FTO AUSTRALIA

I just bought my FTO and finally got it roadworthy and rego'd, started driving it for a bit and noticed the steering seems very stiff, like theirs definitely power steering going on but its so stiff its actually rather unpleasant to drive. I know its an older car and all, but my previous car was a 98 Lancer and the power steering on that was a lot smoother.

So I'm wondering if all the FTO's are like this or do I have a problem with my PS pump?

Is there any fluid in the reservoir..

It will whine quite loudly if there's not enough fluid. If there's a significant leak it won't be pressurized enough which may cause issues.

And to answer your other question. No it should feel as good or better than the lancer.

Well, technically, it should feel the same. It's the same rack used in the lancer

Could also be low tyre pressures. If your power steering is leaking enough to make it difficult to turn, then it won't have any fluid in it for very long

Tyres look fine, and it does have fluid. It could be leaking, but im not sure, since I just bought the car, it does have a smallish oil leak at the top right of the engine where the fan is which does a good job of coating the underside of the engine bay in oil so that would make finding the leak a bit difficult. I will start monitoring the fluid and see if it gets lower as I drive around these next few days. Other than that, could it be that my pump is a bit screwed?

Thanks for all the quick answers btw.

Yeah or belt could be wrong tension.

Daniel2019 wrote:Yeah or belt could be wrong tension.

As in too loose and the belt is slipping? that would make a pretty obvious noise though right?

Yeah, it will.

Hard to tell if anything's wrong with it or if you just aren't used to it though.. as long as there's fluid, no leaks and tyre pressures are OK, then if something's wrong then it would likely be the pump being cactus. But, hard to say if there's actually anything wrong with it without driving it..

Daniel2019 wrote:Yeah, it will.

Hard to tell if anything's wrong with it or if you just aren't used to it though.. as long as there's fluid, no leaks and tyre pressures are OK, then if something's wrong then it would likely be the pump being cactus. But, hard to say if there's actually anything wrong with it without driving it..

Ye, I will see how it goes, its not that bad, just pretty annoying compared to other cars I have driven, I'm sure I will get used to it, if a cheap PS pump shows up in Brisbane than I might swap it out.

Air in the line maybe???

Eh, shouldn't be. Power steering usually bleeds itself.

Bennoz wrote:Well, technically, it should feel the same. It's the same rack used in the lancer

Definitely doesn't feel the same. Maybe the lancer has a different pulley.