Civic 97 --- falining power steering

Hi guys,


For a couple of days I've been having weird issues with steering. When
I get in the car in the morning I noticed I could turn the steering
wheel either all the way to the right or to the left, but the car
would go in a straight line! I feels like driving on ice. I presume if
power steering failed, I would have to put more effort to steer, but
that's not the case---the steering wheel turns smoothly with no effort
at all. It's like standing on a patch of ice and turning the wheel.

The first time I noticed this it happened at an intersection
(thankfully, it wasn't a busy one). I was making a left turn but the
steering didn't obey and my car kept going straight. I hit the breaks,
and for some reason steering came back to normal.

This happens in the morning, and once this weirdness blows over, the
steering is fine for the rest of the day, even though the car just
sits on the parking lot at work.

The level of the power steering fluid is in norm. I checked it and it
wasn't contaminated or anything. I haven't changed this fluid since I
bought the car 4 years ago, and wonder of is freezes to some degree
during our cold NY nights. But car has only 72K miles, and my
maintenance manual doesn't say I need to change this fluid.

What can possibly cause this short loss of steering? It scares me to
death. Any help will be much appreciated.

 

hum....get it to a mechanics ASAP!!! I would not even get back in that car
even for a short distance just knowing the steering could give up.

 

Power assist only helps reduce the drivers effort. It can not
disconnect the steering wheel from the road wheels. I would not even
drive it to the dealer.