SOURCE: 2005 toyota sienna van power steering very hard
Most likely the problem is the lower steering knuckle. This is the one outside of the firewall, under the vehicle and it hooks up to the power steering assist cylinder. In my opinion the knuckle has to work at an unreasonably steep angle and this compounds the problem. The knuckle (especially in salt areas starts to corrode and becomes hard to turn. Toyota says the water gets into the bearing and they beings to rust the bearing and turning the whell starts to feel stiff. I have this problem and I sprayed liberal amounts of a rust inhibitor that a local place uses to rust proof cars (They sell small spray bottles of it for $5). They are called OIL TECH in Barrie, Ontario and make up their own formula. The formula has addatives that breaks the surface tension on the oil treatment and gets it into the tiny cracks and crevices on your vehicle. I sprayed this all over the knuckle, turned it back and forth a couple of times and continued spraying. I let it sit for an hour and went for a test drive -- problem solved. You could actually see the rust on the exposed parts of the knuckle. I probably will have to do this once every month of two but what the heck. It is a lot cheaper than having to replace the steering shaft ($1000+???) Probably other types of rust proofing or lubricating oils will work. I long for the old days of grease fittings and you never had to replace ball joints and tie rod ends etc.
Norm
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