I'm new to the board... I have a 99 A8 4.2L quattro 118k, Love it to death. I just recently had the drivers side cv joint boot replaced and I just noticed that the driver side boot is torn. At the same time here I have noticed it has become very hard to turn the wheel... Almost like the power steering is gone. I checked the power steering fluid and it is full. The funny thing is when I turn the car on the steering is fine but once I drive 10-15 feet then the steering is stiff. Any ideas what the problem is?

 

replace the cv boot and check the power steering fluid level ( a cv boot wouldn't disable the power steering )

 

I checked the fluid level and it is full. My question is could the dry cv joint cause stiff steering?

 

yes

 

ok great... that is what i needed to know. Any suggestions for a temp fix until I can get my car
into the shop. What I am doing now is re-filling the boot with bearing grease.

 

re-filling the boot is pointless, and a wate of goot money. best advice is to: STOP driving it and get it in for repairs, NOW!!!

 

Better to take it in (or DIY) now, or you may have to replace the whole axle rather than just the boot or maybe just the CV joint.