[new_owner]

Sometimes steering, turning a corner, takes extra effort.
What might cure this?
'01 5-speed, 155k miles.

I first noticed this when a dealer mechanic said he could fix it by "balancing" the steering.
It wasn't a problem yet so I said no thanks,
but now it is a problem.
The dealer service desk guy quotes $2,000 for new steering motor and rack,
and hasn't heard of "balancing steering".

 

[Mountain driver]

new:

Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear of your trouble. I've never had such a problem so I'm not much help. Consider updating your profile with your general location, there may be an Insighter near you who may be of help.

 

[olrowdy01]

Sometimes steering, turning a corner, takes extra effort.
What might cure this?
'01 5-speed, 155k miles.

I first noticed this when a dealer mechanic said he could fix it by "balancing" the steering.

I wonder what he calls making the wheels not vibrate at certain speeds? Dare we use the words "balancing the tires"?

It wasn't a problem yet so I said no thanks, but now it is a problem.

The dealer service desk guy quotes $2,000 for new steering motor and rack,
and hasn't heard of "balancing steering".

And I doubt anyone else has heard of that either. But don't replace parts blindly. First off do you have any error codes etc?

Look for loose connectors or the main fuse for the electric power steering to be flaky. I'm quite sure there is a ground wire from the steering rack near the power steering motor that runs to the chassis. Check to make sure it isn't in bad shape.

Also check the battery and ground cables below the fuse box under the hood. Wiggle them around and lightly tug on them to see if they are any good. They have a tendency to go bad. I replaced mine with AWG #4 cable that the high power audio guys use on their cars. Do a search on the forum for "ground wires".

I forget the number of the power steering fuse but it's in the same under the hood fuse box on the drivers side. I think it's a 40 amp fuse and if the contacts looks the least bit corroded replace it.