Whales under the hood

[JSIL1]

So I am thinking that it may very well be time to find a new PS pump. I went to get dinner during work and noticed that twisting the wheel about 30 degrees left and right made a sound that one would expect to hear from mating whales. When I left to head back towards work it sounded SC'ed which would have been fine if it was. But it isn’t so it's not.

Mind you the engine was still not up to normal operating temps and it is about 40 F here.

Ideas, aside from removing the belt?

TIA

Josh

 

[rickshaw]

I have the same situation and been flushing the PS fluid every week. It's either getting better or I'm used to the whine.

I'll flush another quart, then maybe it's time to replace the PS pump.

 

[NJSHO]

Sounds like you need the help of Capt. Ahab

 

[CerberuS]

Make sure you dont replace a pump that has low PS oil in there , or not bleeded fully.

Air in a PS system will do that noise too. When replacing a part that requires to flush the PS oil , its needed to bleed the oil by have engine on idle , while turning steering left and right to the stopper (maximum turned) , do that 5 to 30 times before the sound go.

Might be the pump tho , but make sure its not just air.

 

[Wess]

You've been watching too much Animal Planet!

 

[JSIL1]

You've been watching too much Animal Planet!

I was thinking more along the lines of "Down Periscope"


I haven't flushed the system recently and when I take a look at the fluid it is nice and pink. Then again, that is the reservoir and I don't know if it circulates or what...but it is most certainly worse when it is cold.

 

[rickshaw]

Is it worth the $20 to have someone flush the system?

The turkey baster method doesn't really get the fluid out of the bottom of the resevoir.

How can you tell if there's air in the system? Should you remove the cap and rotate from left to right?

Thanks!

 

[CerberuS]

Is it worth the $20 to have someone flush the system?

The turkey baster method doesn't really get the fluid out of the bottom of the resevoir.

How can you tell if there's air in the system? Should you remove the cap and rotate from left to right?

Thanks!

Cant really tell if theres air inside , but doing the Idle -steering wheel left to right completly , shouldnt take you more then 15 minutes to have it airless (if it had air)

 

[SHOZ123]

If the fluid is really dirty then so is the internals. Keep filling and emptying the reservoir until you have gone through 2-3 quarts, this will also clean out the insides. Then it will be good to go. Do once a year from then on.

 

[rickshaw]

Thanks guys. I'll continue to flush, even though the fluids are clear and try the left to right at an idle.

Can't wait to get rid of the whine...sure is embarassing at school drop off when I'm behind a C4!

 

[SHOZ123]

Don't change the fluid out right away. Wait a week or tow. A good way to tell if the fluid is dirty is to put a drop on a white napkin. Compare this to a drop of new fluid. The crud will be very obvious.