1998 Tahoe steering problem...

[98_2DR]

Hello guys.. I need some help!

I have a 98 2 door Tahoe that recently contracted a steering problem.. I was driving it one day and it was working fine, no whines or anything. I pulled into an AutoZone to get a can of Freon for the ac as it needed to be charged. the parking lot did have a steep grade on the spot I parked, I turned into the spot turned off the truck and went inside.. came out started and filled the ac up and when it was blowing cold I got in to complete my errands. when I pulled out of the spot it was ok until I started to turn the wheels to go straight, it was as if my pump had gone out the steering was super tight and it took a lot of effort to steer it. I am driving my daily driver now and looking to get it fixed soon. I have always had some warning in the past when my ps pump went out this was working great turned off and back on and t was out. I checked the fluid level and it was low but not low enough to cause problems, I topped it off and still no change. I raised the front of the truck and went full lock left and right with no change. the fluid did spew out of the cap when I was turning it left to right.. topped off again and lowered back down with no change. I am not sure if there is a test I can do to it to determine if the problem is in the pump or the steering box.. what do you guys think?

 

[richamos]

Could be an issue with the speed sensitive steering sensor on the steering column or the variable orfice that controls the amount of pressure coming out of the pump. It could be blocked you may want to try and flush out the system and install a filter inline on the return line.

 

[lesterl]

I agree, would suspect something with the variable orifice.....

 

[98_2DR]

are you guys talking about the "evo"? I have looked into this and it seems to have different symptoms.. from what I read when the evo is bad the steering will slip and jump in turns, mine feels like the power assist is totally gone. if you still think this is the problem I trust you guys as much as you have helped in the past.. I just wanted to make sure.

 

[lesterl]

Normally the EVO steering has a bad sensor on the steering column. If you have no Assist, we are thinking the variable valve could be bad (this system is controlled by the ABS module BTW....)

 

[98_2DR]

ok, how would I check this and where would this be located?

 

[lesterl]

The valve itself would be located in the back of the PS pump (lower side), should be a 2 wire pigtail, check for pulsing voltage on that pigtail.