Hi,

my son called me today to say the car was making a pretty loud whine all of a sudden which got louder when turning the steering wheel but also happened going straight, so he brought it home and parked it in the driveway. I inspected the car as best I could in the dark and there is a small puddle of steering fluid on the ground, but the reservoir is still 90% full. There seems to be some fluid on the top of the pump itself.

Any ideas how to diagnose the actual issue? Does it hurt anything if I turn the engine on/drive? I might just want to take it to a mechanic at this point since I have almost no time to DIY and he needs the car for getting to school.

Thanks for any suggestions as to what to do!

 

well, if its ps fluid on the box its probably coming from hoses or more likely the pump.
my first power steering leak was easily detected with the help of some uv additive. found it to be the return hose. replaced and good to go. took about an hour to find and fix. second problem took about the same, but that was a pump replacement.
I used an all makes pump. at the time all makes had a bad run of their basic pump offering, so I got their preferred one. I think that has been cleared up by now.

 

so a bunch of search on this topic seems to point to the pump as the culprit. Lots of stories of bad pumps. Short of getting a LR original pump for $600-$700, is there a verified known good aftermarket pump? Rovers north has a proline for $370, Atlantic british has an "OEM" for $400 and lucky 8 has a "proper spec" pump for $311. Meanwhile on ebay, several vendors have "new" pumps for ~$100 and used OEM pumps are $90

What to do?

 

personally with all the bad result with rebuilt pumps and trying to rebuild posts.
i would contact someone like PG and get a good use LR one. JMO

paulgrant@mac.com

 

thanks drowsap, your advice has been very helpful on this forum. Found a nice AB video on how to do this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKU4IczMMiY#t=742

Drowsap, do you know any place in Boston where I could find a pump today or tomorrow? Would love to deal with this this weekend if possible.

 

are you asking for my spare? NO

the only bone yards around are in Brockton.
Everett's had a couple disco last i was there and to the right is Brocton auto salvage and on the left is Regal auto salvage.

 

lol. your spare is safe. I'll just order from paul.

 

2 lines offered from all makes. the preferred line has a good reputation.

 

here is a vid of the noise it makes:


Every time you here the buzzing, I was slightly turning the steering wheel (1-2 inches or so).

Question: Is this noise only due to a bad pump or could it be due to a leaky hose/good pump?

Thanks!

 

Put in an Allmakes pump.
I put in two of those and no problems.

You may have a leak in the steering box.
So, don't blame the pump.

If you have noise from the pump it could be low on fluid.
Or if the pump is full of fluid - they do go out
finally with noise from the bearings in the pump.
That's how both of mine died.