So I parked my SC for about 8 months in my sister's garage while I messed with my new Z4. Turns out that letting the car sit was a terrible thing to do because a bunch of things went bad during those eight months.

The first to go was the battery. Then my brake fluid dropped below the minimum level. I flat spotted my tires. My windshield wipers keep getting stuck. Now my car makes a groaning noise when I turn either way.

The power steering fluid level was low, so I climbed under the car. After I took the under belly shield off I saw there was fluid all over the undercarriage. Checking the reservoir hoses first, I figured out the leak was below that. I checked the Power Steering Turning assist Valve and that looked good also. Finally I cleaned up all the fluid, refilled the reservoir and let it sit over night. It looks like there MIGHT be a drip from the power steering pump valve which I changed like 4 years ago. But it would be a very small leak. I let the car sit for a week and drove it this weekend. The car groans when I turn. Doesn't matter if I turn left or right. The Power Steering fluid is filled.

Part of me thinks it might be dried struts, but the realistic part of me says that leaking PS fluid and groaning while turning is related.

Any Ideas?

 

can you make a video or recording of the groan?
just wondering if it’s a PS pump noise or something else

 

Probably his ball joints dried up. It's time to think about the "needle". Shoot some new silicone in the rubber cover and drive it gently. But that's just a guess of course.

Paul

 

When it's time to change the diff fluid in my Pilot, it will moan.

Just a thought.

 

Could be a lot of things, but just thinking out loud: the car was fine when it went into storage. What could happen to the steering system during storage? Sounds like you lost power steering fluid due to a leak. With a low fluid level, maybe air got into the system. An easy thing to do would be to bleed the power steering system and see if that helps.

You flat-spotted the tires. Would that cause a groaning sound while turning? Likely not.

Is the drive belt okay? Is there any way that fluid could have gotten on the belt, from the leak?

I put my car into storage for the winter and I'm holding my breath. It will be there for about 4 months. I removed the battery and brought it home and put it on a trickle charger. I am worried about flat-spotting the tires. The car is sitting on gravel, rather than concrete and I hope that might reduce the possibility of that problem. I'm storing it in a friend's barn. He told me a cat "patrols" the barn. I'm hoping he keeps the rodents away. A car is meant to be driven.

Have you found out why the brake fluid was low and your wipers are sticking?

 

No, not yet. It's been cold here and I find it hard to get motivated to lay on a cold garage floor. But my guess is that the wiper transmission got dust in the pivots. I hope some lube will resolve that.