02 protege5 looses steering power
 

Hello,

I have a 02 protege 5 130k. One day I remember when I was driving it, it the steering wheel suddenly became stiffer.From then on, I think all the pedals and steering wheel became harder to operate. As far as I know no pump of this car has been changed before. The steering fluid is full, but haven't been changed for at least 4 years. Sometimes, when I drive it, I can feel the brake pedal and steering wheel suddenly become softer but usually won't last long. Where to start, flush the steering system or check the belt? Which belt is in charge of this?

Is the power of these pedals and steering supplied by same pump? Because the brake and clutch use the same fluid, steering wheel has a different fluid, may I assume that they have two pumps?

Thanks.

Yoyo:
Open the hood and look at the belts and what they drive. You should be able to identify the alternator. Typically you can see the copper windings through the vents.
You can identify the AC compressor because the AC lines connect to it. What' left over is the power steering pump and the hoses go the the power steering fluid reservoir and the steering rack.
The power steering pump does only one thing: supply hydraulic pressure for the power steering. Unless you have problems you don't need to change the power steering fluid.
But you have a problem. Before you change the fluid, make sure the belts and the pulleys are in tip top shape and properly tensioned.

The soft brake pedal may require a brake job, flushing the brake fluid and possible replacing the brake booster hose. The power of the brake booster is supplied by engine vacuum through this hose.

Thanks. I went to a transmission repair shop. The guy there said that flushing the steering fluid system wouldn't fix anything because if the you need to flush the fluid, there must be something else associated with this problem. He said I had to leave my car there for the whole day. Do you think this guy is hornest?

Yoyo: I can't pass a judgment on a person I don't know.

Most mechanics are honest. This mechanic wants enable himself to do the job right. If he said let's change the fluid and it didn't didn't fix the problem he would have to do it again. That's not good for his business. People want to be sure that it is fixed right when they pick up the car.