70 JUDGE steering/turning

[rexbrandstatter]

70' Judge hard to steer at low speed. My Judge is like turning a tank at low speed. We have exchanged the pulley ( twice ) etc.... Seems to work fine at other times, BUT backing into stalls etc at Cruises, turning at low speed is really hard. The power steering disappers.. Any ideas?

[Larry]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the trouble is most likely in your power steering pump.
Power steering pumps have built in oil flow and pressure relief valves. When you are traveling at higher speeds, they bypass pressure as there isn't as much pressure required to move the wheels. However, at lower speeds (ie: moving into parking spaces, etc.) it takes a great deal more pressure to turn the wheels. This is the time when these pressure relief valves are not supposed to be leaking (ie: bypassing fluid instead of using it to do work).
What you are experiencing is most likely a result of loss of pressure (as in working force). It can be caused to wear in the pump portion itself causing the generation of lower pressure, but is most often due to internal leakages within the relief valve.
There are rebuilding services, but I would check first to see if they are still available as rebuilts. I'm guessing (without looking) that they were the same for many years.
Please let us all know what you find out, or what you do to correct the problem.

[rexbrandstatter]

Thanks for the note on my JUDGE steering/turning problems. What are old cars FOR if you can't dump $ into them! I will get on the pump right away. The hard steering has kept my wife from driving it, so it has not been ALL bad!! I will let you know as we proceed.

Thanks,

Rex Brandstatter
Coralville, Iowa