Power steering failure

[trevorc5505]

I was working on my x today and just idling in my drive way and i turned the wheel and noticed it was making a really loud ps noise.. so I turned the wheel the other way and it made a crazy loud ps noise and i noticed smoke coming out of the left side of my hood. I shut the car off and noticed a big black puddle under the mid left of my engine... does this sound like a hose broke or a ps broke? anyone have this happen?

 

[IZwack]

Yes its probably PS related, although it could be a hose or something else like a cracked pump (which isnt difficult to replace). But pop the hood, remove the cap from the power steering reservoir and if its empty, then the fluid that drained out is definitely PS fluid.

 

[trevorc5505]

okay i just checked, and yes the power steering fluid resoivor is empty. Now what do I do to pinpoint the problem further?

 

[trevorc5505]

I just picked up a new ps pump. Does anyone have anybody have any experience putting one in?

 

[IZwack]

I just picked up a new ps pump. Does anyone have anybody have any experience putting one in?

It differs from engine to engine but I think this pretty much covers it:
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=240227
or this:
http://www.explorerforum.com/Singleton/web/pages/pspump.html