Power Steering Pump problems of the 2008 Ford Taurus

Steer hard right and left at slow speed in city driving. At first it steers hard then smooth and you can over steer . The steering rack has been replaced & steering pump has been replaced as well. Have not fixed the problem. Getting worse.

Driving in city when power steering suddenly became extremely hard to move, drove straight to dealer left it there until diagnoses and repair could be done. Determined that it was power steering gear and pump were bad. No warning sign when gave out, have older chevy that gave noticeable warning when things are going out.

Scanned system no codes. Check p/s pump pressure output. Found a valve in rack that was stuck in one direction and not allowing pressure the other way. Replaced p/s rack and then reset alignment. Test drove to verify operation. Vehicle would turn left normal, but difficult to the right at slow speeds. No p/s fluid loss. Known issue found online with this year, make, and model.

Power steering , intermittent dis-engagement. This was noticed by my wife in early August 2010. She said it was getting harder and harder to turn. I drove the car for a week and it became worse, (power steering fluid levels were topped off). It would work some times and then completely fail leaving only manual steering without power assist. When I drove on the freeway I could feel the system coming in and our of power, this caused a very dangerous sensation as I never knew when power steering would be active and if I had to do an accident avoidance move at high speed I would not be able to due to the lack of power steering. I read that there is a service bulletin on this problem, I brought it to the dealer and he will gladly fix it at a cost of $1400. My car has 58,800 miles on it and is out of warranty. The dealer wants $562. 37 for labor, $ 562. 37 for a 8g1z-3504-d steering gear, $190. 43 for 8g1z-3a674-a pump, and $69. 95 for an alignment.