My mechanic changed a part on my rack, he called it a spool valve but it looks like a round piece of metal with a spring. He said it moves side to side when u turn the steering wheel. Can someone tell me what exactly it does and are there any adjustments which can be made to the setup. reason is, i cant remember my steering problem being so bad before he changed the "spool" valve. could it be too tight?

 

The spool valve controls pressure in the power steering system. When you turn the steering wheel, the pinion gear (located at the end of the steering column) turns. The spool valve detects this and routes pressure accordingly. If your steering isn't working properly and you paid a professional mechanic to fix it, you shouldn't have to worry about why it doesn't work. Go back to the mechanic and say this doesn't work, fix it. Don't tell him that you want him to adjust the spool valve or anything else. Tell him its broken, fix it. I paid you to fix my problem and you didn't. Also, i don' think the spool valve can be adjusted. The book I looked up spool valves in doesn't mention that they can be adjusted at all. I'm just wondering, how much did you pay to have the spool valve changed? A new rack costs $200.00 and from the picture it seems that the spool valve is located inside the rack.

 

The thing is, I don't go to that mechanic anymore due to bad service habits. Other people I asked are completely stumped since other cars don't carry a similar valve eg. toyota. I asked another garage if they will be willing to look at it. But from my driving the car, I seem to be having inconsistent pressure in the steering system. Thats why I was wondering if the valve could be adjusted or if there is some other way to regulate the pressure in the rack.

 

Do you know if the spool valve the mechanic replaced is inside the Rack or inside the Power Steering pump? If its inside the rack, it might be easier (not neccissarily cheaper) to change out the whole rack so you don't have to deal with it. I think autozone sells them for $200+core charge with a lifetime warranty.

 

The valve was inside the rack, right now I can't afford to buy a new rack. Do you think flushing the fluid and adding new one may help the problem? The car is a 97 civic coupe but I don' t think the steering fluid has ever been changed. I was to look at my cheaper solutions first.

 

You could try bleeding the steering system. I'm pretty sure its a hydraulic system and if there is air in the lines, it might cause problems. There is a bleeder scew on top of the rack. I think you loosen the bleeder screw and add fluid into the PS reservoir. Should be the same as bleeding brakes.

 

will do and let you know. thanks

 

It's not about being able to afford a steering rack, it's about what happens if it is the rack and it fails while going 55...

 

Y ea I know its dangerous but I just want to troubleshoot all the other stuff first before I commit myself to buying a rack. Just in case it was something else.

 

I know this is a tangent to your question, but I was just wondering, Darkon or anybody else, how did you know your steering rack was bad/needed fixed?

I ask b/c my rack squeaks only when its really cold and dry outside, but never anytime else. Extremely small PS fluid seep to over the pass side boot, just wondering, b/c w/ 247K on it I dont want it to fall apart like roto said...