I'm slowly getting concerned about the challenge car and it's steering.
When I first bought it and took it to autocross, it felt like it was losing power steering in hairpin turns, but I didn't think much of it because new car. I had about 20 miles on it at that point.
Well now it's been a few months, and I'm noticing a pattern. On cold starts only, I get a chirp that sounds like a belt or stuck pulley getting freed right at startup. And unless I let the car idle for a couple minutes, the steering is stiff as all hell.
The fluid is full, the belt looks good, upper control arms are new and well lubed not like they'd make a difference. I'm just not sure where to start looking from there.
Are pumps prone to issues or could the fluid have gotten that bad in the 2 or so years since last change(according to chalk marks under the hood)?
No noises on warm starts or after driving for a while, but on long turns or really tight turns, I really have to muscle the wheel around.
Maybe a blower could add in some throttle steer, but I can't find one in challenge budget.
