steering tight

[teach]

after the car sits over night, the steering is really hard to turn. After driving for a while it loosens up and everything is fine. The power steering fluid level looks good. I see some leakage of fluid under the car at times but haven't determined what it is yet. Any ideas as to what is causing this?

[neutral]

Sounds like the power steering drivebelt (same belt that routes over the a/c pulley as well) is too loose. It may not be squealing from slippage but still is slipping enough that it isn't fully driving the pwr steering unit when the belt/engine is cold. As the engine warms up, the belt warms up too and so tightens up a bit and starts properly driving the power steering unit. With engine cold (turned off minimum of 1/2 hr.) check the belt tension on center of the longest belt span, using moderate pressure with your thumb. Deflection should be ~1/3-1/2 inch. If deflection is > than that, you need to snug it up. There is an adjustment bolt for this purpose and it is a very quick fix to do. Page B1-6 and B1-7 of the online manual link from the main mx-3.com page shows a nice diagram pic. http://www.mx-3.com/95manual Be careful not to overtighten though, as that can damage the components the belt drives.

[PATDIESEL]

If the deflection ofthe belt is ok I'd get a new PS pump. Check that the wire that controlls the PS pumps is attached and clean. Our cars run power assist, not full power steering and thus the wire is needed to tell the PS pump how much fluid to pump.