Power steering robbing power?

[dingo382]

Hi everyone,

I have a 95 240, and lately whenever I'm going slowly (~5 mph) and turn the steering wheel to make a turn or whatever my engine makes this horrible whining sound and my tach just starts to stumble and fluctuate between the normal idle and ~300rpm. It doesn't drop to the point where I'll stall, but its dropping pretty low. This happens in gear and in neutral, and gets even worse if I'm on a hill. Any ideas on what the problem is? Any kind of help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[old_s13]

The only time the power steering is actually pushed to its limits and used is when performing slow maneuvers where the tires are not spinning and there is more friction on them, such as when parallel parking. The 240SX has a sensor that bumps up the RPMs when the power steering is used, this helps keep the motor spinning while the pump saps some of the engine power. Think about it, if you're in an auto and maneuvering in a parking lot with the air conditioning on AND using a lot of power steering, its really easy for these devices (PS and AC) to steal RPMs. This is why the air and PS both have sensors that raise the RPMs.. to help compensate.

Anyway, if your PS isnt function right it will make LOUD noises. Otherwise, sounds like maybe your idle needs to be adjusted (just turn the idle air valve) to help bump things up a bit. This should make the draw less noticeable. Other than that, it doesnt really sound like you have a problem unless its a very BAD noise.

- Mike