Stiff steering?

I've been following the motor mount discussion, and so far have avoided that problem, but now have one of my own:

In the last few weeks, the steering in my '05 4x4 double-cab (~55K miles) has gotten fairly stiff. Not so difficult to turn as if you lost power steering, but significantly more resistance than just prior. My wife had used the truck for a couple of days (she swears she didn't hit anything!), and at first I thought I had just become accustomed to her Odyssey, but now I am sure something is screwy. When turning the wheel, it seems to go through points of more and less resistance.

I had them check it out at my last oil change. At first the tech said he could not feel it, but then acknowledged it, saying it felt more when turning left. He could find nothing in about a 20 minute front end inspection.

Has anybody else noticed anything similar with their truck? Any ideas where to point the next trouble-shooting?

Thanks all!

 

your going to need a new transmision and motor hahahah

 

That was helpful

 

sorry bud just cant think of anything

 

maybe check the tire pressure? If its low due to cold, or a leak maybe that can cause it.

 

I just drove my dad's prerunner for a few days, and when I got back into my 4x4 I really noticed how stiff my steering is.
I think its just because of the CVs on the 4x4s.

 

check the rack and pinion, ball joints and knuckles! might be binding cv shaft could be busted or about to break check the rag joint also anything that could interfear with the steering link.

 

try giving the power steering fluid a flush. cheap and not a terrible idea anways.

 

Thanks for the ideas. I went ahead and ordered the new engine and transmission. That should fix it!

OK, seriously: thanks for the tips. I was also wondering about the CV joints, but thought it unlikely that would lead to noticeably stiff steering but no other symptoms.

Flushing and replacing the power steering fluid seems like a good idea. Hopefully that does it, or they find something (cheap) next time I bring it in.

Thanks again....

 

Are the tires old or under inflated? I notice when I put new tires on vehicles, the steering eases up.

If you flush the ps fluid, you might try synthetic. It flows better in the cold and I'm sure it's probably cold in NH.

 

We just got back from a couple of hundred mile trip skiing today. Problem has gone away completely - for now.

That bothers me even more, knowing that it's likely to surprise me at the worst time, and now trouble-shooting will be impossible. Although, now flushing the fluid makes even more sense.

Thanks for the brainstorming!