What it mean if the steering wheel is hard to turn?

Do you know what does it mean if the steering wheel is hard to turn? When turning right or left the steering wheel is hard or stiff. The possible reason for this is a faulty valve assembly.

When you turn your car the steering wheel feels hard and stiff even when the car is power steering.

Diagnosing hard steering wheel

If your car is a power steering and is rack and pinion type it has major components called the control valve. The purpose of the control valve is to direct a pressurized power steering fluid to either left or right if you turn the steering wheel to make the car going to the left or to the right.

If you turn the car to the left the control valve will apply left pressure to the steering components which make it for the car to easily steer, likewise, if you turn the car to the right the control valve will apply pressure to the right steering components. But if the control valve assembly is a malfunction or one of its components have the problem the steering wheel will become hard to steer or stiff, this usually happens when the engine is cold and will start to steer easily if the engine is warmed up.

Possible cause of the problem 
The control valve assembly is a malfunction

What to do? 

If you encounter such a problem just wait for the engine to warm up then bring the car to the repair shop then asks the mechanic to replace the control valve assembly.

Power Steering Intermittently Stiff

In the case of heavy steering, the following phenomena should be considered. These are the cases that the steering is heavy throughout the operation, this means the power steering does not function at all, the steering becomes suddenly heavy when fully turned this means the belt slip.

Learn more: Power Steering Intermittently Stiff

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What causes my steering wheel to shake at high speed?