hello to everyone i'm new here. I have a 1993 ls 400. I took it to get inspected and found out that i need a rack&pinion to pass because it was leaking very badly. So I purchased a aftermarket one and had it put in by a very good mechanic and my steering is a lot stiffer than it was.I went from steering with one finger to one hand sometimes two. When i turn corners it returns slow, I have to help it back. The mechanic said he thinks the inside of the rack is bad. By the way he flushed it completely two times. he checked it over and nothing is leaking. I contacted the manufacturer of the rack and they told me that the steering pump might be bad. they said that the pump should put out over 800 psi. I will be doing this soon as I get paid. Any suggestions would help. Oh by the way, when I purchased the car the pump was very whiny and still is but my mechanic said that its not the pump because it was working with the old rack. What are the possibilities, should I just switch the rack out and hope it was defective or try a new pump, or could it be the poer steering module, or......what could it be? I'm lost!!!!

 

Did your mechanic plug back in the solenoid on your rack? Not plugging this back in will cause VERY heavy steering. Don't ask me how I know... It can be seen in the first pic in this thread:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...ystem-diy.html

Your pump whine is due to air in the system, probably due to a bad o-ring on the bottom of the fluid reservoir. Pump whine won't necessarily cause heavy steering although enough air in the system can, but not as you describe. Make sure you have enough fluid in the system too.

Report back on whether or not the solenoid is unplugged or if your new rack even has one.

 

I will see tomorrow and report back

 

I had this problem on my car about a month ago, i changed the rack, pump and the pump belt, it went smooth but it would stiff sometimes, problem was, there was a big piece of dirt in my pump hose and once i cleaned that out along with some power steering oil, wheel spins with 1 finger. Good luck!