Power Steering Driving Me NUTS - HELP

[Peter B.]

OK, here goes...

My powersteering is still making a ton of noise when I turn on or just above idle. The noise is coming from stressing on the pump. I can tell because, besides the noise coming form there, when I turn, I can see the PS belt shaking.

I have replaced the hoses, rebuilt the control valve, rebuilt the cylinder (which is leaking now), there is fluid in the reservoir. What do you think it is????????? Please help me.

[Dave Suesz]

For what it's worth...

my 90 Thunderbird SC exhibited these exact symptoms, finally I started having difficulty turning the wheels when not moving, quickly got to my service center, found split in lower RH ball joint seal, ball had become rusty junk. One ball joint later, the steering was smooth, the pump silent.

[John H.]

Re: For what it's worth...

Two possible pump noise causes, contributed by Bill Bradley, who is unable to post due to password problems:

Early pumps had a filter and retainer in the reservoir and if the filter clogged up, the spring-loaded retainer will bypass the filter and this will cause noise at low speeds. These filters were dropped later on, and remanufactured pumps don't have them. Behind the union nut, where the pressure line to the control valve connects, is a flow control valve which is a spring-loaded spool valve; if this is coated with sludge or has a burr on it, the flow control valve can stick and also cause noise.

If you will send me your e-mail address, I'll send you Bill Bradley's e-mail address; he'll be glad to help you.

[Peter B.]

Re: For what it's worth...

Great - my e-mail address is peterbouza@bellsouth.net

I did once take apart the PS pump and cleaned it out. I did clear up the filter. The noise is not a constant noise, just when I turn the wheel. It's as if the system is being over-stressed to turn the wheels.

thanks