club.liberty.asn.au

Hi Guys,

I've a Subaru Liberty 2.5i Gen5 (2010-2011 year).

I hear knocking sounds when I turn the steering wheel on the right and left. Usually this happens when the car is cold.
After about 10 minutes leaving the car engine running, it gets normal and I can drive okay.

When I did major service few years ago, the mechanic put a note on the service report i.e. "P/S Suction hose condition HARD".
He asked me to monitor the steering wheel but nothing to do immediately.

It's been few years and since last year this problem is more visible now.
When I looked under the bonnet, I can see that the steering wheel pully makes noise and doesn't rotate on full steering wheel turn.

My local mechanic shop said that it could be the steering pump issue and I should see a specialized steering wheel mechanic.

Can you please refer a good honest mechanic who can look at the steering wheel issues? (I am in eastern creek, Sydney area)

Also if anyone has experienced this before, can you please give me price indication of:

• Replacing the suction hose?
• Replacing/repairing the pump?

Thanks

ALL power steering inlet hoses between the fluid reservoir and the ps pump get hard and brittle with age.
The action of the hot power steering fluid, heat and age leech the softening volatile compounds from the rubber and the rubber goes hard.

CorgiWerx recommend replacing the suction hose when replacing the power steering pump.

You say "Knocking"
Do you feel the "Knocking" through the steering wheel?
If the :knocking" is steering related, you should feel it through the steering wheel.

An issue with the power steering pump would cause drop-outs of power assistance with momentary hardening of the steering.

You say "I can see that the steering wheel pully makes noise and doesn't rotate on full steering wheel turn.?
Do you mean that the power steering pump pulley makes noise and that the power steering pump does not rotate on full steering wheel turn?
I have seen this before where the 5PK belt on the PS Pump/Alternator is just worn out and requires replacement. Even tensioning the belt does not work as the grooves on the belt are worn and the belt is bottoming in the pulley grooves.
Examine the condition of the drive belt and replace if necessary and tension correctly.

Alos make sure that all bolts securing the PW Pump to the mounting bracket are tight and that the mounting bracket is also securely fastened to the engine block.

By the way, the steering wheel in the cabin of teh car, the power steering pump is on teh top of the engine under the bonnet.

If the :knocking" is steering related, you should feel it through the steering wheel.

Yes, steering wheel jerks/vibrates and I could not pull out the car from curb side parking.
But once, car runs for few minutes and it is warm enough, then no issue (only feel very minor issue when parking again with full wheel turn.

You say "I can see that the steering wheel pully makes noise and doesn't rotate on full steering wheel turn.?

I've made the video and posted here https://vimeo.com/786468287

see the pulley noise and rotation at 00:03 seconds.

P.S. Thanks for all the information. My car mechanical knowledge is almost zero as I work in IT industry
that's why I was asking for a reference who can look at this issue and fix and does not cost an arm & a leg.

OK, so the issue was the PS suspension hose. After replacing the hose, the problem has went away and steering wheel feels much lighter.

PS Steering hose cost was 110$ from Subaru parts and my mechanic replaced it.

Suction hose?

bigBADbenny wrote:Suction hose?

Yes, suction hose not suspension hose

Although steering wheel is lighter now but problem still persist.

I’ve spoken to steering wheel mechanic he recommends to replace the O ring and hose clamps which I didn’t.

Our was knocking on down pipe