2002 Dodge Grand Caravan - Power Steering Comes and Goes

Low fluid level or other cavitation issue.

Check all hoses and pitman arm.

greenqueen, can you tell us:

When you start it up, do you hear sort of a throaty 'hum' sound, particularly if you turn the steering wheel? (I understand this obnoxious noise can be defeated by turning up the radio) If yes, when did you first notice this hum?

When you say fluid level is full... is it overfilled? Is it the power steering fluid?

Where are you (geographically, that is). Not being forward, different models of the same vehicle are available in different countries.

Bye the way, welcome here to the CR4 world!

Doorman:

I haven't noticed any noise when starting or turning, just the difficulty in turning the wheel. I will make sure to check when I drive it tomorrow and let you know.

Yes, it is the power steering fluid. I had it at the oil change place and they said it wasn't low that it was perfectly filled.

I am in the Midwest US.

I have an "02 grand caravan and had similar problems. Initially the steering was difficult but not long after I noticed a leak in the hose under the engine. The engineers made the cooling fins and hose in a place where road debris can easily hit the hose and cooling fins. You may want to make sure you dont have a very small leak that lets air in, as you may have air in your line but the hole may be just small enough that it doesnt leak much. Other than that check your power steering pump.

Belt to pump may be slipping?

oilcan13

is there a squealing noise? this would indicate slipping belt

Hello GreenQueen,

When you go into gear forward or reverse you should have the same problem when engine is cold.

If it occurs only in reverse then a pinched or twisted power steering line maybe the cause because of a poor motor mount. You will here a clunk if the motor mount is bad when putting it into gear.

The only other items that will cause this problem is a worn drive belt or steering pump. You should have the belt inspected by a friend or mechanic if it has never been replaced, and is the original equipment. The pump will whine like a two year old if it's bad, and power steering will be poor all the time!

There was a recall on your vehicle pertaining to a steering fluid coolant hose leaking, see link below

http://repairpal.com/dodge-grand_caravan-2002/recalls_and_tsbs#recall_783

2002 Dodge only 8 years old, the belt is the likely problem not the pump.

Replace right a way, don't wait. This is a uni-belt system and the same belt charges your battery.

Best Regards,

Tim

Tim I give you a good answer for that. I would also add that along with the power steering pump going out the reason you notice it when you first drive the car is due to the fluid being cold. As you drive it warms up and performs better. Something cheap to try would be to suck out the old fluid from the pump where the dip stick screws in using a turkey baster and refilling with new quality power steering fluid. You may have to do this a couple of times to get it all out and replaced with new fluid. Worth a shot. It may help. If not you are not out much except a couple bottles of power steering fluid. Oh another thing, look in your owners manual for the proper fluid type. Some Chrysler products actually call for ATF fluid. Good Luck.

Thanks John III for your added comment,

There are some auto service stations that bleed the steering rack and pump along with the lines and refill with fresh fluid. Flushing the system and testing the pump output pressure is plausible as well.

I ruled out the pump because there was no noise issues from the steering.

Not all but in most cases there is a whining noise under low fluid or pump problems.

Good call on the flushing of the system.

My concern is there still maybe a restriction in the output or return lines which cause poor pump output performance. What are your thoughts on line flow restriction.

Tim H

Tim,

I agree. I was just thinking that it might be a pump or fluid quality issue because he stated that it improved after driving for awhile. I have noticed cars I have had in the past being a little sluggish until they warmed up a bit. He did say it was happening when backing out of the driveway so it is plausible to me that it could be a restriction due to a bent or pinched hose also. The Ops later posts points to a leak since he is finding reddish fluid. That could be his power steering fluid or transmission fluid. Sounds like he needs to take it to the shop and have it thoroughly checked out.

Thanks for your reply John III,

Good suggestion to take it to a shop, this machine needs some TLC...

Best Regards,

Tim

Thank you all for your help! Here is the latest and I'm hoping you'll be able to help me further. Have noticed something leaking in the driveway, so this morning I crawled under the van and on the driver's side right by the front tire, there is a case with what looks like 2 gears. Around this case there is red fluid leaking from around the bolts on this case. Anyone know what case that might be? I have not noticed the power steering issue for a while now either. There is also a black pan under that case that it looks like there is oil leaking. Could this be from my head gaskets?

That is your trans axle. The black pan is the transmission oil pan. You want to check the transmission fluid level and make sure it is full. If you drive it while it is low on fluid you will damage the transmission. Take it to a shop and have it checked out. Hopefully it is only the pan that is leaking. That would be fairly inexpensive to fix compared to other seals on the transmission. Don't drive it until you check the trans fluid level. While it is in the shop have them check out your power steering system. Good luck.

John

Here's the latest .... it was my trans axle that was leaking, had that replaced and the valve gaskets were leaking as well, so had that fixed March 31st. Now I'm back to still stuggling with the power steering issue. The problem was minimal for the longest time, most of the shops around here were like Hmmmmm??? This afternoon, I drove to the gas station and there was not a problem. Tonight, I had to run to the store and it took everything I had to turn the wheel to get out of the driveway and then everything to get the van straight, even had to pull forward a bit and reverse again just to get the van turned the right way. Took a bit longer before steering was okay. All the way to the gas station and on the way back all was okay. But did notice that when I turned corners there is now a noise. So I pulled in the driveway and backed out again and drove back down the road a ways. When I turned back into the driveway, noise was louder and when I parked, I turned the steering wheel again and the noise was louder and the whole van shook. Is that the pump going bad? Your help in this matter is so greatly appreciated!