Anybody else have a failing PS pump??

Haven't driven my car in close to four months up until last week. And towards the end of the week I got some naaassty belt squeek when I start the car which goes away after a few seconds...sometimes longer. On top of that my steering wheel is hard to turn sitting still. I've had a PS pump go twice on my old ram and its not the same as whats happening here. My truck never squeeked, and when the PS went...it went. This goes in and out. All day today I haven't had a problem and the PS works fine.

 

I currently have 55,000 miles, anybody else run into these problems? Seems like once the car warms up its not as bad. But like i said, sometimes its fine and other times the car would be warm and the wheel will fight me when im sitting still.

I am having the same issues, if I turn sharp at a dead stop to pull out of a parking space I am getting a slipping noise and jolting feel in the steering wheel cold or warm. Got the cold start up squeal too, I was wondering if the ps pump is bad or just a belt issue? I don't know.

I currently have 55,000 miles, anybody else run into these problems?

 

YES. I replaced mine about 10k ago, the same mileage as yours currently. I replaced with oem and hope this one lasts longer.

 

Seems like once the car warms up its not as bad. But like i said, sometimes its fine and other times the car would be warm and the wheel will fight me when im sitting still.

 

Same thing happened to me. I suppose its possible that your belt is old and has lost some tension but I kind-of doubt it. What you are describing sounds exactly what happened with our car.

 

May as well let the car warm up before you drive it from now on, stop turning the wheel when you are not moving, and change out that PS pump along with a 60k at your next oil change interval. The 60k will include belts;)

I am having the same issues, if I turn sharp at a dead stop to pull out of a parking space I am getting a slipping noise and jolting feel in the steering wheel cold or warm. Got the cold start up squeal too, I was wondering if the ps pump is bad or just a belt issue? I don't know.

 

I got the exact same problem. And I just flushed my PS fluid. Suspect the belt needs replacing.

I got the exact same problem (except no squeal...yet). And I just flushed my PS fluid. Suspect the belt needs replacing.

This happened to me recently, almost right at 100k miles.

 

Pushed a BUNCH of fluid out of the reservoir cap and had some nasty noises coming from the pump plus noticed the belt was nearly bald in places. Also the fluid was almost black.

 

Got some Seafoam brand PS flush, douched the system 2x with it, drained as much out, and filled with "quality" PS fluid. Works like new again and no noises from the pump. Figure the flow valves in the rack were clogged up and causing the pump to work overtime.

hmmm maybee I will try that, my fluid is close to black and the belt is new so the fluid could be the cause. worth a shot.

Don't forget to post a RESOLUTION!

Mine was doing this too. I checked the belt, which was fine. The fluid was horrible. I used over a gallon of PS fluid to flush it clean. I took the return hose off of the reservoir and kept adding fluid and having the wife turn the wheel till it all ran clear. There was a point when she couldn't turn the wheel at all so I think that was the clog getting flushed out. Everything feels great now though. FYI if you get air in the system, it will take a few days for it to bleed itself out so just check it to make sure the level is good.

Got the same issue coming up recently. Will try to flush before anything.

same here will do a flush and then new belts im at 80k now. is the drain hose just under the power stearing box?

 

Just started this winter. Car has about 125k on the odometer. Same as the above mentioned, worse when the car is cold, steering wheel sticks occasionally, etc etc.

Mine was doing this too. I checked the belt, which was fine. The fluid was horrible. I used over a gallon of PS fluid to flush it clean. I took the return hose off of the reservoir and kept adding fluid and having the wife turn the wheel till it all ran clear. There was a point when she couldn't turn the wheel at all so I think that was the clog getting flushed out. Everything feels great now though. FYI if you get air in the system, it will take a few days for it to bleed itself out so just check it to make sure the level is good.

 

you used ATF and not actual power steering fluid right? subaru uses ATF. just making sure.

 

also i don't know if my powersteering is failing but its constantly whining. its not the belt (same with old/new belts) and its not leaking or anything. also it functions normally. it just whines noticeably.

??? is it ps fluid or ATF fluid we use.

we use ATF. it should say ATF dexron III on you cap on the power steering reservoir.

anyone have a pic were the line is to drain the fluid at?

yes..i need the same info.. where do we drain this from?

yea i changed the belt not more than 15000 miles ago because i burnt the other one pretty good learning how to drive the car and stalling it multiple times...the fluid still looked pretty red when i checked it but maybe it needs to be flushed. I'm looking forward to the 60,000 mile maintenance.

anyone have a pic were the line is to drain the fluid at?

 

yes..i need the same info.. where do we drain this from?

You pull the lower/return hose off ( obvious when you get there, easy to access ).

When flushing you leave the lower hose off and turn the car over ( remove FP relay ).

Oh and remove the entire intake box including resonator if still stock, makes the work very easy.

Should I just go in there and change the pump?? Its only like 115 bucks for a new one... and I cant stand the jalopy squeek or bitch steering anymore. I dont think its getting any better.

This happened to me recently, almost right at 100k miles.

 

Pushed a BUNCH of fluid out of the reservoir cap and had some nasty noises coming from the pump plus noticed the belt was nearly bald in places. Also the fluid was almost black.

 

Got some Seafoam brand PS flush, douched the system 2x with it, drained as much out, and filled with "quality" PS fluid. Works like new again and no noises from the pump. Figure the flow valves in the rack were clogged up and causing the pump to work overtime.

 

I don't know why the factory doesn't insist that the fluid be changed regularly. But it should be.

 

Heck, flush the coolant , flush the brakes, ignore the PS system:eek:

^ most cars don't have you change the diffrential and tranny fluid either .. those fluids nowadays don't breakdown any more .. i wouldn't change it unless it was some discusting color.. its just atf fluid anyways.

also it may not be the pump so much as it could be the pressure regulating spring just got tired. i wouldn't be suprised if that was just the problem.

Mine was leaking a few months ago, but dealer replaced under warranty

 

now i'm out of warranty though lol

I was having this problem last year. After searching around, I came across some old threads on NAISOC talking about how the power steering line clamps at the resevoir were not strong enough which created a slight air leak sucking air into the system. I replaced the top spring type clamp with a worm screw type clamp, replaced all the fluid from the resevoir and haven't had a problem with it since.

is there a DIY for the flush? I'd like to do mine as I get the slight squeal at dead stop when it's cold. it could also be my belt is loose or stretched as I never re-tightened it after replacing it 1000 miles ago.

 

from what I've read some drain using the hard line while others just pump out old fluid from resevoir and fill with new.