Power steering feels heavy - 240 Estate 1989

My steering feels particularly heavy first drive of the day and is even worse when the temperature is cold. After driving for about a mile things improve to "normal". Once things have warmed up under the bonnet all remains ok. I have checked tyre pressures, fluid level/quality and pump drive belt tension - all seeming to be acceptable. The front nearside tyre is showing wear around the outside edge indicating a tracking problem, but I have also had that checked and it was ok. The car drives and brakes nice and straight. I think I have read somewhere in the 240 Profile that these cars do tend to wear this tyre quite heavily, possibly due to the road camber.Could my problem lie with the steering rack or the pump itself?If anyone has had a similar experience I would appreciate their comments. Thanks.

The problem is in the rack itself and it is slowly failing. You will need to replace it.


George

Anglo-Swede resident near Leuven in Belgium

'87 745 GLE Turbo Diesel Intercooler (D24TIC/M46, 200k)
'88 745 Turbo Intercooler (B230ET/M46, 270k)
'88 745 GL (B200E/M47, 200k)
'89 440 GL (B18K/M55, 90k)

[Clifford Pope]

Is it worth flushing out the system and refilling? People on Brickboard seem to think it is worthwhile - an amazing amount of crud builds up apparently, and it would be cheap and easy.
I understand you simply disconnect the return pipe to the reservoir, plug the reservoir, and direct the return pipe into a container. Then run the engine at idle speed while topping up the reservoir, until it runs clear from the pipe.

Thankyou gentlemen for your advice. Time has not yet allowed any further investigation/action. I will eventually post my findings. Thankyou.

There is a known problem with p/steering on 240/740.Volvo produced a modified oil to try and cure this back in the 80's .You could try and flush and refill with fresh p/steering oil but it never seamed to cure this problem .You could also check the two uj's on the lower steering column as they are prone to siezing up.Good luck,TAMC.

[sheerwater]

Hi,
If you have not owned the car from new maybe the oil has been topped with another grade of oil....the viscosity on any oil is thicker when cold. I believe the correct oil should be ATF. All 240s wear on the N/S tyre for some reason. Cheers Nige

I had a similar problem on my 1987 240. The steering was getting heavier and heavier especially on cold days. It turned out to be the universal joints connecting the steering column to the rack. They had gone dry. A little bit of oil and it all came free again. Might be worth trying before you start changing the fluid or the rack.

Cheers

Many thanks to all who found the time to offer advice or suggest a possible solution.
Having changed the fluid in the system and checked the universal joints (which appeared ok, but still received fresh lubrication), there was a slight improvement although the first movement of the day still remained stiff with a sudden release to a slightly easier movement - I hope you understand what I mean!!!!
I think the improvement may have been due to the better lubrication offered to the components in the steering rack by the new fluid although there was still obviously something amiss.
Due to lack of time (I would normally do such work myself - honest!) I booked an appointment with a local private Volvo specialist who suggested a new rack (thank you George!). This has now been fitted and the problem is cured - hey presto !!!!

In conclusion then - I was sad having to part with the money for someone else to do the work, but it was still cheaper than buying a multi-gym and a course of anabolic steroids, which would have been necessary for those cold mornings next winter!!!!