Turning wheels without pump running

[JHZR2]

Hi,

Just checking here... Say you want to move the front wheels one way to the other, without the car on or pump running. Will moving them side to side do any bad to the rack or pump? You can definitely hear the fluid swooshing through, but want to be sure that doing so doesn't run the risk of damage.

Thanks!

 

[Zaedock]

Nope, it will be OK. Might get a bit of fluid from the reservoir.

 

[OVERKILL]

On a Ford it'll cause a jet of fluid to fly out of the PS reservoir through the vent in the cap. Never tried it with my BMW but it is something to be aware of.

 

[pcoxe]

Drive the front wheels onto some stacked newspapers. It will let the tires turn easier. Poor man's turntables.

 

[eljefino]

It's a safety rule that you should be able to still steer if the car stalls; I'm sure the engineers thought it over and made it also not damaging.

Mechanics do this all the time for wheel alignments etc.

 

[racer12306]

I'm convinced this was a coincidence because I've turned many tires with a car being off...

The morning after turning the wheel to back my wife's former Caliber down the drive way a little so I could get around her car, the rack popped a seal. New rack to the tune of $1000.

While I'm confident it was a coincidence, I don't think I'll ever turn steer tires with the engine off unless it's an emergency.

 

[SuzukiGoat]

I have driven powersteering vehicles without a belt to the pump for thousands of miles with no ill effects.

Just drove my zuke for two tanks like that so I could hear, feel, any vibrations that's shouldn't be there post engine swap.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: racer12306
I'm convinced this was a coincidence because I've turned many tires with a car being off...

The morning after turning the wheel to back my wife's former Caliber down the drive way a little so I could get around her car, the rack popped a seal. New rack to the tune of $1000.

While I'm confident it was a coincidence, I don't think I'll ever turn steer tires with the engine off unless it's an emergency.


I was in a junkyard with a friend grabbing some parts off of various Jeeps. We turned the wheel with them off (obviously, a junkyard) and a few of them burst their old rusty PS lines.

 

[racer12306]

The Caliber was only 3 years old.