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January

AUTO REPAIR: Power Steering

Written by Carman. No comments Posted in: Uncategorized

How important is your power steering?  Is it a costly car repair if power steering goes out? What exactly does it do?  Why would you ever call it “power steering”?  These are common questions, made all the more common by the nature of our generation, and the fact that we have had power steering in all available vehicles now for at least two generations.  Younger people of this decade, and even older people now do not remember a time that they were not riding or driving in a car without power steering.

More accurately, you would call what we term “power steering” in a more correct sense “power assisted steering”.  Power steering works by assisting the driver of an automobile in the act of steering.  Modern power steering systems, and really all power steering systems ever invented, in one way or another, all achieve this by directing some of the vehicle’s engine-generated power to the steering system of the vehicle.  On the vast majority of road going vehicles today, there has to be what is called a “mechanical linkage” as a fail-safe. While this was invented in the early part of the 20th century, automotive engineers for all major car makers have implemented this now standard feature across a variety of auto technologies.

In power steering, the earliest patent known to exist was that by Frederick W. Lanchester in the UK, in early February, 1902. His purpose for his invention was to “cause the steering mechanism to be actuated by hydraulic power”.  The next known power steering design was filed by Klara Gailis, from Belmont, Massachusetts, as recorded by the US Patent Office on August 30, 1932.  Another inventor, American Charles F. Hammond,  is credited with the invention, at least on this side of the pond,  of power steering.  Born in Detroit, Hammond worked on the first known power steering system in the United States.

Francis W. Davis was an engineer in the truck division of Pierce Arrow.  In 1926, he began exploring how car steering could be made easier, and after much work, Davis demonstrated the first power steering system.  He moved over to the engineering department of General Motors and began work to refine the hydraulic-assisted power steering system that they had at the time, but GM calculated that it would be too expensive to try to produce. Davis then went to Bendix, who was then a parts manufacturer for automakers. The military needs arising during World War II for steering that was easier on heavy vehicles boosted the need for power assistance on vehicles such as armored cars and tank-recovery vehicles for use in both the British and American armies.

In 1951, the Chrysler Corporation rolled out the first commercially available power steering system in a passenger car, available on the 1951 Chrysler Imperial.  Put out under the name “Hydraguide”, the new Chrysler system was based on some of the Davis patents that had expired. Then, in 1952, General Motors introduced to the world the 1952 Cadillac, which had a power steering system.  Again, this system was implemented using the work Davis had done for the company almost twenty years earlier.4

Most new vehicles you see on the road now have power steering, with the trends moving toward front wheel drive, wider tires, and greater vehicle mass. These all increase the effort required to steer the vehicle, which would be nearly impossible without a good power steering system.

The important part of maintaining a power steering system really boils down to checking fluids.  If your power steering fluid runs low or is old, your power steering pump will have to work harder, or can even wear significantly more quickly.  All of this contributes to your power steering pump wearing out much more quickly.  To keep this from happening, check your fluids regularly and replace any hoses or any other part that may wear out.  Of course, living in Austin, TX with its heat will wear out any hose you have much faster, so be sure to see your local auto repair professional for checkups or any updates on more complex power steering systems you may have.


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