My car has been the devil towards me. I recently got my car back from the shop where the whole engine was torn down, a shifting arm was replaced. A new (used) computer was installed because the guy disconnected the battery and fried the darn thing. It's shifting wonderfully, and I'm so happy to have a manual back. I drive a 1999 New Beetle.

Here is my new problem, because my car cannot go a day without having a problem. My steering is very tight. It's as if I have no power steering at times. I checked the reservoir for the power steering fluid and the mechanic filled it to the max line. The reservoir was so overfilled so I took enough fluid to bring it back down to the minimum line. According to this VW Beetle book the fluid levels should not exceed more than 2 ml higher than the minimum line when the engine is cold. So by removing this is helped the steering a bit, except for when I made tight turns, like pulling into a parking space.

My question is: Do I need to do a complete flush on the power steering fluid? My father believes that since there was too much fluid it created pressure and bubbles in lines that contributed to this. Will driving the car just eventually clear it out, and fix the problem or is there something else I should do? I have never had a problem with the steering before so this part is all new to me.

I'd appreciate any suggestions on what to do, because lighting my car on fire is not an option.


Thanks so much

Colleen

 

Yeah. A flush should be good. There is probably air pockets, that got trapped inside the steering system. That's why the system is not working properly and overfilling it can cause problems too...
Hope this helps.