just bought a 97 2.7L with 117K and a whining power steering pump. fluid looks dirty and there are some air bubbles in the reservoir. i plan on flushing and adding new fluid. my question is, how do i clean the screen i have read about? i'm assuming it's in the reservoir. do i just do the best i can through the cap opening or does the top of the reservoir come off? the fsm doesn't really make mention of the screen. the pitch of the whine is synonymous with engine rpms and the steering if harder at low rpm/idle and gets easier with increased rpm.
power steering pump questions
- Thread starter hayesvegas
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probably the best way is to take the pump off and then apart, it's really not hard otherwise take off the low pressure line at the pump and drain the fluid, cap off the port somehow and fill it with carb cleaner or xylene or something and let it sit overnight then drain it. If it's whining and there's bubbles you have an air leak somewhere that will need fixing.
- Thread starter
- #3
so yesterday evening i had a few minutes to mess around and decided to look at the pump a little more. i had noticed when the truck was running that there were air bubbles in the reservoir. so, i shut the truck off went lock to lock a few times holding it at lock for a few seconds each time. then i cranked it back up, no whining what so ever for about 10 sec. then, the whine started and the fluid started rising in the reservoir like it was going to come our but never did. it would come up to the rim and kind of pulse up and down a little. i shut it off did lock to lock a few more times same as before and cranked it, same thing, quiet for about 10 sec. then whine and the fluid would raise. should i suspect a clogged return or something?
air leak
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- #5
so the leak should be in one of the two hoses right? or could an air leak occur in the rack and pinion?
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- #6
maybe vacuum lines on air control valve
anywhere, I had two seperate leaks in my R&P, fixed one about a week later found another but it could be anywhere, hoselines and or the pump, you need to use a flashlight and look.
If it's not losing any fluid then it's gonna be harder to find. You describe it like it's sucking air, so I'd start on the return hoses from the R&P. You'll probably have to inspect every inch of it and might have to bend it slightly to look for cracks.
I replaced mine a while back, but it wasn't leaking. It only had half the bearings in it and making an awful loud racket.
I replaced mine a while back, but it wasn't leaking. It only had half the bearings in it and making an awful loud racket.
