100 series: Heavy Steering

I broke the belt on mine and you would know if it was that, but just before it broke the steering did seem to get heavy so it may be worth checking the condition of the belt. Also have you asked a toyota dealer for their opinion (even by phone) maybe it's a pump giving you grief??? I always thought the steering was light in mine.

Cheers Trevor.

My HJ60 had power steering, as does my 80 series. No difference really, and I wouldnt expect strife with a well maintained 100.

This might sound silly but it happened on my 80 series. The lower hub swivel on one side suffered 2 missing nuts on the retainer plate and one stud broke off. The retainer plate was nearly right off with the bearing attached. Steering got a bit heavy really quickly. Probably not your problem but worth a look. If it is faulty you will see it easily.

Here's another thought on the subject...our first 100 series was a '98 and it was a little heavier in the steering than the mid eighties HJ-60's. An explantion might be that the HJ-60 had the old style power steering similar to the old Chev's of the '60's and 70's. That is, all assistance for maximum benefit for low speed parking etc...but no bleed off at higher engine revs meant that they had a less positive road feel.

Later innovations had a pressure bleed off valve to give more road feel at cruising speeds.

To exacerbate the difference, the HJ-60 also had a slightly bigger diameter steering wheel to the 100 series. This would give more assistance via the gearing advantage of a larger diameter steering wheel.

Anyway...it might be food for thought.

Cheers all
Rick & Julie

Worth checking the front tyre pressure on the 100. Bumping it up a bit may help.

Might just be the vehicle- I know all the work 100's are much heavier than my 80's steering, and the 45 I had before that was a joke- you could flick the wheel and it would spin 2 turns.
On the 45 there was a nut on the side of the p/s pump to make it a little heavier/looser- you could try looking for something like that on your p/s box

What about the steering damper (shocker on the front steering arm) ???????
Check that out....
cheers.