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power steering???

B

BAD SVT

Addicted CEG'er
Joined
Dec 19, 2005
Messages
6,520
Location
Formerly Las Vegas, now Dallas TX
hey guys. need a bit of help. my power steering fluid has been leaking for a while now. so i bought a new pump, pressure line, and fitting. the leak has stopped. however, the pump is still whining. this whining does NOT stop at all. at all rpms and gears, it screams. what else do i have to do to make that sound go away? i've driven the car for a few hundred miles already hoping the air will escape. help pls?
 
Im guessing with 100 miles, you have turned your wheels to lock in both directions.

Its not coming from the pulley right? But the pump itself? Your recheck fluid levels?

Just some initial stuff.
 
First, though it may sound a bit obvious, make sure that the reservoir is full. Sometimes it's hard to get a good reading, given the dark fluid and the dark dipstick. If it's not full, top it off, being careful no to overfill, and see if the thing still screams bloody murder. If so, get a turkey baster, and remove some of the fluid to make room for this:

http://www.lubegard.com/automotive/pwrstr_protectant.html

Enjoy in good health. I've got a bottle of it in my Town Car, and man, that wheel turns smooth as silk and doesn't make a peep. Before, I could feel and hear the thing groaning.
 
I know you can get that noise by starting up the pump dry. A couple of seconds dry all that's needed to damage it. If it's rebuilt, could just be the mismatch of used parts. No need to bleed, system does it on its' own as long as you run rack to limits to purge it.
 
BrApple said:
was the pump 100% new or was it a reman? sounds like the bearings in the pump you got might be bad ...
Click to expand...

amc49 said:
I know you can get that noise by starting up the pump dry. A couple of seconds dry all that's needed to damage it. If it's rebuilt, could just be the mismatch of used parts. No need to bleed, system does it on its' own as long as you run rack to limits to purge it.
Click to expand...

the pump was an OEM reman iirc. its probably one of those parts that ford doesnt make new anymore, kinda like our alternators. all the parts i got from jenkins.
 
I suspect that you have a bad pump. It usually isn't the bearings that make noise, it is damage (it doesn't need to be much damage) on the gear faces.

I would take it by Bill Jenkins and let him listen to it. I'll bet he gives you another one.

I guess I should ask what kind of fluid you used. It needs Mercon or Mercon V. Better yet Mobil 1 ATF that meets Mercon V specs.

It was common practice when rebuilding a poser steering pump when I still worked in a shop to use some Ford friction modifier directly on the pump face during assembly. Friction modifier makes the fluid more slippery. It would sometimes quiet down noisy pumps. Sometimes. You only need about 1 oz.

Still, itshould have a warranty. You should not need to put up with it. Get it replaced.
 
i havnt got a new pump yet since i've not been able to reach jenkins yet. but i forgot to add that since the replacement of these new power steering parts, the car has developed major throttlehang. it hangs @ 2300 for like 20 secs b4 it decides to drop to normal EVERYTIME.
 
I'm sure it is not related unless you needed to disconnect the battery while installing the poser steering parts.

Start by cleaning the throttle body, IAC, and pulling fuses 4 & 11 for about 10 minutes to reset the adaptive strategy. If the battery was disconnected during the install, the adaptive strategy was reset, but with a dirty throttle body, it was not able to adapt.

Part of the adaptive strategy includes helping the idle to stabilize by teaching it good habits. When you start the engine, hold the engine speed about 2000 to 2500 RPM for about 30 seconds, then let it idle for about 30 seconds, then turn on the AC and bring the engine back up to about 2000 to 2500 RPM for about 30 seconds, then back to idle for about 30 seconds then follow up with mild driving for about five minutes.
 
Big Jim said:
I'm sure it is not related unless you needed to disconnect the battery while installing the poser steering parts.

Start by cleaning the throttle body, IAC, and pulling fuses 4 & 11 for about 10 minutes to reset the adaptive strategy. If the battery was disconnected during the install, the adaptive strategy was reset, but with a dirty throttle body, it was not able to adapt.

Part of the adaptive strategy includes helping the idle to stabilize by teaching it good habits. When you start the engine, hold the engine speed about 2000 to 2500 RPM for about 30 seconds, then let it idle for about 30 seconds, then turn on the AC and bring the engine back up to about 2000 to 2500 RPM for about 30 seconds, then back to idle for about 30 seconds then follow up with mild driving for about five minutes.
Click to expand...

i hope u're right. i just have the feeling the power steering has a bit to do with it. whenever its in high idle, all i do is turn the steering wheel back n forth and the idle drops. isnt that a sign they might be connected?
 
Just clean things up and see what happens.

The power steering does have a pressure switch that tells the computer that the pressure is high (like when the steering wheel is held on full stop). It allows the computer to gently raise the idle. Idle does tend to change a bit with a change of load of any type. It is only remotely likely that the events are related.
 
Big Jim said:
Just clean things up and see what happens.

The power steering does have a pressure switch that tells the computer that the pressure is high (like when the steering wheel is held on full stop). It allows the computer to gently raise the idle. Idle does tend to change a bit with a change of load of any type. It is only remotely likely that the events are related.
Click to expand...

thanx jim. i'll work on it this week.
 
ok, so my power steering issue might be worse than i thought. i got a new OEM pump. i plan on installing it monday. one little problem... while driving around today, the steering all of a sudden stiffened up. thankfully, i was just about pulling into the house when it happened. i popped the hood just to see whats up, and i see this VVVVV

its leaking from here
powersteeringissues004.jpg


powersteeringissues003.jpg


powersteeringissues001.jpg


powersteeringissues002.jpg


powersteeringissues005.jpg


something went to crap. looking at the last picture, its obvious something burst, as theres oil on my hood and everywhere on the pulleys side. whats a man to do to figure out what's broken?:shrug: someone said sumthn about rack n pinion. i didnt even know powersteering had that.
 
That's the power steering pressure switch that sends a signal to the processor when the pressure is high to cause the idle to lift. I'm guessing that you have a leaking switch. It may have just failed from old age, or you may have a restriction causing the pressure to be too high and the switch was the weakest point.
 
BrApple said:
was the pump 100% new or was it a reman? sounds like the bearings in the pump you got might be bad ...
Click to expand...

amc49 said:
I know you can get that noise by starting up the pump dry. A couple of seconds dry all that's needed to damage it. If it's rebuilt, could just be the mismatch of used parts. No need to bleed, system does it on its' own as long as you run rack to limits to purge it.
Click to expand...

Big Jim said:
I suspect that you have a bad pump. It usually isn't the bearings that make noise, it is damage (it doesn't need to be much damage) on the gear faces.

Still, itshould have a warranty. You should not need to put up with it. Get it replaced.
Click to expand...

u guyz are on the money! just replaced the pump with anotha one that jenkins did give me. the car's as quiet as a church mouse:). idle's fine again. thanx for the input. i hate it when i get bad parts. it makes the troubleshootn process more complicated than it should be.
 
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