Pontiac: I have a few more problems, friction clutch, teflon ball


Question
I have a 1987 Pontiac 6000 SE that steers very hard to the right. The power steering fluid level is full and it`s very easy when turning to the left but very hard when turning to the right. I also have a manual window that won`t work still and my front passenger seat belt won`t move at all. I looked it up in Chilton but that didn`t really help me much. If you could give me specific instructions on how to fix these problems it would be greatly appreciated.

Answer
As for the rack, I had that problem with my '83 6000 LE YEARS ago.  A new rack fixed the problem.  Unfortunately it will be several hundred dollars with labor and all.  The siad it was something about the seals in the rack, basically meaning it's inner parts were not retaining the pressure flow where it was supposed to, so that's why in a certain direction whether it be right or left the rack will loose pressure in the chamber that PUSHES the rack to the desired side, and that pressure just relieves itself into the next by chambers.  There's not much else you can do about this problem except for rebuilding the rack or getting a rebuilt or new one.  It's not worth your money though to rebuild it.
If you are a good with cars it is possible you could do the rack switch yourself, it's not that bad.

As for the window.  I have yet to experience a STUCK enough manual window for me to really fool with it to get it loose, but from what I've seen in manuals, there is some sort of friction clutch that holds the window in its position so it doesn't fall down.  I believe the clutch is greased, but old grease can go bad and get REALLY sticky.  In most cases I believe the whole gear drive/clutch mechanism is riveted to the door.  You'd have to bust the rivets loose and take out the mechanism from the door somehow so you can work on it easily, because it's impossible to do much while the mechanism is in the window.  I'm sure taking it out, cleaning it out and using some teflon ball joint grease.  I use slick 50 ball joint grease for my ball joints and it works well anywhere you need grease even with plastic, because it's teflon.

EVERY once in a while my 6000 and my Fiero will have a STUCK seatbelt condition and the only way to loosen mine is to open the door, at least on the 6000 there is a BUTTON on the pillar that is next to the seat belt mechanism, that tells it to loosen the notch to stop the belt.  I've noticed on my 6000 that it sticks.  Old oil/grease is probably what causes the sticking so cleaning out the little notch/ratchet mechanism should alleviate the problem.  My problem is not very bad so I haven't worried about it but I know the problem is that it stays in the STUCK condition, like if it had a lot of forward momentum and causes the ratchet thing to LOCK, and then it never returned.  Most new cars are sensitive enough so that a REALLY hard braking situation will cause lock up.  Just take off the pillar cover on the inside and see if you can take out the whole seat belt mechanism.  I'm pretty sure it is that ratchet/lock system that is sticking, that's what it is on mine.