Steering Sensitivity

This is the problem:
When I am at a stop or driving slow to park or turn a corner it feels like I have absolutely no power steering but driving at speed it feels normal.
- So I have already flushed out all the power steering fluid with a gallon of fluid to make sure no contaminats where in there and that did not help.
- I dont think it is the power steering pump because it works at speeds over 10mph, and when I am stopped and I put the car in neutral and rev the engine to maybe 1500rpm's or so it turns like butter with no problems.
- This is why i was thinking maybe it has something to do with the magnasteer because it is only messing up at a stop and at lower speeds.
- I am hoping this does not mean I need a new rack and pinion because it is around $500 plus, which I do not have right now.
- By the way my 98 riv only has 65,0000miles
- Has anyone else had any problems like this, or know what I should do to fix it? Thanks in advance, Anthony

It sounds like the magnasteer to me. Unfortunately I do not know how to check it but it may be a problem in the wiring harness.

See this thread:
https://rivperformance.editboard.com/brakes-suspension-f6/steering-shudder-pump-or-rack-noise-t1580.htm

Randall, its not that. Theres no noise I never had that problem, I read that TSB before, I am only having problems steering at very slow speeds.

Anyone know what can be the problem?

before you drained your power steering fluid did you check the fluid level? have you had to add any fluid lately? it might be your rack? if there is fluid in the bellows' boots then you need a rack.

I've *never* heard of this problem before.

Just the same - if I were you I'd check the belt tensioners. If they are tight enough to keep the belt from flying off but too loose to keep the belt engaged to turn the pump, at lower speeds the belt will slip. And I'd check if possible to find out if the power steering pump is bad or clogged somehow. I don't know how to do that, though.

I kind of doubt this is a Magnasteer problem. For details about how Magnasteer works please see the Larry Carley article, http://www.babcox.com/editorial/bf/bf20224.htm - it shows how to tell it's busted, what the codes are in OBD II and the special GM body codes (if you use Car Code with your PC or a Tech II to read them -- a regular OBD II reader can NOT see some of the relevant codes) and tells how to figure out what needs to be fixed - the PS pump, the Magnasteer, or the loose nut in the left front seat...

The point of "not a magnasteer problem" is that when Magnasteer quits, the malfunctioning unit usually sets a code and disables itself.

Magnasteer activates - or not - based on a code from the vehicle speed sensor. If the Magnasteer control system was failing, then sitting still and revving the engine would not change the behavior of the system.

You may be pleasantly surprised to find that Saginaw power steering pumps,although not free, are not all that expensive.

Albertj

I am not lossing any power steering fluid, the fluid was full before I changed it but I wanted to start with that first, I do not see fluid leaking anywhere but im not 100% sure of that. Thats why I thought it was the magnasteer but I do not know where that is located

Did you read Carley's article yet?

Albertj

Yes I did read Carley's article, thank you Albert. I am troubleshooting right now but I cant find the VSM. Rick said its (Pass comp, under right side of the IP). Does anyone have pictures or atleast tell me what I have to take apart to gain access to the VSM?

I too am suffering this Hard steering deal, not that I'm very worried about it yet, as the tranny is still on the operating table.

Well Jamie, when I find out what needs fixing on mine I'll let you know so it might help you out and make your job easier. I need to know how to gain access of the VSM still

what is a VSM?

Albertj

I guess its a "Variable Steering Module" and it supposed to be (Pass comp, under right side of the IP)

I saw you put up another thread. We'll see how it goes.

Albertj

i know this is typical of buick cars but to me they always feel like the steering is too light. i can drive the car with one finger. is there a way to tighten this up? has anyone replaced the rack with one out of an sts or a bonneville? its almost to the point where the wheel wants to keep turning when going around a corner as opposed to coming back to home. the car may need an alignment, but i still think the steering is too light. i know the steering is tight and responsive i just want a more firm feel. any ideas?

What tires are you running? they can play a pretty big role in how the road feels and the amount of response you have.
You can add some lucas PS fluid to replace 1/2 of the fluid in the resov. that stuff is much thicker and in my experience slows down the pump slightly giving a little bit more steering resistance and control.
I am not aware of any other racks that have been changed out with ours. i thought they were all the same, except some have magnasteer (all rivs') and some have it as an option (bonnies)
You can also unplug magnasteer which is supposed to help some with the "loose" feel.

Someone who *really* knows GM/Saginaw steering can swap out your OE PS pump for one with identical dimensions but different (less) boost.

Whether you really want to do this, though, is a good question.
What I would do - I'd make sure the alignment was such that tires were not prematurely wearing and the car is tracking straight, then find something else to change. For instance, if your car's steering is not returning to center quick enough one way to change that is to decrease the "caster" angle. That is, align the front end such that teh front wheel steering axis tilts like the front casters on a shopping cart - if you look at one of those you'll see that the axis thru the wheel is more rearward than the center of the vertical axis on which the caster pivots. What that does is it tends to make the shopping cart tend to roll straight ahead if pushed and left to its own devices.

So on a car the further rearward the axle is from the vertical turning axis, the greater the return-to-center is after a turn. It does not take much caster angle change to affect the return-to-center feel a lot.

Albertj

the tire on the car are 225/60/16, hence my question about a wider shorter tire that will fit the 16x78 rims. i would like to get this car to handle and drive with a sportier feel to it. also would an under drive pulley for the power steering pump help or is it more of a pressure thing? i own a machine shop and can tool up to do all kinds of things. i already made a set of billet fuel rails and will be installing them shortly.

sdconcepts wrote:

the tire on the car are 225/60/16, hence my question about a wider shorter tire that will fit the 16x78 rims. i would like to get this car to handle and drive with a sportier feel to it. also would an under drive pulley for the power steering pump help or is it more of a pressure thing? i own a machine shop and can tool up to do all kinds of things. i already made a set of billet fuel rails and will be installing them shortly.

You got me here. You'd really want to talk to someone who knows those pumps.

The same pump, with different brackets and different pulley, were used on a *lot* of cars, including Chryslers in the '80s. On the Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth K and H cars you could get 'regular' and 'sport' steering pumps that swapped for one another but behaved differently. You also could go from a power rack to a manual rack if you wanted (big surprise was how easy it was to steer the manual rack). But yeah, problem is I am aware of this but don't know who to tell you to chase down and ask. So sorry.

Albertj

a manual rack and pinion could be adapted to the riv. if what your looking for is a stronger tactile contact with the road. but as far as i can tell no one has done this mod. but its doable. do u weld? get a R&P from a ford pinto from the junker and start figuring it out. its doable

i don't want to go with a manual rack, but surely there must be another power rack that is tighter, that will interchange. maybe something out of the grand prix or the bonneville or cadillac?

I don't know the exact dimensions, but I think the grand prix racks are too narrow. It's certainly possible that it's just the tie rods that are different, dimensionally, though. I wouldn't expect the cadillac to have a 'tighter' rack.

We were discussing magnasteer a little while ago - but I can't recall: Was it 'unplugged' that made it super light all the time, or did that make it 'firmer'?

deekster_caddy wrote:

We were discussing magnasteer a little while ago - but I can't recall: Was it 'unplugged' that made it super light all the time, or did that make it 'firmer'?

Disconnect the two wire connector on top of the steering rack and it makes it firmer.

I just sold my 1993 Cadillac Eldorado ETC to get this 1995 Riviera. Initially, I thought that this car would handle very much the same because to me, these cars seemed similar.

Well, steering this car feels very unnatural...I just don't know how else to describe it other than it is not as responsive as my old Cadillac. I've read a couple of posts in the chassis/suspension category and can't come up with much in the way of actually tightening up the chassis.

I suspect that the tires have something to do with it. They all run straight on the wheel balancer (they're not out of round), but they're cheap Chinese imported tires. I'm going to upgrade the wheels and tires early next year.

The steering is so numb, though, that I just have a hard time believing that the whole problem could be with the tires/wheels alone.

I definitely want to upgrade the stabilizer bars front and rear. I am not sure which to go with... it looks like Addco makes a sway bar kit, but I read a few posts about installing STS factory bars...will that work on a '95?

I may as well not ask, but is there any way I could (or should) stiffen-up the coil springs? I guess all that I am asking is can I get more responsive steering & better handling out of this car or is this car a bastard?