Power Steering Pump Whining

[Ereynolds72]

My power steering pump seems to whine at low rpms and is very difficult to steer. I've got one of those suction tools from the NAPA store and have pulled about a quart of fluid out and replaced with new. That seemed to really help but it's doing it again. Is anyone aware of any issues with the power steering pumps? It's under warranty but wanted to see what you guys new before I went to the dealer.



Thanks.

 

[robertyoke]

mine works fine, little whine when full lock but not hard to get it there.

 

[DF5152]

mine does the same thing was told it was normal...

 

[Ereynolds72]

mine does the same thing was told it was normal...

... normal until the warranty us up I'm afraid.

 

[DF5152]

... normal until the warranty us up I'm afraid.

Probably and at the rate i am going it will be up sooner rather then later... 11k in 6 months.

I see you live in Austell I will be in Savannah next month and then in Atlanta in October. More miles to add to the odometer. May be moving down there in the future.

 

[Ereynolds72]

Probably and at the rate i am going it will be up sooner rather then later... 11k in 6 months.



I see you live in Austell I will be in Savannah next month and then in Atlanta in October. More miles to add to the odometer. May be moving down there in the future.

I really enjoy living down here. The summers still kill me though. I've been here since '97. Moved down from Northern IN after I finished college. Just make sure you have good AC. BTW, I've got 17k miles since February.



I'm going to take it to the dealer and see what they have to say about the power steering pump. It seems odd to me that it stopped for a while after I changed out some of the fluid. It gotten bad again in just a couple weeks. The fluid I took out smelled burned.

 

[Ereynolds72]

I'm at 20k now. Haven't been to the dealer but this issue cause a loss of brake boost pressure and was allowing the brake pedal to sink. Couldn't keep it in cruise cause the pedal kept sinking. Changed the fluid and issue went away. Still whining and is only a matter of time before the oil is used up again. I will definately make time to take it to the shop next week. It's affecting the brakes now and that's a safety issue. I'll fill you in when I find something out.

 

[DF5152]

any updates

 

[Ereynolds72]

any updates

Not since I siphoned out as much of the fluid as I could and replaced with new. Still whining but no issues with boost pressure yet. Will take to dealer when experiencing the same problem again.

 

[Ereynolds72]

Just an update on this thread. At 29,000 my CEL came on. They ended up changing the EGR valve. Truck seemed a little sluggish off the start but not bad. Other than that I couldn't tell a difference that anything was wrong.



The service writer at the dealership asked me to describe the noise my power steering pump made. He said there was a service bulletin that described a "honking" noise. I went on to explain it wasn't a honking noise but told him about changing the fluid and the whole loss of brake boost issue causing the pedal to sink. He said no problem and they were going to test it out. They ended up replacing the power steering pump. I still don't know what the problem was specifically, other than a bad pump I guess. I'll keep and eye on it as it is working fine now.



Other than those two issues which were covered under warranty, I now have 30,000 plus miles of trouble-free and happy motoring in my 6. 7 CTD (since Feb '10).

 

[ADugan]

I don't mean to hijack your 4th gen thread, but I had the same problem with my 3rd gen 08. 36,508 miles and it ended up being the steering gear... of course I didn't know that until the gear completely froze up, luckily I was stopped in a parking lot.



The gear had seeped (ever so slightly) fluid from where the two sections of it bolt together. I don't know if the gear uses power steering fluid to lubricate or if it has separate gear lube internally, but once the gear was off, it was obvious it was leaking. I also experienced brake issues in the parking lot just before it froze up.



Short version of a long story; I'm from KC,MO. broke down west of CO. Springs. Truck towed to CO. Springs Dealer, I was informed the part was on back order and it would be at least 7 days before it came in. That wasn't gonna work, had them put a NAPA gear on and a new Dodge pump and cooler to get me home (Pump, cooler and labor under warranty, NAPA gear and labor on me). The NAPA gear was too tight and did not return the truck to center steer and it had 1/2 inch of free travel on either side of center. Once home, had my dealer order a new dodge gear... 34 days before it came in. Dealer put the gear on and now they are in process of getting me my money back for the NAPA gear and labor.

 

[MValls]

I took my truck in because it sounded like a propane tank was leaking. Dealer ordered a new hydroboost. Could it be your hydroboost?

 

[PatrickHansen]

I know my truck is a second generation but my power steering pump howled when cold. Dealer fix (TSB?) was to flush and change fluid to synthetic. No more noise.

 

[Hummin Cummins]

Mine whines too. Was told by dealer that it is because of all the weight on the front. :-{} I responded with "funny but my 95 with nearly 300,000 miles and original fluid never made a sound" Anyhow, now the belt will chirp if i try to turn the wheel right after startup. Going to make another appointment with a different dealer because I still want the fast idle enabled and these guys couldnt seem to pull it off.

 

[Bob4x4]

You are going to have to buy some parts to get the hi idle on a manual trans

 

[Ereynolds72]

Well, 7 1/2 years later and 253,000 miles on the clock and I’m resurrecting this old thread. After the dealer replaced the pump, I never had another problem. I siphoned out the fluid and replaced once a year but now I’m thinking the pump may be about to go. I’ve got no steering unless I’m at least rolling and pump is whining bad. Steering gear is tight.

I read where the silicone liner in the hoses were cOming loose and sure enough, mine was sucked half way up into the steel tubing but that didn’t free things up.
How big of a deal is it to replace the pump? Should I pay a dealer to confirm my diagnosis or just go ahead and replace it?