Heavyiness when turning,

it has been doing this for about 2 weeks on and off, to us it seems as somethings not getting any lube as when we have drove thru puddles or pressure washed under the bonnet/ engine area its fine for a day or two then starts again once everythings dryed out ,

I know its not my tires or wheel balance or alignment because today i had a new set of wheels and tires put on at bob jane and payed the extra to get the bronze balance etc, the mech at the local auto barn said these could be the problems but obviously not,

when the front is jacked up there is no stiffness in the steering with the car on or off either direction the steering is turned, we did pack some bearing grease into the bearings on top of the shock assembly as these where dry and shiney, this worked for two days but again its doing it, my nearest steering joint is near on 100km away from me so if its something i can look at myself to diagnose would make things easier,

car is a 2001 TJ magna exec, ive had the car 12mths and this is the first time something has started playing up

Checked your P/S fluid level?

Yeah fluid is full, belt looks fine aswell these are the first things i check when it happens

if it helps any it seems to be only the first 5 - 15 deg of turning thats heavy then it goes smooth again and not all the time... car feels like driving a tank when it happens

Is the power-steering working? Check the condition and tension of the power-steering belt, esp if you hear any squealing noise when turning off-centre of steering. Check the level of power-steering fluid in the reservoir. Look at the steering-rack and fluid lines from power-steering pump to rack and return line to reservoir.... check for leaks etc.

Not sure whey my suggestions would be intermittent - if belt etc loose you'd hear it squealing esp near full-lock, and probably more consistently. If fluid level is low, you may have power-assist on small turns, but loose assist when on a fuller-lock. If power-steer fluid low, need to check carefully for leaks etc to work out why it is low.

Mechanic and Bob jane should have spotted this fairly obvious stuff, so it might be something different.

Oooops. took so long to type, all covered already. Oh well.

when travelling at 100km on the high way if i try to slightly turn my wheel to the right it feels like someone has glued it into position then all of a sudden it lets go back to normal feel, same goes for the left but i seem to have a bit of play befor it feels stuck, would have though bobjane would have picked up on the heavy steering after they did the wheels etc and took it for a drive round the block but no one said anything,

I have what sounds like a similar problem in my AWD.

Mine is a little different though.

In the morning(cold/first use) when i get in the car, the wheel is sometimes hard to turn for the first 1/4 of turn then is fine.
This only happens if you try and turn before moving back or forward much. If i back out my drive then try and turn, its fine. Its only when you start and turn straight away.

Doesnt bother me as it is only for the first second then it doesnt come back. I have 2 other verada's though and this is the only one that does it.

I would have thought it was something to do with the fluid levels building up pressure in the power steering pump when first used.

Only a guess mate, but yours sounds little similar but yours keeps comming back. So maybe a faulty pump?

Yeah i'd put money on a faulty pump or pwr steer rack.

Other thing he made comment on was the tower strut bearings. If they are stuffed beyond salvage, couldnt grease help then quickly return to the way they were?

If the tops are shagged, the greese may have helped for a few days and then lost its ability to assist

Given you state that you live 100k from a steering place, I gather you live in the country and poss drive on a lot of dirt roads, this would make sense if your tops are dry

Nigel, with your issue, have you tried parking out on the grass overnight, just humour me here as have had this issue myself once.

If the tops are shagged, the greese may have helped for a few days and then lost its ability to assist

Given you state that you live 100k from a steering place, I gather you live in the country and poss drive on a lot of dirt roads, this would make sense if your tops are dry

Nigel, with your issue, have you tried parking out on the grass overnight, just humour me here as have had this issue myself once.

Yep you have hit the nail on the head mad magna, the grease helped for a few days till the bearings hit a flat spot now its constantly heavy but you can push the bearing back while driveing with a bit of force (you can feel thru the steering it start to move) and yes i have to drive 1km of dirt/mud road just to get out of my driveway each day then higway driving,

Now my one question is can i just replace the strut bearings or do i have to buy the whole setup??

Have just got new wheels and tires on the car last wednesday and am afraid if i leave the bearings too long im gonna wear the tires in spots then hubbys not gonna be too happy as hes the one whos just forked out the 1300 for them..