steering fluid level.if power steering fluid level stop dropping air should be out of system, if steering turning wheel dont turn smoothly and power steering fluid look light tan color air getting in the system.check all power steering lines to rack and power steering pump for leaks.be sure you replaced all the power steering lines with new o rings if not you will get a leak.if you find a leak, you need to fix the leak and bleed system again.dont drive vechicle if your steering dont feel right,have vechicle towed to a garage.

Steering column intermediate shaft (between firewall and rack/pinion) U-joints have lost their lube; not uncommon on this model. Climb under

Without being able to jack the car up and really look at it, it is hard to tell what you need exactly. It could be anything from low fluid level in the power steering pump to the rack and pinion. I would suggest you jack the car up and support it on jack stands or blocks and take a good look at it while someone is moving the steering wheel from side to side slowly. Look and listen!

YOU HAVE AIR IN THE POWER STEERING SYSTEM.YOU NEED TO BLEED POWER STEERING PUMP FIRST BEFORE DRIVING VECHICLE.CHECK POWER STEERING FLUID LEVEL ADD MORE POWER STEERING UNTIL REACH FULL COLD MARK..RAISE VECHICLE FRONT WHEELS OFF THE GROUND.START ENGINE LET IT IDLE WHILE TURNING STEERING WHEEL LEFT TO RIGHT NON STOP DONT LOCK OR STOP STEERING WHEEL KEEP TURNING IT SEVERAL TIMES CHECK POWER STEERING FLUID IF LOW ADD UNTIL YOU GET COLD MARK ON DIP STICK DONT OVER FILL POWER STEERING PUMP BLOW A SEAL.IF POWER STEERING FLUID LOOK TAN COLOR SYSTEM FULL OF AIR.TURN OFF IGNITION LET CAR SET FOR A WHILE CHECK FLUID LEVEL.IF STEERING WHEEL FEEL STIFF HARD TURNING DONT DRIVE CAR UNTIL YOU HAVE NORMAL STEERING.IF STILL HAVE AIR IN SYSTEM BLEED SYSTEM UNTIL AIR IS OUT.

YOU NEED TO BLEED POWER STEERING SYSTEM BY HAVING LOW FLUID AIR ENTER THE SYSTEM.PARK CAR ON SOLID LEVEL GROUND SAFELY RAISE SUPPORT VECHICLE ON JACK STANDS.YOU CAN LEAVE CAR ON GROUND BUT TURNING STEERING WHEELS BACK AND FORTH WILL WEAR SPOT IN TIRES.TURN STEERING WHEEL TO THE LEFT WITH THE ENGINE OFF.CHECK POWER STEERING FLUID.ADD MORE FLUID IF LOW.MAKE SURE FLUID LEVEL ON COLD MARK ON DIP STICK.THE YOU CRANK CAR UP LET IDLE LITTLE HIGH FOR 15 SECONDS.THEN TURN OFF ENGINE.CHECK POWER STEERING FLUID LEVEL MAKE SURE ITS ON COLD MARK AT DIP STICK.THEN YOU START THE CAR UP WHILE IDLING TURN STEERING WHEEL IN BOTH DIRECTIONS SLOWLY TO THE STOPS DONT HOLD IN STOP TURN STEERING WHEEL LEFT AND RIGHT FOR SEVERAL TURNS.STOP ENGINE CHECK FLUID IF FLUID TAN STILL HAS AIR IN SYSTEM.LET CAR SET A LITTLE WHILE TRY THE BLEEDING PROCEDURE AGAIN.THERE IS A REASON POWER STEERING FLUID WAS LOW CHECK ALL POWER STEERING HOSES AT POWER STEERING PUMP TO THE RACK PINION ASSEMBLY.

Try rocking the steering wheel slightly (it should turn just a little bit) while gently trying to turn the key. Sometimes if you turn the ignition off (to the lock position) too quickly, the steering wheel will be forced to turn slightly by the power steering pump as the engine comes to a stop. When turning the ignition off in the future, only turn the key back 1 notch to shut the engine off first. Then, after the engine has stopped, finish turning the key to the lock position.

ok what is going on is the cv axels are binding and need replaced and the steering needs to be serviced deffinatally dont drive to far find a reasonably priced shop close to fix i would but you r prob not near me

Your steering wheel is locked in place. You need to put the key into the ignition, then turn the steering wheel more towards the way it is already turned and try turning the key then in the ignition. The steering wheel should move ever so slightly and it should free up the ignition. Let me know how this turns out.



Benjamin