Driving home from movies tonight, I lost power steering and power brakes and the pump started growling. Looked in the reservoir and it was all foamed up. Within the last 20k mi I have flushed the system and refilled with power steering fluid. No apprent leaks at this time. And happened like someone flipped a switch. Fine one turn, nothing the next.
What are the chances this is a fluid issue and not a mechanical one? Start with flushing system and adding Mercon V? Or is it likely pump is damaged?

Ryan

 

I would say the pump is kapoot. Mine took a dump in almost the exact same way. Worked one minute, not so much the next and growled/whined like the devil.

Baatzy

 

I guess my question is almost a "chicken or the egg" question. Does the pump going bad make the foam in the reservoir or does the foam in the reservoir make the pump sound bad because it cant get fluid???????? I guess I will know tonight when I get home and crank it up to see if it works with the fluid settled. If it works then I will be doing another flush, this time adding Mobil 1 ATF like I run in transmission. If it still doesn't work, then I am swapping pumps this weekend.

Ryan

 

Hey, I had the same exact problem with the same symptoms, with my E99 F350. Don't ditch the pump just yet. This is what I did : flush the fluid completely with Motorcraft Mercon, and when it is all new, drain some back out. Then add a bottle of Lucas Oil PS treatment. Not the thick red stuff for rack and pinion setups. The regular clear thin stuff for our type steering setup. This worked for me instantly. Noise and groans went away, no more shudder when I stand on the brake and turn the wheel ! No foamkng, or leaks either. That was 10K ago, still no problems. Good luck my friend, hope this works for you as well !

 

Good idea on testing the pump after letting it set. I guess in a way I did that as well because I let it set overnight and when I started it up it did the same thing.

Just another thought, if you have a whiny pump or you find it hard to steer at low speeds then I would just go ahead and replace the pump anyways. They are relatively cheap and make things much better.

Baatzy

 

Yes, that's true enough. I have not replaced my pump yet because the symptoms never came back. When they do, I will, it was just a hail-mary. Turns out it worked for me, so I figure it's worth a shot for anyone else.

 

Very true, I was kind of part of the same mindset. I had a flush done to it about 6 months before mine failed and it definitely helped.

When I did the pump replacement though I was much happier. Whatever works for a person though.

Baatzy

 

In light of that info, I will be budgeting a new pump into my future plans !