Powersteering Question

[marie]

Hey guys, my power steering is only working while the engine is revving. It is not whining, and it's not low on fluid. Well it was whining a little and a tiny bit low on fluid, but adding fluid did stop the little bit of whining but did not bring the power steering back. I put a new gear box on a few months ago and had put a new pump on when I replaced the engine a couple of years ago. So nothing is all that old. What say ye, is it the pump, do I need to bled it again like I did when I put the gear box in? Thanks in advance for any help :) oops, forgot to put a space in powersteering in the title........ I'm better with a wrench than I am with spelling, honest!

[Eagle]

The steering box doesn't have any idea what speed the engine is rotating at -- the pump does. So, if you have power steering at higher RPM but not at idle or low RPM, I would suspect the pump before I'd suspect the box.

[marie]

Yeah, that's what I thought too, but I wanted to hear it from someone else. Got any ideas on why the pump would go in a matter of 2-3 years? Could it actually go bad from being only slightly low on fluid? And it really was only slightly low, by maybe 4 oz at most. It was kind of all of a sudden too, not much warning. I may still have the receipt, maybe Napa will honor their life time warranty, if that's what it had. My abs are getting a nice work out! :rotf:

[carnuck]

If the belt (especially Vee belts) are worn, it can slip and give you no PS. Ditto if the harmonic balancer is spinning on the rubber under load. Does the voltmeter read suddenly low too?

[marie]

@carnuck, I'll check the voltmeter, but I have a serpentine belt and it's only about 2 yrs old. Also, the issue seems to be better now, so it is possible it was just low enough and maybe had some air bubbles and it took a little bit for it all to right istself.

 

Thanks guys!!

[carnuck]

That's cool. Just make sure the balancer isn't oil soaked and the centering rubber isn't hanging out. It makes a BIG mess when they let go at freeway speeds (or high RPM) It took out the hood, battery, rad, mechanical fan, aux cooling fan, waterpump and destroyed the pulleys on the PS pump and alt in a Cherokee I saw on Hwy 2 this summer (my phone was dead or I'd have taken a pic of the mess)

 

>8^O

[cruiser54]

Yeah, that's what I thought too, but I wanted to hear it from someone else. Got any ideas on why the pump would go in a matter of 2-3 years? Could it actually go bad from being only slightly low on fluid? And it really was only slightly low, by maybe 4 oz at most. It was kind of all of a sudden too, not much warning. I may still have the receipt, maybe Napa will honor their life time warranty, if that's what it had. My abs are getting a nice work out! :rotf:

What's the fluid look like? Clean or dirty?