[briansansone]

Not much of a hotrodding question, but...

How can I know if my power steering pump, or steering gear, or both
are going out?

My 2000 Ford Windstar makes a loud winning/grinding noise as I turn the
wheel. The resevior was a little low when I checked it. The fluid seemed to be moving pretty good. I could see the return fluid pouring into the resevior.
Though it was very dirty, and seemed very thin.

Replacing the pump looks pretty easy. Replacing the steering gear requires
removing the sub frame, engine hoist, etc....
Thanks!!
Brian

[LATECH]

Originally Posted by briansansone

Not much of a hotrodding question, but...

How can I know if my power steering pump, or steering gear, or both
are going out?

My 2000 Ford Windstar makes a loud winning/grinding noise as I turn the
wheel. The resevior was a little low when I checked it. The fluid seemed to be moving pretty good. I could see the return fluid pouring into the resevior.
Though it was very dirty, and seemed very thin.

Replacing the pump looks pretty easy. Replacing the steering gear requires
removing the sub frame, engine hoist, etc....
Thanks!!
Brian

It is niether pump nor rack . it is trapped air in the hose. Go to the blue oval place and get a new hose assembly part number YF2Z-3A719--AA and install it. It has a Pulse dampener and will require you to perform a bleeding procedure . This will require a vacuum pump for this procedure . You will need to pull 20 inches of vacuum on the system with the engine running to get the air out and you may have to do this a few times for 4-5 minutes at a time.Pulling a vacuum on the system causes the air in the system to expand and it moves it to the reservoir where it escapes.steering fluid will not vaporize at 20 inches of vacuum but water will. Hope this helps

[LATECH]

I would flush the fluid as well as you will be into the system to start with so might as well do it right.

[Rickracer]

I have made a vacuum adapter for those, out of a salvage yard P/S cap, and attaching it to a manifold vacuum fitting on the motor, teeing into an existing hose if need be. When I do a pump in any kind of Ford, I use that cap, sometimes even leaving it on the vehicle for a day or two and having the customer return to replace their original cap.

[briansansone]

Originally Posted by latech

It is niether pump nor rack . it is trapped air in the hose. Go to the blue oval place and get a new hose assembly part number YF2Z-3A719--AA and install it. It has a Pulse dampener and will require you to perform a bleeding procedure . This will require a vacuum pump for this procedure . You will need to pull 20 inches of vacuum on the system with the engine running to get the air out and you may have to do this a few times for 4-5 minutes at a time.Pulling a vacuum on the system causes the air in the system to expand and it moves it to the reservoir where it escapes.steering fluid will not vaporize at 20 inches of vacuum but water will. Hope this helps

Why do you believe its this one particular part? The van does have 150000 miles,
but the fluid seems to move pretty fast through the system. Does that not rule
out an air lock?
Thanks
Brian

[LATECH]

No. if it has the noise like you described it has an air lock. It is possible at this many miles(did not realize it had so many) that the pump is either sucking a little air in past the front seal or the fluid is so degraded that the pump is cavitating. Did you ever change the fluid? I would start there and perform the bleed procedure.

[briansansone]

only had the van a little while. got it from mother in law.
I'll get the fluid flushed and then refill, see what happens. I'm afraid to run
out and buy a pump prematurely. If the rack is having issues, i'll probably
look into getting rid of the van.
Thanks!
I'll post back
Brian

[Rickracer]

BTW, Fords with screaming P/S pumps are not terribly unusual,

[LATECH]

Yes they can be a pain in the buns.I have used a little lucas steering additive (some) not a whole bottle to help with pump noise and it helps to quiet them sometimes It does seem to help in some cases.I do not like to use additives nor do i prefer to advocate them but sometimes the budget kinda mandates to go the cheap easy way , its a crap shoot at best, but in your case worth a try. lucas power steering stop leak and additive.
The trouble with stop leak is it affects ALL the rubber pieces in the system not just the one with the problem ,as with any additive .There is no substitute for good old fashioned maintenance on a regular basis.
I can understand people not doing some kinds of maintenance because they just dont know for sure is it neccesary and some places want to sell you all kinds of B S so people get gun shy and do nothing.believe it or not brake fluid and power sterring fluid do need flushed and changed every so often. I do not recommend an engine flush EVER.Coolant should be flushed every 2 -3 years and freshened up no less than every 2 years.

[briansansone]

got some relief

after pulling the van up on ramps, I found a leak on the steering rack.
In an effort to prolong the life and get some functionality back,
I drained the system ( as much as I could by routing the return line
into a container and turning the wheel back and forth ), then tried the
ever so popular lucus stop leak and some fresh fluid. One day later; so
far so good. It seems that the leak has at least drastically slowed, and
the steering once again works fine.

We'll see just how long I can get away with the cheap fix.
Thanks
Brian

[LATECH]

You Da Man

[briansansone]

Well that went great! I got one more day out of rack. I'll be gearing up to
jack the van up and replace the rack.

[LATECH]

Oh man . That sucks. At least it failed when the wife wasn't driving. Could be a lot worse.Best of luck.