2001 Legacy- 2 separate questions regarding steering and rear rotor

[jaredb3000]

Greetings USMB,

 

A friend I am staying with has a 2001 subaru legacy sedan, with a few problems I am trying to repair. The first being what I want to call (for lack of proper terminology) a rotor cover:

 

She thought it may have been bad brakes because of a metal on metal sound, however the rotor wear is not abnormal and the pads look just about new. The culprit is the metal "cover" behind the rotor, some of the bottom was rusted enough so that it was slightly contacting the rotor. My main questions around this are whether or not it would be ok to just remove the rusted out portion, as 90% of this is still in tact, or if it a must to replace this with a new one. If so- what is this called exactly, and is it pretty straight forward to take off/replace?

 

Secondly, when I drove the car to turn it around the steering felt as if there was no power steering in the car- when I inquired, she said this is only the case when running the car cold (i.e. first start in the morning, whereas once driving it around, it feels fine. I'm inclined to think this is a p.s. pump issue, but I've never had to deal with this in a car I've owned before. There is fluid in the reservoir, no fluid loss to speak of. Is the steering rough when cold scenario indicative of a bad pump, or something else in particular?

 

Thanks USMB, any and all input is appreciated, as always.

Edited December 10, 2010 by jaredb3000

[gbhrps]

The rusted metal section is called a stone guard. Its function is to prevent stones/gravel from getting in between the brake pad and rotor. Its not an item that you need to be concerned about, unless you feel the need to have the car 100%. I sure wouldn't be concerned if the car was mine.

 

As for the power steering problem, this is not normal. It may be that the power steering system needs to be properly flushed and refilled, or that there is air that is in the system that needs to be purged.

 

Normally after a power steering service, the front end of the car is jacked up with the wheels off the ground. The steering wheel is then turned full lock right and then full lock left several times to purge the air out of the system. This may be all that your car requires. If not, then you need to have a service technician check the system out.

 

Someone else may have another idea for you as well. Good Luck!

[jaredb3000]

Cool,

 

Thanks grhrps. Having done some more research on power steering systems in general, it sounds like a flushing of steering system might be in order due to some water in the system (the most common culprit being the addition of fluid from an open bottle that had been opened for some time). This car was in florida for a couple years, and apparently it did not do this down there, and the problems only arose after moving further north once it started getting cold.

 

With front end jacked up, would that be with the reservoir cap off? I'll do my homework in the USMB archives. Nice to know I wont be replacing the stone guard if I don't have to!

Edited December 10, 2010 by jaredb3000

[Ross]

Stone guards are silly things anyway. I run my suzuki 4wd without them, otherwise they pretty much constantly get stones stuck between them and the disc!

 

I'd say they might help prevent water getting splashed on the discs too though, which may be something worth thinking about on a road car -- My suzuki goes everywhere on a trailer, so I'm not so concerned.

[jaredb3000]

Thanks Ross.

 

A quick elaboration on the steering question- how tricky is the rack replacement, which when going bad tends to be stiff when cold? As for parts, since I will be at a pick/pull junkyard tomorrow for my own 94 Leg Wagon, is the "rack" in the 2001s the rack and pinion assembly?

 

Definitely going to try out the fluid flush first, but want to be ready for plan b...

Edited December 10, 2010 by jaredb3000