Driving an '88 951S. On occasion, my power steering will cut out, but only in situations such as making a u-turn at a signal, or pulling into a parking lot or driveway. There is no warning, and after a few panicky seconds, it returns. Any ideas?

 

Belt may be loose or fluid low.

 

# 1. Loose belt. Check all bolts, replace belt and tighten adjuster. (save yourself the headache and replace the belt. If it has slipped and it glazed no amount of tightening will help.

Step #2 - Drain all the fluid from the reservoir, replace with new fluid (Dexron ATF not PS fluid), work steering side to side to release bubbles, drain the fluid again, refill, work again, top off and go.

Step #3 (if 1 and 2 fail) Consider PS pump rebuild kit or change PS pump.

P.S. Step #1 and #2 solved mine, but I was ready for step #3 in case.

 

Dont forget about the suction line collapsing internaly.

 

never heard about the suction line collapsing but i'd believe it- mine did that somewhat - i pulled the cooler line and blew some compressed air through- seems the cooler was clogged up pretty good. After that i had super sweet ps.