Power steering pump?

[floridaxlt]

Ok, I got a noise in the front end.. When I turn the wheel all the way in one direction, it humms.. Then back in the other, it also sort of humms. I checked all the fluid in the resevior, and that is fine..
What would make this possible hummm?

 

[jimbo74]

welcome to the site, if you think its the power steering pump it probably is... ford has good power steering pumps, they jsut make a lot of noise when compared to pumps by the other vehicle manufacturers... you might want to flush the power steering system out and replacing it with new fluid, that might help out a little bit

 

[jwrezz]

Has any one replaced a power steering pump? On a 2nd gen w/ rack steering? Mine's making lotsa noise, it has been since I replaced the rack. I thought I got all the air out. I replaced the fluid. I'm gonna flush it w/ seafoam this weekend, and replace the fluid again.

It just looks like a hell of a job for just a pump. I gotta get the pully off first is what the Chilton book says. But to get the puller on the pulley, it looks like I'll have to move the radiator. And they say not to put any in/out pressure on the shaft. How can I NOT do that using a puller? If I can get a box wrench around the 3 bolts that hold it in w/ the pulley still on will it drop right out? Or will the AC pump have to be removed from the bracket first? It looks like the AC is mounted seperately, just to the same bracket. So if anyone's done this job, please help me out.

 

[410Fortune]

You should try flushing the system first before replacing the pump. A noisy Ford pump does not mean a new Ford pump and if you do replace it you will likely have the same noise again.

 

[i8u]

Floridaxlt,

Are you holding the steering wheel to where it is all the way at full lock? If you are that is bad and should not be done for very long. You are dead heading the pump at full lock. the pump is making pressures at 1200+ psi when this happens. You will blow seals in your stearing system if you do this to long. Turn it all the way too full lock for JUST a second and let off. Is that the whine you are describing?

The ford pumps are notoriously noisy during their normal operation anyway. I would not worry about it unless you are having a problem.

 

[jwrezz]

You should try flushing the system first before replacing the pump. A noisy Ford pump does not mean a new Ford pump and if you do replace it you will likely have the same noise again.

Mine was noisy from the start, but after I replaced the rack it got really noisy. Like it's embarrassingly loud. People turn and look as I pull into a parking lot or space. I did drain it once, but never flushed it. I just pulled the return hose off the cooler, and let it all drain out. Then just refilled and did the air bleed procdure. Maybe I did that wrong? What is the best way to do it? Should I get one of those vacuum tools?

 

[410Fortune]

You dont need any special tools to flush it.
I use a turkey baster most times, you can drain the resevoir by pulling the low pressure hose if you want, I presonally just suck the dirty fluid out of the resevoir anf fill.
With the front of the truck jacked up (tires off the ground) suck out dirty, replace with clean, cylce steering about 10 times, repeat. Do this until it runs clean.

the type of fluid you use will make a difference. I like the Synthetic and you can use some addatives to quiet it down, however they only work for so long.

 

[00XLS]

Yeah the lucas additive, same as the tranny I'm told, worked well for a while but then colder temps fixed that. I plan on using a full syth. fluid next time.

 

[410Fortune]

Car quest sells this stuff, the Lucas works allright but this stuff works better. It comes in a small purple bottle and if you read the back you will find out it is synthetic whale sperm.........that was the ONLY thing I ever used the really reduced the pump whine for a good amount of time, but once the fluid gets hot and dirty, the whine comes back

I am looking forward to driving my truck with the newer style 5.0L pump.........ahhhh finally!