Questioni have a 2000 bmw 323i coupe. i bought it on ebay with 60k miles from a very credible dealer and it is in overall great condition. i was rear ended at a very low speed (10-15 mi/hr). after that i noticed a grinding noise while turning. i'm thinking the 2 are not connected. i can't find where to put the power steering fluid in. i read a previous answer about it being next to the oil reservoir but i know nothing about cars and don't want to put power steering fluid somewhere it shouldn't be. any more detail that can be provided or internet sites you can provide? i bought a manual from the dealership but it doesn't show where it is.
i brought it in to the dealership and they said the lines had a leak and they replaced them but the problem persisted. they said they drove it but didn't hear anything b/c at that point it wasn't constant, which it is now. i forgot to ask where the power steering goes. also, when the car bounces up and down somewhat i hear a very slight grinding type of noise.
now the car has 87k mi on it and i haven't put fluid in. a few minutes ago i was pulling in to a parking lot and ran over a brick with my front right tire. again not sure this is connected. had no problems when pulling in the spot after that besides the usual grinding noise. when i got back in the car and started it up i had to use all of my strength to turn the wheel the slightest bit and it won't turn at all when stopped. it just seems odd that it stopped all of a sudden. there wasn't any real progression in the rigidness of the wheel turning, all of a sudden it was almost impossible to turn.
so:
can you tell me with a little more detail where the power steering fluid reservoir is and what kind of fluid to use?
do you think this is more than just a power steering problem?
and what you think i can do to fix the problem? if i put power steering fluid in, will this alleviate the problem at all, will it take a while to take effect, ...?
what could i do after putting fluid in to help?
Thanks in advance.
AnswerJames, reservoir is black and round bottle next to the hexagonal oil filter housing cap on front of the motor. Remove the cap and the dipstick is on the under side of cap the Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF) level should be between the two hash marks on the stick. If fluid level is correct and still no powersteering function, no system leaks, or continued grinding noise you will need to replace the power steering pump. The LF20 pump on your car is not a great execution in engineering and was replaced by the LF30 pump. (LF sticker will be on the body of the pump). To retrofit to the later style pump you will also need to buy a pressure hose due to different fittings. Take car back to the dealer and let them diagnosis it, but this is most likely what you are up against. If the pump runs low on fluid for any length of time is will become damaged (grinding noise). Keep your reciepts from the dealer service on record. Power steering leaks are common and if it should return within two years you may get a parts warranty in the future if same components are failing. This is one advantage of going to the dealer.
-Evan
