Hello all,

Yesterday the steering in my 2002 Suzuki Vitara 2.0 started feeling strange.  When I turn the wheel I occasionally run into hard spots, almost like the power assist gives out a bit.  I replaced the serpentine but that didn't help.  The power steering fluid is still full and there doesn't appear to be leaks anywhere.  Checking on Alldata.com it seems like there's a pressure problem.  Has anyone run into this problem?

B.T.W., my truck only has 104,000kms or ~66,000miles on it.

Lube the crap out of the joints in the steering shaft down to the rack.

Mine did that and all the knuckels were crusty.

Hope that helps.

Thanks lowrezolution, you were right, it's the lower shaft and knuckle.  They're definetely starting to seize up.  I took a drive to the local Zuki dealership and had a chat with one of the mechanics there.  He said that for a couple of years they were prone to rust up but apparently the new parts were redesigned to eliminate that issue.  I lubed mine up for now but I think I'll end up replacing it - a bit pricey - $450 CDN for a new shaft.

Wierd this subject came up!  I found a 2000 3-door tracker w/2 Ltr engine and 5 spd at a dealership (only 49K on it!) and test drove it the night before last.  As soon as I turned to pull out I noticed the steering felt strange when i turned it either way about 180 degrees.  It DID feel like the power steering was fading in and out.  A really wierd feeling.  I mentioned it to the sales clerk (versus salesman)  and he said they had just taken it in on trade and hadn't ran it thru their mechanics yet.  So that must have been the deal on that one too.

On my first Zuke, a 1991 4 door JX, on cold winter days I would hop in it in the morning to head to work, start it up and start to take off... but the wheel was literally frozen stiff.  You couldn't turn it!  After the truck warmed up it finally, magically, broke loose and turned normally.  It did this for the first year I had it and then it never occurred again.  later i figured it had spent some time at the bottom of a lake.  I had bought it with a salvage title!  Still put 225K on that little beast though and loved every minute of it!

I had that same problem!  Ended up being the steering shaft joints.  How did you get grease into those joints?

I just ended up soaking them really good with penetrating oil.  It didn't work for long so I just had the shaft replaced.  Dealer only item, $800 CDN for the whole job including parts.  I asked about drilling holes and installing grease fittings to the new part but the mechanic assures me the new part has had a design change and this will never happen again.  I'll believe it when I see it.  It's nice to drive with one hand again!

I think i'm going to investigate replacing my junk with some stuff from flaming river.
Its nice how they "upgrade" items after the warranty is well past covering it, just like the "upgraded" timing chain tensioner/adjust for 2.0 that broke and caused my engine to fail, the new "upgraded" piece should stop that from happening again said the dealer, and I said I'll buy a toyota before I'll buy another GM P.O.S.! thank you very much MR Chevy dealer!

Anyway, I might be switching to Toy SAS if the budget allows this spring and eliminate the rack all together anyway.