PS Pump Whine

[Vic Sorlie]

A couple of months ago I noticed a low-pitch whine from my 4.6L STA engine, subsequently isolated to PS pump. I've had the car two years and have kept fresh AMSOIL ATF (meets Mercon V spec) in the steering system. No steering issues and pump is not about to disintegrate; I'm thinking it's just a common irritant with Ford pumps. Any suggestions other than replacing pump prospectively?

 

[Yardsale]

Unless the noise is unbearable, there's no point in replacing parts that still function. Ride it 'til the wheels fall off.

 

[Bugsiegel]

 

[Bugsiegel]

Have the same issue since I bought this truck. I did buy it used but have since put 80k on it. Has whined since the day I picked it up. The whine will soften as I put a slight turn on the wheel at a light or when stopped. I believe it's always going to be there and is just a byproduct of the PS pump.

The master mechanic at ford told me it's normal.

Later on I had some other idiot tell me that a fluid change might correct it but he couldn't guarantee that but wanted to charge me for the fluid change. His experiment at my expense. No thanks.

I've learned to ignore it. Once I start driving I never hear it, it's only when stopped.

 

[Vic Sorlie]

All true - going to live with it. Disappointed though that this has popped up with less than 59K miles on it.

 

[scott degroot]

This stuff is magic in a bottle. I have cured more power steering pump noises with this stuff. I don't know if it really stops power steering leaks but I have had great success with it stopping noises with no ill side effects.

 

[Vic Sorlie]

L1tech, I've put in a 12 oz bottle of the Lucas product and will report back.

 

[Vic Sorlie]

I've noticed maybe a small decrease in pump whine with the Lucas product added. No other steering issues, so it's just a niggling item I'll have to live with. Thanks for the tip L1tech.

 

[Vic Sorlie]

Update on what I thought was PS pump issue. It was the idler pulley bearing(s) grumbling, not the pump. Just got through installing a Gates kit (~$95, sourced from RockAuto) for the whole shootin' match - serp belt, tensioner, three pulleys. All's better now.

 

[Yardsale]

That hurts a bit, but it's a whole lot better that a new pump.

 

[Vic Sorlie]

Right-o. Mileage at repair 61,400 and it wasn't too hard of a job. Probably should've taken some snaps for a project writeup, but I wanted to get it done. My guess at cost is $400 if done at independent shop, $500 at dealership. I did it myself for less than one Franklin and one hour of my time. I forgot to mention that Gates has a $5 rebate on these kits through end of this year. This is a good DIY project to schedule at 60K intervals - do the whole nine yards, not just serp belt when it starts cracking.

 

[Yardsale]

I'm still on original hardware [fingers crossed], second belt (230,000 miles).

 

[Vic Sorlie]

While doing this repair I learned two tips: 1. Two of the three bolts that fasten the pulleys to the block are the same length; the third shorter one goes on the passenger side. 2. Before putting everything back together I put the belt on as much as I could. That made final positioning easier than if I had waited until the pulleys and tensioner were on. Picture is of the replaced parts. The pulley with "XX" on it was the bad boy making the whine, although a couple of the others weren't far behind.[Broken External Image]: