Power Steering Problems.

Have a 1994 850 non-turbo with A/T 130k Miles.

The power steering pump reservoir is full, have not had any power steering fluid leaking out.

Flushed and replaced fluid four years ago, replaced belt six months ago.

Have an on going problem and progressively getting worst of no power steering; the wheel is VERY hard to turn in either direction. It is now to the point where it will not return to center after making a 90 degree turn. The wheel has to be manually moved back to center, which again is hard to do.

With engine on and car in park (my son turning wheel) with hood open and ear close to pump, wheel can be turned, again hard to do, and can hear pump working gets louder when lock is hit on either turn. So I believe the pump is working, could be that rack/pin pistons are bad but I am not able to diagnoses as such. It is almost like there is something else working against the power steering.

I read about a “frozen u-joint” on the steering the column, I believe the one in question is in the engine compartment not passengers. When under the car looking up past the transmission I have seen it I believe. Question is how to diagnoses if it is the problem, and then how to fix/replace if it is frozen?

Thank you for the help!
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1994 850 WAGON NON-TURBO B5254S/SS ENGINE 2.4 LITER 5 CYLINDER. AUTOMATIC 4 WHEEL ABS 114K MILES

Thank you for the suggestion. I did track down and fix the problem. There is a “u-joint” on the steering column, between the firewall and the rack and pin. It was frozen; jacked up to allow front wheels to move. I applied a lot of penetrating oil and move wheel back and forth it then loosened up. As the oil has worked its way into the joint it is now moving freely.

Thanks again for the help!
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1994 850 WAGON NON-TURBO B5254S/SS ENGINE 2.4 LITER 5 CYLINDER. AUTOMATIC 4 WHEEL ABS 114K MILES

I am glad you "fixed" it. The U joint is a particular bear to replace. Keep adding heavy oil, not more penetrating oil, to the joint. If you can find a small amount of CV joint grease, introduce that good heavy stuff. I always wished that Volvo would have put a boot around the joint to keep the salt out of it.
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My name is Klaus and I am a V ♂ lv ♂ holic.

This sounds like a great maintenance tip for the rest of us.

I would think this joint seems like the perfect candidate for CV-joint grease (as KlausC suggests) or an HD moly or PTFE grease. I'm pretty sure I've seen HD moly greases that specify on the packaging that they have good water resistance - which seems like the biggest requirement.

I've been on the lookout for a good dry lubricant spray as well (moly or PTFE) - this might be an option too. Without a boot I would expect a dry lubricant to give better results, both in terms of resisting water washing it out and in terms of it not introducing more dust because it won't be 'tacky' like an oily grease.


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1998 V70 AWD Turbo 190k+

Usually, when the CV joint goes bad, it makes the steering hard in certain points of the turn and not the entire time.

Go and get a quart of synthetic PS fluid and flush it again. It is not nearly as expensive as a mechanic and rules out one of the variables. If you used ATF the last time, it should still look like new fluid - if not, it got contaminated with something.
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My name is Klaus and I am a Volvoholic.

I have something else for you to think about:

I had a 740 once that I at first thought had a wrecked rack. It was steering terribly, much like what you describe, and it seemed to be getting worse - at first it was intermittent and only in certain turns and angles that it was hard to turn, but it was quickly becoming hard to turn all the time.

It turned out to be the strut bearings and not the steering at all. I don't really know much about the steering or suspension systems on the 850s, but it's worth thinking about. I have a 1998 V70 and I think my strut bearings are making some noise over the bumps - I think they're normally considered a wear item (as opposed to springs, say, which would normally not be considered a wear item).

It's something for you to chew on anyway.

-Joel
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1998 V70 AWD Turbo 180k+