PS pump whine

[Bonnewagon]

My Sunfire rack and pinion power steering pump is whining like crazy. No bubbles or leaks are evident. I'm willing to replace the pump but I wanted to eliminate the 17 year old fluid as a cause. I plan to raise the front off the ground. Then unplug the return line and cap it at the pump. Then run the return into a bucket while I feed fresh fluid to the reservoir while a helper idles the motor and turns the wheel lock to lock slowly. When it runs clean I'm done. My '95 Buick LeSabre manual describes this as well as bleeding the air out by raising the front and turning the wheel lock to lock 20 times with the motor off. My buddy pointed out that even if I need to replace the pump I should not install it on a dirty system, so I should flush the fluid anyway. I've done the bleeding routine before and it works but I've never changed fluid totally. Am I forgetting anything?

 

[pontiacgp]

sounds like you have everything covered, good luck..

 

[Bonnewagon]

Hey Steve, how come I can't find a new pump? All I see are rebuilds. Worse, on the J-body site, they claim rebuilds are junk. What's a mother to do?

 

[pontiacgp]

I don't know why new pumps are not available. Have you checked at the dealer to see what they have or what about this place?

http://www.turnone-steering.com/#!o...teering-Pumps/c/12405744/offset=0&sort=normal

 

[Bonnewagon]

Never saw them before, thanks. RockAuto even carries AC Delco rebuilds, w or w/o reservoir. Any idea how the reservoir attaches?

 

[LINY]

I bet the flush does the trick.

 

[Bonnewagon]

I hope so. I can't find anything else wrong.

 

[pontiacgp]

I'm not sure how the reservoir attaches but if they sell it without it can't be too hard. I hope that flush cures the problem too

 

[Bonnewagon]

Here is my results. Pump fluid is now super clean. Whine is still there. Here is what I learned: with the return line disconnected, and the motor idling, fluid is expelled at an incredible rate. Think of a cartoon character hanging on to the end of a fire hose while it whips him about like a doll. You MUST extend the return line with something like plastic tubing and then SECURE IT TO THE CONTAINER! My driveway looks like the Exxon Valdez ran aground there. Further, with the motor idling,you can NOT pour fresh fluid into the reservoir as fast as the pump can expel it. You WILL run dry. I discovered that if you leave the motor off, then just turning the steering wheel back and forth will pump fluid out at a manageable rate. The bleeding procedure works great. It burps out a ton of air. My pump still whines so I will be buying a replacement. But at least my system is sparkling clean.

 

[jeremyandthemonte]

May I ask what year your flower is aka sunfire is it the 2.2 or 2.4? Engine?