Hi all
I hadn't driven my '03 IS200 for about 8 weeks, I drove it tonight and the power steering seemed very heavy. Has anybody got any ideas as to what I can look for to check for problems.
Unfortunately, I am looking to sell it, so if I do discover a problem and need to do something, the less I have to spend the better.

Any help greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

are the tyres gone abit soft? is the power steering belt slipping?

power steering pumps are a big problem with over abused Altezza's ( too much circles) .... you'll hear it if it's the pump, do a full lock to either side

Thanks for the reply.
I cant say that my IS has been abused, .. its only done 18K miles. :-)
I checked the tyres and they were fine.
So with the full lock, what sort of noise am I looking fornfrom the pump, something like a whine or similar, and how can I tell if the belt is slipping ?
I havent done much investigation yet, but I am assuming that the belt can be seen ?

Thanks

is there oil in the PS tank ??

Hi, there is plenty of fluid in the tank, not had a chance to check the belt yet though, as my battery needed charging... I'm not having much luck !! :-(

Have u not driven the car for while???? I didnt drive mine 4 a while and the steering felt heavy but afte about 10 mins it felt normal and has done ever since.

I hadnt driven it for approx 8 weeks, next time I take it out, which I intend to do in the next couple of days, I am going to take it for a long run, so I shall see what happens. hopefully it will be the same scenario, it will loosen up after a bit of a drive. :-)