Power steering is getting very heavy during motorkana

[RileyR]

I certainly do appreciate any advice i receive. And i act on the advice i receive as there are many many members here who know a lot more than i do. Hence why i posted this question here..

Some answers i received were very helpful, and because of them i now have some idea how to approach the issue


1996 BRG NA8

[hks_kansei]

This topic I felt was fine, while the fluid is supposed to be changed every so often by the book, in reality it never happens.

Most cars would go for nearly their entire life without touching the PS fluid.


It's more just how different people look at it, Dann generally assumes the car is in good order and that the issue would then be that the factory item isn't up to the task.

I tend to assume the car has an issue first, then work up from there.



The silly questions tend to be things that with 2minutes of thought could have been answered, like my example earlier with the blown bulb.

I have actually seen this pop up, a light stops working, they ask on a forum, 10 people say "have you tried a new bulb?" the original poster says "no, but i'm confident it's not the bulb, I heard from a friend's friend's grandmother's uncle that it's likely to be the alternator"

So they post about alternators, change the belts, spend a heap of cash, then finally arrive at "so I put in a new bulb and it works now"

[RileyR]

Lol yea i can see how that can be frustrating if it was recurrent. Not sure why i got brought into all that though...

In any case i would have presumed the fluid would have been changed since it has been serviced at mx5 mania mostly. Though its good to know that it could be an easy fix

1996 BRG NA8

[Jeo]

How often is PS fluid supposed to be changed?

[93_Clubman]

Are you referring to this topic or in general?

Not refering to your topic or your post - it's general comment.

How often is PS fluid supposed to be changed?

Maintenance schedule in NA8 Owner's Manual only lists it as 'Inspect' every 20k kms or 2 years. Factory workshop manual might provide more detail. It's one of those things best specified by the owner if they want to be more certain it's been done.

[NitroDann]

Are you referring to this topic or in general?

I checked the fluid, the car is maintained well, i asked people at the khana about it.

When is it acceptable to post a question?


1996 BRG NA8

You're all good man, your thread got sidetracked by me. Sorry.

I guess the take home on this is its necessary to preface diagnosis questions with the steps you have already taken to attempt to diagnose it yourself if you want efficient help. For example: My engine has low oil pressure, should be prefaced with, It is full of fresh fluid and has 400,000km on it, and is a daily drive. That avoids a whole page of people asking if it has oil in it and how has it been treated.

I still reckon you need a cooler Depends if you drive it like you stole it, if you do, chuck some performance fluid and a cooler in.

Cheers,
Dann

Also top effort for taking the general thread drift and comments about dumb questions like an adult, even though they weren appropriate for you and you werent sure if they were aimed at you, many people ask legitimately dumb, time wasting questions and act selfish regarding the forums time and effort and then have a tantrum when its pointed out.

I rate your attitude 10/10, would help again

[hks_kansei]

Maintenance schedule in NA8 Owner's Manual only lists it as 'Inspect' every 20k kms or 2 years. Factory workshop manual might provide more detail. It's one of those things best specified by the owner if they want to be more certain it's been done.

If it's anything like brake fluid they probably have a little machine to test the boiling point.

Since the fluid is only about $10 a bottle it's easiest to just refill it every so often rather than spend the money on the machine.

[RileyR]

Lol thanks Dann.

Yea i drive it hard as often as i can, so ill definitely look into it and make sure i can afford it lol.
Im beginning to learn that chasing performance is an expensive and never ending game. But definitely worth it!



1996 BRG NA8

[Apu]

If you want a power steering cooler, I have an unused one for sale.

Additionally, if you are taking part in a lot of motorkhana events, I'd consider looking at your wheel alignment.

I've had my p/s removed on my NB, and with 8" wheels it was HEAVY! I recently had my setup changed (I don't have the details...didn't think to ask) and it is much lighter now. My guess is castor was reduced (it was maxed out previously) - that will help, but may not be great for turn in.

[madjak]

Are you referring to this topic or in general?

I checked the fluid, the car is maintained well, i asked people at the khana about it.

When is it acceptable to post a question?


1996 BRG NA8

A little pedantic I know but its best to post what you've already done to try and fix the problem as it helps with others solving the issue and shows you're not posting without thinking. This is the general main gripe newbies on public forums like this, where they post expecting help when they haven't bothered to try solving the issue themselves first. (not that I think it applies in this case)

Rick

[hks_kansei]

It depends on the driver, but for Motorkhana you really do want lighter steering.
Either a manual rack with lots of turns to be light, or a powered system.

Remember that in motorkhana you're oten steering with one hand while pulling the handbrake with the other, you want to be able to at least steer one handed.

The other issue is that unlike track racing etc you need to be aware of how the car acts when going backwards.
Manual racks (depending on the alignment etc) can give a LOT more kickback through the steering in reverse at speed.


I did a couple of events in my partner's NA6 (with a manual rack at the time) and while it was ok forwards, on any test with a reversing component (and especially when doing a throw) the manual rack would kick bloody hard. I almost broke my wrist on one test.
The power rack still kicks, but it's much less since the power system lightens it enough to not be an issue to the driver.

[Apu]

Yup, I'm not saying "de-power" the steering, but "adjusting caster can reduce steering effort required"...and I would assume, take load off the steering system at the same time.

[hks_kansei]

Yup, I'm not saying "de-power" the steering, but "adjusting caster can reduce steering effort required"...and I would assume, take load off the steering system at the same time.

Ahh, yep.

Sorry, I thought you were saying to remove the power steering.

[manga_blue]

MX5 power steering uses Dexron II or III auto transmission fluid (ATF). Mazda doesn't specify any change interval, just a level check at every service.

When full synthetic ATFs started to come onto the market a lot of manufacturers started specifying "filled for life" for auto trannies, transfer cases and power steering units. This turned out to be a mistake and most have gone back to 4yr/80,000kms or 5yr/100,000 intervals for synthetic ATF.

For something like a Falcon auto box that's the difference between a 120-150,000km and a 300-400,000km service life.

I've recently started doing a simple drain and refill on all our cars' gearboxes/transfercases/diffs at 4/80,000. I'm doing the P/S reservoirs at the same time. It's an extra 5 minutes work and 200ml of tyhe same fluid. Currently using Penrite ATF FS and finding that pretty good.

[tbro]

Bit of advice on Autotrans fluid for your P/S, don't use Synthetic fluids.
The correct product is ATF220 or Dexron 2D.
If you use synthetic fluids the seals will breakdown due to different lubricating properties between the different products.

Where the synthetic is slipperier it drys out the seals in the pump and rack. It won't happen overnight but it will happen.

T