Cerbera Power steering

[swast4]

Please help my power steering on my feb' 97 cerb went very heavy the other day and extreamly lumpy and notchy at very low speed. I have had a small leak on the system and unfortunatly let it get to low. I drove the car home about a mile and topped it up. Then went for a drive to see if it would loosen up but had no joy. I have then drained and replaced my fluid and jacked the wheels up of the ground and turned lock to lock several times with the engine off to bleed the system. I have then taken it for another drive and the lumpyness has gone but the stiffness is still there as if I am driving a small tank ! People I have spoke to think that the rack is the weaker part of the system but need to get a spare part and don't want to buy a rack if it is the pump, or a pump if its not the rack etc. Is there anyway of knowing if the pump has gone without stripping down the car.

[monkeyjunky]

IIRC under the inner bonnet theres a union joint where the rack takes its feeds from. You should be able to undo the hoses and get a pressure meter on there to see if the pump had gone. Should only be 30 mins at a garage.

[swast4]

What do you mean by IIRC and do you think I could fabricate a pressure gauge fitting, what type of pressure should I be looking for and I will get a suitable gauge from work, thanks.

[monkeyjunky]

If I Remember Correctly.

And to be honest for the sake of 25 quid your probably best getting an independant to take a look. At least that way you won't spend ages trying to ID the part. If you try it yourself it looks like a diamond shape from above with 4 lines going into it about the size of a matchbox.