PS pump bad?

jman11788

jman11788

Member
So I have a horrific groaning noise when I'm coasting under 40. As I turn the wheel the noise exaggerates and when I accelerate at real slow speeds it groans and roars. Also if I turn on the AC it's almost unbearable to listen to at idle

I put my hand on the PS reservoir at idle and its vibrating a lot and I can tell the noise is coming right from it. I did the low tech method in changing fluids to get the old nasty crud out. However after a few days it's getting much worse..

My question is how hard is it for a diy and should I only go OEM pump or will a parts stores pump be fine? Also I've read that if you install a new pump with air in the system it will destroy it. I'm planning to do it this weekend.
 
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Have you tried adding fluid? Maybe after your fluid change it pushed out some air and is now thirsty.

Did you use trans fluid?

The PS pump is not hard. Removing the high pressure line is about the toughest thing. I recommend installing a Magnefine filter in the low pressure side to trap any contaminates/material from the old pump going bad.

I picked up a low mile oem unit from eBay for ~$40
 
jman11788 said:
So I have a horrific groaning noise when I'm coasting under 40. As I turn the wheel the noise exaggerates and when I accelerate at real slow speeds it groans and roars. Also if I turn on the AC it's almost unbearable to listen to at idle

I put my hand on the PS reservoir at idle and its vibrating a lot and I can tell the noise is coming right from it. I did the low tech method in changing fluids to get the old nasty crud out. However after a few days it's getting much worse..

My question is how hard is it for a diy and should I only go OEM pump or will a parts stores pump be fine? Also I've read that if you install a new pump with air in the system it will destroy it. I'm planning to do it this weekend.
Click to expand...

the filter screen is probably clogged. remove the reservoir and clean it thoroughly. I bet the sound goes away.
 
nevada said:
the filter screen is probably clogged. remove the reservoir and clean it thoroughly. I bet the sound goes away.
Click to expand...

What all do I have to remove to get the reservoir off the pump? Just the air intake? There's not much access down there
 
jman11788 said:
What all do I have to remove to get the reservoir off the pump? Just the air intake? There's not much access down there
Click to expand...

off the pump? its not on the fender? I thought those had a remote reservoir like the previous models?

snap a pic under the hood.
 
I just checked, it gives 1.5 hours to R&R the power steering pump. so it must not be too bad to remove.
 
A P/S system that has air in it can cause the pump to make horrible screeching and groaning noises.
If it's just air (did you recently change or lose fluid?) you could elect to do a routine swap out of the fluid, and clean the filter if necessary. If you get air in the system (common) when exchanging the fluid, it may create foam and the attendant screeching. If you get foam/air after changing the fluid, stop the engine and wait till the foam condenses back into solid fluid, add more fluid, etc.
If you've driven a lot on the groaning pump it may be toast anyway.
 
pluton said:
A P/S system that has air in it can cause the pump to make horrible screeching and groaning noises.
If it's just air (did you recently change or lose fluid?) you could elect to do a routine swap out of the fluid, and clean the filter if necessary. If you get air in the system (common) when exchanging the fluid, it may create foam and the attendant screeching. If you get foam/air after changing the fluid, stop the engine and wait till the foam condenses back into solid fluid, add more fluid, etc.
If you've driven a lot on the groaning pump it may be toast anyway.
Click to expand...

I had no signs of leaks and my fluid was high where it should be. I used dexron II for the replacement maybe I got some more air in the system while doing so. I'll try and bleed it out the best I can. But like you said it's probably a goner now with it being about 2 weeks of me noticing the noise.
 
I literally just went through this 2 weeks ago.

To remove the reservoir

1. Pull the air intake box.
2. Turkey baster out the fluid in the reservoir, then disconnect the return hose from the reservoir. Keep a rag or something over your belts to prevent dripping on them.
3. Loosen the PS Pump tensioner so that you can turn the pulley (really only necessary to gain socket access to remove the front bolt holding on the reservoir, so if your pulley stopped running in a position that you can access that bolt, skip this.) If you aren't sure how to do this, Look at Timmy's video on youtube for belt changes.
4. Pull the back two bolts facing the firewall that hold the reservoir on.
5. Gently pull up and out to remove the reservoir, being away of the O-ring on the nipple of the reservoir.
6. Blast that thing both directions with brake cleaner. At least one can. I had so much crap come out of mine...

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/150426074@N06/24322228098/in/dateposted-public/" title="Power steering reservoir"><img src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4483/24322228098_0f60e1f5f1_z.jpg" width="360" height="640" alt="Power steering reservoir"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
tystaco said:
I literally just went through this 2 weeks ago.

To remove the reservoir

1. Pull the air intake box.
2. Turkey baster out the fluid in the reservoir, then disconnect the return hose from the reservoir. Keep a rag or something over your belts to prevent dripping on them.
3. Loosen the PS Pump tensioner so that you can turn the pulley (really only necessary to gain socket access to remove the front bolt holding on the reservoir, so if your pulley stopped running in a position that you can access that bolt, skip this.) If you aren't sure how to do this, Look at Timmy's video on youtube for belt changes.
4. Pull the back two bolts facing the firewall that hold the reservoir on.
5. Gently pull up and out to remove the reservoir, being away of the O-ring on the nipple of the reservoir.
6. Blast that thing both directions with brake cleaner. At least one can. I had so much crap come out of mine...

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/150426074@N06/24322228098/in/dateposted-public/" title="Power steering reservoir"><img src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4483/24322228098_0f60e1f5f1_z.jpg" width="360" height="640" alt="Power steering reservoir"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Click to expand...

Awesome stuff. I will be trying this first thing Saturday! Thank you so much
 
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