Hey Corvette Fam,
I was driving my C6 Z06 today with about 78,000 miles. I was pulling into a parking lot and I heard like a pop/click noise when I turned the steering wheel to the right to get around a corner I heard 2 more click/pops when I turned the steering wheel to the right and left while moving forward at about 5mph-10mph to confirm the noise and it happened a total of 3 times.

After the clicks I noticed my steering got substantially heavier and there were no more clicks. I checked the power steering fluid and it still had some but I do need to double check it.
I recently had a shock and steering knuckle replaced so I wonder if the parts may have been faulty or installation was done incorrectly. I didn’t really hit any speed bumps or pot holes.
I already messaged the technician to see what he says and I hope I don’t have to pay for more repairs…

Is there anything I should check?
Any feedback/insight would be nice.

Thank you so much

 

I have never personally had this problem, but based on what you said, here's the first things I'd do to try and diagnose it. It's possible that something in the power steering pump failed. It's uncommon, but can still happen. A possible/easy way to check would be to take off your serpentine belt and spin the power steering pulley by hand. If something inside has started failing it may make some grinding or clunking noises. Similar to how you'd check for a bad water pump.

The "pop/click" while turning at low speeds is usually symptoms of a bad wheel hub assembly (wheel bearing), but it wouldn't cause heavy steering. I don't think this is your initial issue, but you may have only noticed the click when looking for this. Either way, a quick/easy way to check for a bad wheel hub is to raise the suspect wheel off the ground and try rocking the wheel side to side. If it has play then it's a possible bad hub.

Good luck!

 

Thanks for the reply VettedofSD

I have not heard any other noises other than the 3 intial clicks and I have taken it out for probably around a 60 miles. I also havn't took off the belt since I didn't hear any other noises since the initial clicks. The wheel bearings feel great and I don't feel any play when rocking the wheel.

This is not my daily and I havn’t been driving it as much since this happened, however I did take it to my mechanic at the Tracy CA Chevy Dealership for a test drive and he said that the power steering is definitely only providing limited assist.



I study how to work on cars & work on several other cars and I am getting tired of spending money on a mechanic, but since this is my most expensive car that I bought, and I bought it from a stranger recently, I just feel better having an technician who has at least at least a decade of experience with Corvettes at GM/Chevy review/repair the car as needed.



I am planning on having this repaired within a week or 2 and the tech told me if the part is covered by warranty (Power steering pump) the labor may not be covered. He also mentioned that it is rare for power steering pumps to go out.

To avoid the labor fee, how hard is changing the power steering pump? I do have some experience working on pressurized systems



My fluid was dark but not leaking (I should probably drain and refill per Alldata & see if it helps).



Any way I am posting this as a status update.

 

Never had to change one out myself but I have had to remove a few during other work on my Corvettes. I would not hesitate doing this myself. The pump is located on the front, top of the engine on the drivers side and is pretty easy to get to. Hardest part is probably getting enough room to get all the bolts out to remove the pump.

If you can turn a wrench and know how to read, there are plenty of how-to videos on how to change it out.

 

There were some threads a few years back about the rack itself failing.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-failures.html
The pumps also fail, mine went out at Laguna mid-session... but the clicking noise sounds more like what's being described with the rack failing.
Pump isn't that hard to change. You'll need a P/S pulley tool, Harbor Freight sells a dandy little one for a few bucks.

 

Hi Nowanker,
I sure hope that the steering rack is NOT the issue, I only heard the clicks he first time the steering got heavy but I am not sure.

I have 255/35 ZR19 (96y) in the front & P335/25 ZR20 (96y) in the rear.

I have been interested in getting smaller rims such as 18 in the front and 19 in the rear, as an extra set of wheels, A benfit from the smaller/lighter wheels may be less strain on a weak steering rack. I wonder if I should avoid sharp turns while moving slowly, while I drive with my ZR19 and ZR20 wheels.

I think I can replace the Power Steering Pump on my own, but would the steering rack be a service worth attempting to DIY?

I am going to try and do a little more research on how to diagnose whatever is malfunctioning.

 

Reading back through some of those old threads, seemed like LG was running stock racks on their race cars without issue.
P/S pressure gauges would be the 'right' way to diagnose a bad pump. Other than seeing them (unused) in trade school and (also unused) at various dealerships....
My steering got hard mid-session at the track, I rolled the dice and changed the pump first because it was cheaper. There might be some electrical tests you could make on the rack, or maybe not.
Good luck, let us know what you find!

 

I spoke to the Chevy Tech which I usually got to and he agreed that it was the power steering pump. I am going to hold off on this repair since the car still drives really well.

I'll post any updates as they come up.

 

My GS was having similar issues, unplug the harness and plug it back in