Hey all,

I live in Winnipeg so it's get a little cold overnight. I always plug my car in (using a block heater that keeps the oil warm for easier startups) but when I first start my car, it feels like I have absolutely no power steering assist. This gradually gets better as I drive but I just wanted to make sure this wasn't a big deal. When I turn the wheel after initial start, I can hear the pump trying really hard.

Also, the revs of the engine increase when I depress the clutch pedal to the floor (while in neutral). So, I'll start up (pressing the clutch in obviously), put it neutral and let go of the clutch. Since it's cold, the revs are a little higher -- this morning they were around 1900 - 2100 slowly falling as the oil starting moving around. Once the engine got down to around 1300, I pushed the clutch in and the revs would increase to 1800....I didn't move the shifter. It's still in neutral. If I let go of the clutch, the revs would fall back down. Once I started driving this behaviour went away.

Anyone else have this happen?

I've been having some clutch slippage in higher gears ever since I did the DIY on the slave cylinder restrictor valve removal so it's getting a clutch adjustment today. I was thinking that maybe it was a partial catch of the clutch under extreme cold conditions but once it warmed up, it wasn't noticeable...