My power steering pump is one loud SOB....

[Superpie]

Ok, my power steering pump is incredibly loud... sounds like i have an electric car... i just replaced the drive belt, which was a little cracked and corroded, and now i have a nice new one... the next thing on my list is fixing the whine that my ps pump is causing.... i have heard many a stories of how replacing it will do nothing... i dont plan on doing the replacement myself, i just want to know what exactly i should do to get rid of the whine.... i have heard many tricks about synthetic fluid... successful replacements, failed replacements, etc, but i would like some more advice about what to do, any advice is appreciated =)

 

[TDG]

http://208.38.138.31/forums/showthread.php?threadid=29446&highlight=power+steering

 

[leenjen]

when i bought my X, the power steering was loud too. when i changed the oil, plugs, wire, filters, etc... i put in valvoline synthetic power steering fluid. after that, it was very quiet.

 

[aldive]

When replacing the PS fluid with synthetic, how did you remove the old fluid?

Thanks....

 

[aldive]

Will adding an aftermarket PS cooler help aleviate the problem?

Thanks....

 

[Chris Jella']

Al,
I flushed my pump by removing the return line, (regular rubber line), capping the bottom of the resevior, and used a fitting to attach a longer hose to the return line. A helper to turn the engine on and off would be helpful as the fluid flows pretty quick. Put the line in a drain bucket or whatever and fire it up. I flushed about 3 quarts of cheap ATF through it, then a quart of synthetic. Then put everything back together and filled with more synthetic. So far so good, pump is much quieter and the fluid is nice and clean.
CJ

 

[kgd102]

This may sound like a stupid question but then again I never claimed to be a mechanic.

But if the power steering pump is making this whining noise, where would I be hearing it from? I have a whining noise myself (that is driving me friggen nuts) and when I listen I naturally thought to check near where you would fill the resevoir but the noise is coming from below the vehicle about right under the dash.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[BislamJoe]

I had been noticing the noise you describe (maybe a little louder, who knows?) and I (knowing the larger part of nothing about cars at the time) thought little of it until a buddy said something about it. We checked the fluid - it was low, low enough that the tube-like part of the resevoir was dry. So I dumped a bottle or two of fluid in. About a month later I had it in for inspection and the moron mechanic claims that there's a tranny leak so he can't pass it. Next day, the War Wagon is at the dealership and they fix a PS leak. 4 days later, the PS goes out while I'm offroading. Now that sucked. It was probably caused by running it low for so long, not the fault of the dealership. So I buy a reman pump and some fluid, put it in myself. Finally I start up my truck and start adding fluid to repressurize the PS system. My driveway turns red. Turns out that one of the just-installed seals on the PS gear was faulty. So I drive it up to the dealer that night (PS pump bone-dry I might add) and it gets worked on the next day. About a week later, the PS starts kicking in and out, never totally gone, but really really stiff sometimes. It finally gives up the ghost and she's back to the dealer. New pump. Noise is back, fluid looks like purple mud. Take it back, free pump installed, synthetic fluid, noise is gone and hasn't come back. Glean what you will from my schpiel, just know that I like power steering.