Heavy steering

Used my Jimny today and had to use 4wd due to snow but since then the steering feels very heavy particulary when using a lot of lock whilst traveling slow thats both turning left and right. There is no light on the dash showing that 4wd is engaged and it doesnt drive like it is when travelling in a straight line. Never done this before anyone any ideas what might be the fault before i resort to taking it to a mechanic. Changed the n/side cv joint the other week but had driven ok until now.

I got a feeling your hubs are stuck in the locked position.

Supergaz may be right. You should hear them un-lock when you take it out of 4wd. Put the window down and listen , they will click when you engage 4wd and then click when you disengage. Prehaps try putting it in 4wd then out of 4wd a few times to try and un-stick them. It might work.

Nobby

Cheers for that, when I do put it in 4wd I can feel the difference and when I take it out there is a major difference but the steering is still heavy

Thanks for the advice, Checked for the engaging/disengaging noise and whilst doing so found a thick red fluid on the dif. This looks to have blown onto the dif from a pipe running under the radiator from the offside to the nearside. Looks to be power steering fluid leaking from the pipe which has corroded probably causing pressure loss in the system. Would it be safe to get a second hand pipe from a breakers or buy a new one (any idea of suppliers)

I decided to resurrect this thread instead of starting a new one, as I have the same issue.


After doing plenty of muddy offroading during the last week, I traveled back home for 200 km on some rather twisty mountain tarmac roads. I did not wash the car in the meantime as I had nowhere to do so. After approx 100 km of twisty travel, I began to notice that my steering got rather heavy (I was in 2WD).

Notice: It wasn't nearly as heavy as when the power steering pump is off (I know that case, as I drove one Jimny for a few hundred meters with the power steering pump off).

I stopped, engaged 4WD, drove a little, then disengaged (just to be sure that my hubs are not stuck). But the steering was still rather heavy, approximately twice as heavier than normal (we all know how light Jimny's steering is).

When I reached the first town after approx 30 km, I stopped for 15 minutes with the car off, and checked the level of power steering fluid and if the belt is tensioned. I also visually checked under the body. No problems whatsoever.

When I continued my travel after that, the steering was normal again!
But after another approx 50 km, the steering became heavy again until the end of my journey.

I drove the car again the next day, and the steering was heavy from the start. I washed the car's underbody thoroughly (it was only moderately muddy underneath), but the steering remained heavy even after that, and it still is.

My wife, who drives the car only occasionally, does not notice the difference, but I definitely do as I drive it regularly.


Does anyone have any idea on what could be the cause?



The weird situation is that I was just about to install a steering damper next week (to obtain heavier and less twitchy steering), but this issue seems to have "fulfilled my wish" for free! It's just not the way that I would like to be fulfilled!
Just imagine if I had installed the steering damper a couple weeks before, I would not have noticed the emergence of this issue.