chriswit1

Hello,
I am new to this forum, and I have read so many threads on the power steering and I cant seem to pin-point my issue. So I thought I would run this by you guys and hopefully someone can help me out.

I just got a 2009 audi a4 2.0t quattro. 90k miles. automatic

The power steering is on and off hard at slow speeds, and seems to go a few turns fine, and then have a few hard spots to turn through every once in a while. and the issue is getting worse and worse. If i turn the wheel all the way and hold it turn the engine on and off a few times. it fixes the issue for a while. There are no noises, or clicks, whiles or any issues while driving at speed. No noises from the suspension at all. there is no fluid in the boot of the rack, and the fluid does move in the reservoir while running a little bit, but not much.

the fluid does look rather dark and smelly, and I thought that it could just need a simple flush, but I dropped the car off today and they just called and said it is a bad front steering knuckle, and it would be very expensive to repair. but that seems odd as when the issue stops for a while, the car handles and turns wonderfully.

also, none of the forums I have read say anything about this knuckle when diagnosing my issue.

So I was wondering if that made any sense?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

chriswit1

So, an update...

I was reading many forums regarding the steering knuckle, aka U joint at the bottom of the steering shaft. And I read a toyota forum regarding almost the same identical issue, with the exact same problem, and someone had posted how a little wd40 one day, and some good grease the next can solve the issue. Well I located the u-joint, and lubed it up and greased it while someone worked the wheel back and forth, and It has been almost a week, and the car feels completely back to normal, and it hasn't hung up or had a hard steering spot once. We will see how long it lasts, but its a hell of a lot better than the $900.00 the dealer wanted to charge. So I thought I would post and hopefully this will help someone who might encounter this issue. Now at least I can take some time to order the part and attempt to DIY, or at least have my indie mechanic swap it out at a later date.

Thanks