Q: Steeering wheel is hard to turn like theres no power steering.

asked by on January 03, 2017

Went off road one night by accident and got my car stuck in some deep mud and everything was working fine. Got it out the next day and as i was driving it home i noticed the steering wheel while driving was tight like theres no power steering. I checked the pump, the fluid, the belt and jacked my car up and checked the rods. Turning my wheel to the left is harder than turning to the right but in all its really tight. Noticed the bag was a little crimped that sits right behind the spring on the front driver side. Could that be the torsion rod being broken or bent somehow which is making my wheel hard to turn? If not what could be the problem?

My car has 106000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

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Hello. The symptoms you are describing can be caused by a few different things. If your vehicle was recently stuck in the mud then it may be possible that one of the suspension or steering linkage components was damaged and is now binding. A few things to look at would be the torsion bar, the tie rod ends, and any other control arms or suspension links. If the issue seems to occur when turning left then I would start by examining the components on the left side. If the issue appear to only affect one side it is unlikely that it is a power steering related issue, though it would still be a good idea to check out that system. If the components look okay then it may be possible that the issue is with the rack or steering gear, perhaps an internal fault. If you are unsure, I would recommend having a professional technician, such as one from YourMechanic, visit your location to diagnose what may be causing the issue.

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