power steering on focus tight

trixyben

Me brother just bought a 04 focusjust had a drive of it there lunch time, the steering seems to be pretty tight on it i think ya have ta put a bit of muscle into turning the wheel dont think it should be as hard to turn, power steering fluid is full what would ya say is the problem? is the power steering pump bout to pack in? if i drained the fluid and refilled with new fluid would that make much difference?

any help would be great cheers

illegalpower

Steering rack could be damaged or even a seized steering linkage balljoint. Dont think a fluid change would help. Is the fluid very dirty. Have a look at the aux drive belt when engine is running to see if it's slipping

Atlantic Dawn

My guess is there's a problem with the powersteering and previous owner has disabled the warning light. Check does a power steering light, it's either p/s or a steering wheel icon show when he turns on the ignition, if it doesn't it has been disabled as it should show with all the others first time you turn the key.

Nissan doctor

They have hydraulic power steering so wouldn't normally have a warning light.

OP, The Focus is prone to power steering pipe failure/leakage and if this happens and is repaired, there can still be longer term damage done to the pump.