Winding noise from PS pump

[Dee520]

Hello All,

2002 4.6 Mountaineer. I replaced my pump 2 years ago because of a winding noise turning left. Fix with a new pump but it came back a couple months later. Now I notice PS fluid on top of the cap of the external reservoir all the time as if its steaming out the cap. I added inline metal filter no luck fixing but have a piece of mind that its helping the internals. When i open the cap it has bubbles inside which i know should not be. I plan on buying this item to get the bubbles out of my PS system.

My question is, if I have bubbles in my system would that indicate a leaking hose or air leak some place? Should I vacuum the air out or get a system to pump air in about 10 psi to find the leak? I do not have to replace fluid as the levels stay correct but i do have fluid on top of the reservoir all the time. I am not sure if bubbles indicate air leak or if I did not bleed air out good when changing the fluid. Also on my obII scanner. I notice it says that my PS pressure switch value is 'low'. Where is the PS pressure switch on these trucks?

Thanks

 

[Dee520]

No help on this?

I have removed about 12 oz of fluid with a turkey baster from the reservoir and added some 12 oz Lucus PS stop leak. Man let me tell you, this stuff was amazing. When i started it up the PS whine for about 3 seconds and just smoothed right out without any noise at all. I will continue to update and let you know how its going. It seem to get rid of the air bubbles also for now as this fluid is very very thick. I will continue to post the status of the pump because i am sure others are experiencing the same. My truck is old, it has 246000k on it all original power train except for the transfer case. Its in the shop now, fuel pump finally decided not to give me enough flow.

 

[LMHmedchem]

Be careful with the Lucas PS stop leak. You can end up blowing out the seals on your pump if you're not careful. I would have started with quite a bit less than 12oz.

Did you use a vacuum pump to bleed air out of the system when you installed the new pump? If the whine comes back, you could try that. There are many procedures online for this.

As long as the fluid level is fine, the whining sometimes indicates the pump bearings are starting to go. What brand of pump did you install? It could also mean a bad component that is causing more resistance in one direction. If you jack it up, do you notice any difference in resistance moving from side to side?

It is hard to imagine how you have air in your system without a leak, unless the air was there from the beginning when you installed the pump. The best place to check for a leak is over the front cross member. Jack up the front end and look right behind the license plate. The pressure hoses sit on the cross member. Go over all of that an make sure there is no fluid there. Also check the metal tubing that is welded to the rack and pinion and where the hoses insert to the rack. Check the boots that go over the inner tie rods to make sure there is no fluid inside. You should be able to see the hoses that go to the pump and the reservoir from there as well.

LMHmedchem

 

[mountaineer2004]

I had a slow PS leak, used to refill once every 2 weeks or so, or it would become noisy.
Used Blue Devil PS Leak Stopper to try to stop the leak. My slow leak became a big leak. Goodbye seals.

 

[Dee520]

Be careful with the Lucas PS stop leak. You can end up blowing out the seals on your pump if you're not careful. I would have started with quite a bit less than 12oz.

Did you use a vacuum pump to bleed air out of the system when you installed the new pump? If the whine comes back, you could try that. There are many procedures online for this.

As long as the fluid level is fine, the whining sometimes indicates the pump bearings are starting to go. What brand of pump did you install? It could also mean a bad component that is causing more resistance in one direction. If you jack it up, do you notice any difference in resistance moving from side to side?

It is hard to imagine how you have air in your system without a leak, unless the air was there from the beginning when you installed the pump. The best place to check for a leak is over the front cross member. Jack up the front end and look right behind the license plate. The pressure hoses sit on the cross member. Go over all of that an make sure there is no fluid there. Also check the metal tubing that is welded to the rack and pinion and where the hoses insert to the rack. Check the boots that go over the inner tie rods to make sure there is no fluid inside. You should be able to see the hoses that go to the pump and the reservoir from there as well.

LMHmedchem

No i did not bleed the air out did not know i needed to until i created this post after seeing a video. I figured I would give Lucas a try before I replace the rack, pump and all hoses. So the fluid level, i am not losing fluid i know it seem weird. Only fluid i see leaking is on top of the reservoir which i think is from the air bubbles. I purchase this tool for Ford (yellow item in image) and I will use my vacuum pump and pull the remaining air out.

The front cross member I only see the PS cooler. Do you mean directly in the bumper in front of the radiator is the location of the PS pressure switch? When i bleed the system i will try at 10-15psi, should that pressure hold steady? if i loose pressure then i know i will have a leak... Here is the PS pressure switch i am looking for. My obd scanner tells me its value is low.

 

[Dee520]

I had a slow PS leak, used to refill once every 2 weeks or so, or it would become noisy.
Used Blue Devil PS Leak Stopper to try to stop the leak. My slow leak became a big leak. Goodbye seals.

Well I think if that was me and I had to add fluid every 2 weeks I would have fixed the problem instead of trying to stop the leak. I am not seeing a leak in my system except on top of the reservoir. I added this as a last resort because i plan on replacing the system anyway. I am just waiting until i really need to as you did!

 

[Mbrooks420]

Changing the fluid in the system would also most likely stop the whining. It’s the old garbage fluid in there causing the whine.