Hey folks,

So I have this car, it's a Volvo, a 1989 240. It's been sitting for over one year untouched.

I decided today to get it going. So I bought a battery, some oil, coolant, etc etc. And started with removing any animals that were under/in the engine bay.

I swapped in the battery and it started up first try. I gave it a good warmup and then dumped the oil and flushed the coolant as best I could.
Also swapped in the 951 ECU I had sitting around, some new strut bracing, finished the rear speaker install (there was a shorted wire) and all was good.

After removing the ish all over the rotors and giving the brakes a good work out (they feel fine now) I noticed that the steering was odd.

Basically, the steering feels a little tighter turning right and a little looser turning left. An undercar visual inspection shows that everything is good/tight. So I figure maybe I just need to drive the ish out of it and get that fluid moving thru the rack?

P/S fluid is clean and plentiful, no leaks either. Any ideas? The suspension seems fine, shocks are shocking and struts are strutting. Sorry for the long post
--
'89 240 All original xcept. exhaust, 25/25 sways, guages, slight airbox mod, fogs, custom sound.

Did you pull the inner tie rod boots back to look for power steering fluid leaks? If not, I would recommend that you do so. Our 89 did the same thing and it turned out the passenger side rack seal had failed.

What you are describing is a classic early warning hint that the PS rack is on its way to a replacement.

jorrell
--
92 245 278K miles, IPD'd to the hilt, 06 XC70, 00 Eclipse custom Turbo setup...currently taking names and kicking reputations!

Thanks for the reply J.

I didn't pull the boot back, but squished it with my hand if that does anything, it wasn't leaking. If the rack seal fails then I'd notice an oily mess underneath right? And also notice my P/S fluid not in the reservoir like it should be?

Hopefully the rack ain't on its way out... or if it is, then it might be time for one of them nice quickracks for moar faster steering!!

But naw, I'll cross my fingers and hopefully, after a good flogging, it straightens itself out.
--
'89 240 All original xcept. exhaust, 25/25 sways, guages, slight airbox mod, fogs, custom sound.

lol^ old... now with much, much more

Howdy,

Center the wheels straight ahead. Lift the front wheels off the ground securely. Engine off. Move the steering wheel left, then right. Any difference in required effort to move off-center? If yes, the problem is mechanical binding (tie rods, strut mounts, ball joints). If no, the problem is hydraulic (valve or seal in the rack).

If you want, move the steering wheel with a spring gauge. Now you have quantifiable results.
--
Mr. Shannon DeWolfe -- I've taken to using mister because my name misleads folks on the WWW. I am a 53 year old fat man. ;-)

Back in the '80's when I worked for a Volvo indy and rebuilt racks were very expensive I rebuilt quite a few. There is an adjustment for balancing the assistance left and right. It is located under the pinion shaft seal housing. There's a lock nut and double locking washer and under that is an adjustment collar. Aside from an internal hydrualic leak it is possible (but not likely) the locking washer has slipped and allowed the adjustment to change. -- Dave

Whoops--hit the submit button before I switched on my brain--the adjustment I refered to is located at the bottom of the rack under a housing cover--at the far end of the pinion shaft--not under the pinion shaft seal housing. -- Dave

Good memory, Dave.

I bought a used '78 245 about 20 years ago that would try to spin the steering wheel to the left as soon as the engine started. I was able to adjust it back to normal by the pinion adjustment you describe. (I found it in an old Haynes manual.)

To my knowledge, only the CAM rack has that adjustment. Till now I'd assumed it was a thing of the past, but that left turn bias sure sounds like it.

--
Bruce Young, '93 940-NA (current), 240s (one V8), 140s, 122s, since '63.

Perhaps a PS steering fluid flush is in order, that way if there is a bit of junk in the system plugging up a valve here or there, the problem will disappear. That approach might just be worth 3 or 4 quarts of fluid for the flush... a heck of a lot cheaper than a new rack!

jorrell
--
92 245 278K miles, IPD'd to the hilt, 06 XC70, 00 Eclipse custom Turbo setup...currently taking names and kicking reputations!

Does sound like the warning sign of rack failure. I would also put a Magnefine in-line filter in the return line after your fluid change. Might want to check the steering u-joint also? I did have 92 740 t that got sticky on the turns. Had to loosen the steering column at the joint and pull up the steering wheel,it was binding up in the car keeping the steering wheel from freely spinning. Which gave the symptoms of a bad rack.