steering wheel

[black328i]

i was pulling out a parking lot today and all of the sudden my steering wheel became so hard to steer. i am not sure what it is i think it might be just steering fluid yah so i bought some and i cant locate where power steering fluid goes and yeah it be cool if you guys can tell me where it goes and also if it might be something else

[AJL]

It should be in your owner manual. SOunds like the power steering pump is gone.

Look at the upper right hand (drivers side) corner of the engine bay.

[Justin e36]

yeah it's power steering fluid. it's located under your intake box on the left (looking at it from the front of the car)... it's easier to see if you remove the intake box. It has an orange sticker on top that says ATF. (automatic transmission fluid). Take that as a hint: use ATF fluid, not power steering fluid.

It could also be that your PS fluid is very dirty and muddy... (if you, or a previous owner put power steering fluid in here in the past, that's what'll happen). In which case you'll need a PS fluid flush, and a new PS fluid reservoir, since the fluid filter is integrated in the reservoir. ($30 at dealer).

It takes a lot to kill the PS pump. Most of the time, it's just a clogged filter or dirty fluid, and people pay $$$ to change the pump unnecessarily. It works afterwards with new fluid obviously. :/

If you need more details, feel free to ask.

Justin