Fix for infamous PS pump noise?

[zhanx]

a talk about raising the dead again

 

[trucku]

Go to full synthetic atf. Flush your system with one quart. Fill run engine and corner turn wheel left and right to bleed out air. Then drain (will be brown). Do this one more time and the last drain will be nice red (mobil1) fluid. Fill and your should be good. Don't add anthing else to that. I used to get noise in winter and shudder. It has not happened since my fluid flush to syn atf.

 

[Explorer_LOL]

Gonna resurrect an ancient thread here since these questions are in my wheelhouse.

Having the whine/stutter power steering issue on my 2000 OHV.

PS fluid is dark. What's the right procedure to drain and is it OK it I replace it with synthetic ATF?

 

[CDW6212R]

Gonna resurrect an ancient thread here since these questions are in my wheelhouse.

Having the whine/stutter power steering issue on my 2000 OHV.

PS fluid is dark. What's the right procedure to drain and is it OK it I replace it with synthetic ATF?

Take off one cooler hose end from the cooler, the one going up to the reservoir. The PS fluid will drain out, if you have a longer hose to connect to it, you can run it into a pan to briefly start the engine to get 90% out. It'll make a mess if you don't control the hose end/aiming. Use the best fluid you can.

I know nothing about ATF in PS systems, I stopped doing that dumb thing over 28 years ago. I only use PS fluid for my PS, it has never failed or whined etc. ATF comes in many versions, many old Fox Mustangs have bad or leaking(or whining) racks, from using various ATF versions or qualities, and of course they let them run low too when they started leaking. I think more bad happens with ATF, than PS fluid, from what I've seen. I use lots of synthetic oils and greases, but not in the PS, I use Amsoil PS fluid for that, or the best from a store if I'm out. Regards,

 

[Explorer_LOL]

Thanks Don. I'll be going with your advice.

What's a good re-add procedure for PS fluid after draining? Just pour right into the reservoir while someone is turning the wheel?

 

[BrooklynBay]

A while ago I made some modifications to the OEM P/S system, and it eliminated the noise, and the loss of fluid. I removed the old fluid, added an inline P/S filter, and a plumbing part called a surge arrestor with PEX fittings. That part is used to remove water hammer in a line containing fluid. It smooths the surges in hydraulic pressure when I turn the steering wheel. Ford should have made this part of their P/S pump but they didn't. Here are some examples: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...l_title_204?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1ZD2RKGRSC4S0
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...fl_title_203?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 

[CDW6212R]

I like that, I might think of making room for it.

Filling the system is easy, fill it and let the engine run while topping it off. Turn the wheel slowly to begin with, let the pump circulate the air and fluid, it takes a little while to reduce the air pockets to tiny sizes that don't create the hammer symptom. If you don't take time to cycle the steering wheel etc, that's when the surprise comes while driving it the first time after the pump gets emptied.

An external filter is a good idea too. Ford should have increased the volume to about double of what it is, any hard usage often creates more nose and dirtier fluid. I'm going to install external filter with another cooler, likely use the ATF cooler for it, to add volume for my severe duty work.

 

[Tyler J Gates]

A while ago I made some modifications to the OEM P/S system, and it eliminated the noise, and the loss of fluid. I removed the old fluid, added an inline P/S filter, and a plumbing part called a surge arrestor with PEX fittings. That part is used to remove water hammer in a line containing fluid. It smooths the surges in hydraulic pressure when I turn the steering wheel. Ford should have made this part of their P/S pump but they didn't. Here are some examples: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...l_title_204?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1ZD2RKGRSC4S0
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...fl_title_203?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

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I'm curious to know more about this. Does it still work? Do you have pictures of it installed? Which line did you do it on?

 

[BrooklynBay]

It works. I still have it in my 1995 van. The part is on the return line going into the bottom of the power steering pump. I also have an inline filter. I don't have a picture of it at the moment.