2002 Nissan Altima Repair Question
Mileage: No information provided.
2002 Nissan Altima Difficult Steering
I am experiencing difficulty in steering, particularly when turning corners. The steering wheel feels very tight and makes it hard to turn corners. At times, upon difficulty turning a corner the power steering will seem to kick back in and cause some jerking when turning. I checked the power steering fluid and it is full. I followed the lines from the p/s pump as far as I could and did not see any leaking. I am hoping a bad cylinder on the rack and pinion assembly isn't the cause. Any troubleshooting suggestions? Thank you.
Asked by MarciDSAnswer
May not be a problem in the power steering at all. That is the strut mounts may be seizing causing the hard steer. IF you jack it up, disconnect the outer tie rod ends and push/pull the wheels you can feel excessive resistance or not. OF course do this first before disconnecting to see how tight it is then.
I'm not normally a big believer in magic potions, but I have used Lucas power steering fluid additive with some good results. It isn't a gaurentee by any chance, but I have had some come around. My truck was one of them.
Had the same problem with my 2004 Altima
They replaced the U-joint in the steering - it cannot be lubricated, has to be replaced (did notice when it rained, the steering wasn't quite as tight, weird).
Steering U-Joint may be your answer - common problem in Altimas. Not sure why all these mechanics aren't thinking of it - it's the first thing my mechanic thought of after telling him my fluid was OK and there was no noise from the steering pump.
To every symptom there is not always a single solution magic bullet.