toyota corolla 2003 stiff steering

[Jeroen]

Hi Guys,

The following problem has been annoying me for some time now so i like to take a better look into it.

I have this car for about a year now and before that it had been sitting for 2 years after the previous owner passed away.

I experience the following problem: The steering is a bit stiff/sticky around the “center/straight” mark. I already mentioned this at the dealership some months ago and they suggested an alignment. Since it was probable years ago since the car had an alignment i figured this would be a good idea anyway so i let them do the alignment. Unfortunately this problem remained after the alignment. On my previous cars i could easily steer (little adjustments) with 1 hand/ a few fingers when cruising down the free-way. With this car it steers normally in big corners but when making little adjustments when driving +- straight the steering-wheel seems to stick a bit. You need to put a bit of extra force on it to turn it. (turning it the same amount while it is already turned requires noticeably less force)

What would be a good starting point to diagnose/solve this problem? I was thinking to maybe replace the power-steering-fluid. Would this be a good idea? Should i check other things first? (it has been aligned not so long ago)

Thanks in advance

Perre

Topic

[Jeroen]

Yes i had an alignment. That was what they suggested over at the dealer. But unfortunately the steering behaviour before and after where identical.

[Jeroen]

[quote=”Plasmide56″ post=93412]You have an electric power steering. That is why you have no power steering reservoir.[/quote]

Ok thanks for confirming my suspicion 🙂

I’ll try and lubricate the joints you indicated.

Do you know of an example/brand for this graphite spray? (would wd40 be usable as well?)

Thanks

Jeroen

[Lorrin Barth]

Everybody has WD40. It is very popular because it so quickly penetrates and lubricates. It does this by being a very light oil. However, this ability to quickly lubricate is also its fatal flaw. It evaporates and doesn’t hang around long.

[EricTheCarGuy]

[quote=”barneyb” post=95418]Everybody has WD40. It is very popular because it so quickly penetrates and lubricates. It does this by being a very light oil. However, this ability to quickly lubricate is also its fatal flaw. It evaporates and doesn’t hang around long.[/quote]

Honestly I don’t see WD-40 as a good lubricant. It was originally designed to keep distributor caps dry. Hence the WD which stands for Water Displacement. At least that’s what I was told. My experience with the stuff leads me to believe it’s true. That said, I think you’re better off with PB blaster or some other dedicated penetrating oil.

In fact, if you do a search on this site for “home made penetrating oil” you’ll find a recipe for a solution that does work rather well and can be cheaper than purchasing an over the counter product.

[Author]

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