'98 SL2 PS problems

I've recently been blessed with a job that affords me the ability to
have enough extra cash to get the numerous issues with my car fixed,
and this particular one is of high annoyance:

In April of '04, I had my brakes done at a Midas shop. They checked all
my fluids for me as well, but forgot to place the PS cap on. Six months
later, I realize that I'm driving without a cap and that the fluid's a
nasty looking orange color. I do nothing about it. A few months later,
my steering starts to get...resistant. On cold mornings, my car
develops a very loud rattling noise. My steering performance at a dead
stop continues to worsen throughout that winter coming into '05. The
rattling also gets more prevalent, occuring on both warm and cold
mornings before the car itself warms up.

I bought a power steering cap this past spring (finally), so I no
longer leak fluid everywhere when I hit a bump, but my steering's just
as bad as ever. The fluid levels are fine, however it's still a dirty
orange color. The rattling and poor steering are definitely on my
nerves.

My car's steering works fine if I'm pressing the gas, but at a dead
stop or when I'm slowing down the performance goes right down the
toilet.

A friend of mine had mentioned that the pump would probably need to be
replaced, but I thought I'd post here to see what might also be causing
the problem, if anything.

1998 Saturn SL2 170k miles.

Thanks in advance!

 

[snip tale of driving *two*years* with PS fluid reservoir uncapped -- sheesh.]

If the pump is all that needs replacing, count your blessings. The dirty fluid
may have damaged the steering gear as well.

A new cap would have been a lot cheaper.

Good luck.

 

Lets not forget there are seals in your rack&pinion that could be worn
and damaged by foreign material that entered the system. A new pump
would be a good idea as well as a very thorough flush. The shaft seals
on these pumps tend to leak and after 170k you could of been due for a
new one if it was the original anyway.

 

In heaven's name, WHY NOT???

"Can't afford it" won't fly, either. The part is probably less than $10
from a Saturn dealer, almost certainly less than $2 at a junkyard -- and
even a piece of aluminum foil and a rubber band would've been
immeasurably better than leaving it WIDE OPEN FOR ANOTHER YEAR AND A
HALF after you found the problem.

Good grief. What were you thinking?

I trust this was not a surprise to you.

Just curious ... how much did it cost?

Steering gear box is probably ruined too... should've put a cap on there
the day you discovered it was missing...

 

Come on now. This just has to be a troll. Nobody that dumb could
figure out how to find this newsgroup.

 

Actually, I was that dumb and the childish remarks are doing nothing to
solve my problem.

So, what else might be ruined besides the pump?

Thanks!

Brandon

 

Two people have already told you that your steering gear is probably
toast also. And while you're replacing all that stuff, you might as well
replace the hoses, too.

Why didn't you put a new cap on, the day you discovered it was missing? Even a
piece of aluminum foil and a rubber band would have been better than leaving
it open.

 

Sorry to hear about your problems, I agree with the rest of the posters that
you probably have a pretty badly contaminated system and will need at least
to change the fluid and probably the pump. Try the fluid first..what do you
have to lose? In the future..replace any missing parts ASAP.!

I am encouraged by the 170k miles your SL2 has..I just bought a used 98 SL2
with 87k for the kids to drive, and I wasn't all that sure about the
longetivity of Saturns, but maybe we will have this one around for a while.
What issues have you seen in 170K miles?