Power steering pressure too high??
 

The power steering on my mitsu is always hard to turn at idle, which indicates that maybe the pump is going bad. But, it makes a whining sound when turning it hard. That whining sound is the pressure relief valve.

If I flush out the system with new fluid, everything works fine for a couple of months, and then the problem slowly comes back. Unless it gets cold... then the problem is back with a vengeance. Last year, it popped off one of the hoses under hood and sprayed fluid everywhere. I put it back on and double hose clamped it. Yesterday, it appears another hose underneath either burst or popped off when I turned the wheel hard leaving the driveway.

Thoughts? What would cause the pressure to get so high the hoses are bursting or popping off?

The weird thing is, replacing some or all of the fluid tends to make things a lot better for awhile.

Re: Power steering pressure too high??
 

Rubber hoses get old and stretch or balloon over time. It's probably just a case of old hoses needing replacement.

How has the fluid level been through all of this? I get the feeling that over those few months, the level is slowly going down as you lose fluid and that's why the assist goes away and the pump gets loud.

As far as temperature, the fluid is much colder and thicker, and can cause diminished assist as it doesn't flow through the valving in the rack as well. How is it once the car's been driven?

Re: Power steering pressure too high??
 

Fluid level is *always* between the lines. It does leak somewhere a bit, but I always keep it at the proper level.

It gets better when it warms up, but it's still bad.

Your explanations make sense for most vehicles, but not this one. There is something seriously wrong with it. Also, I just checked underneath, and the high pressure hose is burst. When the other hose popped off and when this one burst, it was at almost an idle and the wheels were very hard to turn and it was whining. The wheels were nearly straight both times (just starting to turn them to back out of a parking spot).

Thinking about this more, I am guessing that it might be the pressure relief valve or the flow valve. But, from what I can tell, these are both built into the pump on this vehicle.

The thing that sucks... I ordered a new car which was supposed to be here 3 weeks ago, but it got delayed until Dec. Otherwise, this would have been traded in. :(

Re: Power steering pressure too high??
 

If you're trading it in, why not just throw a new pressure hose at it and call it good? I mean, it's that or do the pump and hope it fixes it.

If you're thinking either valve is the issue, most of the time it'll be easier and cheaper to do the line and hope it's not so bad that it'll blow a new line before you make it the dealer's problem.

Re: Power steering pressure too high??
 

I don't know for sure if I will trade it or sell it myself. Dealer won't give me a trade in value until my new car comes in. If I sell it myself, I want to have it fixed right. I wouldn't want to get screwed buying a used car, so I won't do that to someone else.

Re: Power steering pressure too high??
 

I don't know what it will cost to fix that line either. It's half bent metal tubing and half rubber with crimped high pressure fittings.

Re: Power steering pressure too high??
 

What kind of fluid are you using to flush the power steering system? What fluid are you using to top it off?

Most Mitsus/DSMs use ATF for power steering fluid.

Re: Power steering pressure too high??
 

Most Napa's can make you a high pressure hydraulic hose for cheap