1993 Dodge Caravan Power Steering Woes

SHADOWALMIGHTY

MEMBER
1993 DODGE CARAVAN
6 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
204,000 MILES

After 204k miles, I decided to rebuild the front end on my 1993 Dodge Grand Caravan, and replaced just about everything I could: tie rod ends, ball joints, bushings, hub bearings, power steering pump, water pump, timing chain, and rack and pinion.

When I first started driving the car, I noticed that on left turns, it REALLY wanted to turn left and did not return to center very well. Right turns are no problem. I had it aligned, thinking this was the cause, but there was no change.

I'm thinking maybe the rotary valve in the rack and pinion is leaking fluid into one side of the cylinder.
Ideas?

5 Replies

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
109,700 POSTS

Is the rack new or remanufacturered?

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Friday, October 29th, 2010 AT 9:18 AM

SHADOWALMIGHTY

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3 POSTS

I'm assuming it is remanufactured. I bought it at Advanced Auto. It has a lifetime gaurantee.

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Friday, October 29th, 2010 AT 4:08 PM

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
109,700 POSTS

If I had to guess, it sounds like you got a bad one. Have you double checked your work to make sure everything was properly put together?

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Monday, November 1st, 2010 AT 12:12 PM

SHADOWALMIGHTY

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3 POSTS

The suspension is pretty simple, there's not much to mess up. I'm pretty confident everything is installed correctly. I notice that with the engine (and thus power steering) is turned off, the car tracks straight. But turn on the engine, and the steering wheel immediately turns left a bit. That says the power steering system is at fault, right?

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Thursday, November 4th, 2010 AT 2:02 PM

JACOBANDNICKOLAS