My car is making a moaning sound that you can hear inside and outside the car. The sound seems to be the loudest on the passenger side and is present all the time(driving, idle, in park). Under the hood I can hear it best towards the firewall near the power steering fluid resevoir. I can feel the vibration of the sound on the floor and in the steering wheel. Could this be a power steering pump going bad? The sound does not change pitch when the steering wheel is turned, I have had no issues with hard steering, and the PS fluid is full.
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Moaning sound, PS pump?
- Thread starter Paul99SE
- Start date
No it's definetly not the moose. The moose sounded like a fog horn and was very loud and I took care of that problem a couple months ago. This sound is a quieter low moaning sound. Sounds alot like a power steering whine but I don't have any issues with my power steering. Is there anything else that could make a similar sound?
iskoos
CEG'er
How is your fluid level?
I had the same exact issue couple years ago with some kind of sound. And my fluid reservoir was low on PS fluid. I filled up and the sound went away. Then I discovered it was leaking from where the hose(coming from the PS pump) attached to the fluid tank. I tightened the hose clamp and this stopped the leak and it's been good since then(been over 6 years knock on wood...)
I had the same exact issue couple years ago with some kind of sound. And my fluid reservoir was low on PS fluid. I filled up and the sound went away. Then I discovered it was leaking from where the hose(coming from the PS pump) attached to the fluid tank. I tightened the hose clamp and this stopped the leak and it's been good since then(been over 6 years knock on wood...)
FIND
Addicted CEG'er
your power steering pump can still wear out even if it is not leaking. But the sound should change when you turn the wheel from side to side
No. 4 on figure 12 in autozonelink.Where is the PS pump located? Is it passenger side towards the firewall? Cause that seems to be where the sound is coming from.
http://www.autozone.com/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/1b/be/f3/0900823d801bbef3/repairInfoPages.htm
Removal and reinstallation.
http://www.autozone.com/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/1b/d6/8b/0900823d801bd68b/repairInfoPages.htm
imnotacop420
Squire of Awesome
Where is the PS pump located? Is it passenger side towards the firewall? Cause that seems to be where the sound is coming from.
Passenger side by the firewall is the alternator. Mine made a terrible whine when it was on it's last leg. I would bet it's your alt.
Big Jim
Hard-core CEG'er
There is also a belt tensioner and possibly a belt guide pulley that sometimes make a lot of noise over there.
claresnyder
New CEG'er
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2007
- Messages
- 5
The PS pump on my '96 V6 is also noisy. It is between the cyl banks on the top of the engine on the right side.
Big Jim
Hard-core CEG'er
Power steering pump noise was common on early Contiques.
When my car was new, it had a noisy pump, but so did nearly every other one. When I had the pump replace under warranty from a front seal leak,there was a delay in getting the pump. It was being redesigned to cut the noise. When all was finally said and done, the new pump was quiet. I had pursued TSBs for similar noise issues to no avail until the pump was replaced.
Power steering pumps receive very little wear. If you change the fluid from time to time and don't run the pump low on fluid, they usually last the life of the car. As a pump wears, often the first symptom is noise. The most common cause of noise is wear on the pump plates (usually from being run low on fluid). Pumps can be quite noisy and still last a very long time.
If the fluid has never been changed, it is good maintenance and just might help cut some noise.
When my car was new, it had a noisy pump, but so did nearly every other one. When I had the pump replace under warranty from a front seal leak,there was a delay in getting the pump. It was being redesigned to cut the noise. When all was finally said and done, the new pump was quiet. I had pursued TSBs for similar noise issues to no avail until the pump was replaced.
Power steering pumps receive very little wear. If you change the fluid from time to time and don't run the pump low on fluid, they usually last the life of the car. As a pump wears, often the first symptom is noise. The most common cause of noise is wear on the pump plates (usually from being run low on fluid). Pumps can be quite noisy and still last a very long time.
If the fluid has never been changed, it is good maintenance and just might help cut some noise.