Power steering noise; vibration

[AKDrifter]

It's 10 deg. F out, Which is not that cold. Started rig up and very noticable noise and vibration comming from the power steering pump. The noise did'nt happen last year at -10. I'm not running synthetic PS fluid. Idid however pay out of my own pocket to fix brakes 4 monthes ago. They turned my caster down to 2. 5; DODGE HAD IT ROLLED UP TO 6. 5 to "heavy up my steering" instead of fixing the brake pull.



Could the steering pump have suffered enough from the high caster degree to have weakened it or made it tired?



I'll be putting in synthetic PS fluid anyway now. Thanks for any input folks.

 

[wtrenholm]

Maybe the fluid is having problems, how old is it? You wouldn't think the pump should have cared about the extra work from the caster. But you never know. Mopar has a cold climate PS fluid that is much more cold weather friendly. GM had trouble with PS return hoses blowing off and have had a cold climate fluid available for years. I have had pump noises that have been "fixed" by fluid changes.



How does the truck handle with that much change in caster? Were you having handling problems at 6. 5? Spec (varies with truck and GVW) is someting like 3. 5 +/- 1. 0. So you are now on the low side spec. Increased caster usually will improve wandering and steering wheel return but will "heavy up" the steering as you mentioned. DC did some changes to the knuckle and brake in 2000 to help clean up the brake pull/lead that the earlier trucks were known for.



Wayne

 

[AKDrifter]

When the caster was turned up to 6. 5 it did not clear up the steering, just made it hard to move the wheel. I'll try the lighter wieght fluid this week and get back. Currently 22K on rig.

 

[1tuffram]

Paul, a lot of us have been using Valvoline Synpower Power Steering fluid with good results. It's a semi-synthetic blend.

 

[LSMITH]

My pump sounded pretty rough in the cold weather too. The Valvoline Syn that was mentioned above made the pump noise go away. Give it a try, it might work for you too.



PS: Use a turkey baster to suck the old fluid out. Run it for a week or so with the new fluid and do it again to get the rest of the old stuff out.

 

[DaveN]

Did you notice that hte brakes vibrated too when it was cold? Aren't these systems interrealted?