Home > categories > Consumer Electronics > Power Banks > I crashed my car in to a snow bank and lost power steering.?
Question:

I crashed my car in to a snow bank and lost power steering.?

Does anyone know what happened? I added power steering fluid and that did not work. Is there any solution to this that can be done without going to an auto-body? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Answer:

Did the power steering fluid stay in or did it leak out somewhere? Look for broken hoses or connections. Is there snow or ice stuck in the engine compartment somewhere causing things to not work? You may have mangled something in the steering column. The steering column is in the engine compartment (its usually a big cylinder thing that lines up with with the steering wheel) Do the tires look straight? you might have bent an axel and it just seems like a power steering problem.
Yeah I would stick my head underneath the car and check the powering pump and pulley.
Pull it out of the snow bank. See if the belt is off the power steering pump. Is the pulley bent on the pump? Damaged or crushed hydraulic lines on the PS pump? It sounds like you damaged it and will need some repairs. When snow and ice on the road, do like we do in the Southern US.Stay home, call in sick, watch TV, and drink beer.
If your not a mechanic then you should really go see one. Get a diagnosis. The power steering pump is usually high on an engine and closer to the firewall/dash than the front of your car. After towing hundreds of cars from accident scenes I find that most of the time there is some kind of suspension damage that occurs. If you have a ball joint that is damaged they often times come apart on the road when you combine speed with steering. If there is a joint connecting a tie rod that is blocked or damaged then the power steering will force the wheel to turn but it may feel like the power steering is out. Unless you know what the suspension and steering components are supposed to look like undamaged it may be difficult to detect the problem just by looking at it.
Check to make sure that the belt did not come off. Does the fluid leak out as soon as you put it in? If so, check the hoses coming from the pump to see if one is leaking. If it's NOT leaking anywhere, then what's most likely happened is that one of the hoses has been kinked or crushed somewhere along the line, preventing fluid from getting to the steering box. If your car has cooling lines going into a small radiator that's mounted in front of the car's regulator, then THAT could have been crushed.If your car has rack pinion steering, maybe one of the lines going to the rack was bent or crushed. Either way, it's very doubtful that you need to go to a body shop. Any regular mechanic will almost certainly be able to diagnose repair your problem.

Share to: