Ok, here's the scoop.

Ex. 7.3 4wd 2000. The tranny failed and I had it replaced. The only issue was would not pull in od or 3rd gear. New tranny. Picked up truck.

Are you ready..

Drive belt was 3/4" wide and at point of failure. The power steering pump was whining so loud when I picked up the truck I noticed it immediately when I started the truck after paying $4100 for the new tranny.

I got it home and the transmission shifted ok and appears to be operating normal.

BUT why did the power steering pump and belt fail when the transmission failed and I drove it to the shop without the pump making a sound.

???

At home I looked at the pump and the fill / dipstick cap was on crooked. I did not leave it in that condition as I left it fully sealed and covered.

The belt was only 3/4 " wide and I would not drive it without immediately replacing it. I had checked it 1000 miles before and it appeared normal.

I have replaced the belt and top radiator hose with the new hose that routes around the belt so the belt can now be removed w/o taking the belt off.

Tomorrow I will drain the ps fluid and replace with the proper fluid to see if the whine stops. (IMO it won't)

I am thinking the tranny shop drained the lines to the PS cooler thinking it was the tranny cooler and then test drove it with the fluid drained.

My only option if new fluid doesn't correct the whine to to change the PS pump. The whine is so severe I can feel it in the steering wheel and brake pedal (remember this is a diesel).

I spoke to the shop and their comment is (are you ready for the BS.)?

Some Fords get air in the PS system when not used for a while and they will bleed air and the whine will quit.

My answer,, I smell a rat.

What do you think? It is really a waste of my time to try to get the shop to accept responsibility for this. So I will probably change the pump with a new one when the weather cools.

Any thoughs / suggestions?

$4100 later new tranny and PS pump is

 

I definitely smell a rat...and I think you are right in your speculation on how the damage occurred. The question, I guess becomes, do you want to deal with these folks in an attempt to get a power steering pump out of them? My guess, they are going to deny it to the end . Try synthetic fluid in the PS pump...but get ready to buy a pump too. Makes you kind of leery about the tranny .

 

I think your AVITAR is right on. The tranny does appear ok,, but the rat is why did the pump belt fail in the shop. My guess, is they ran the pump dry and covering their A!#$#@!. Trying to prove it is like finding the preverbial needle in the haystack and I can change the pump and hoses for around $200. My wife says "I just don't trust people". Maybe she is right but difficult to explain why the PS failed and belt at the same time in the shop when 1000 miles prior it was ok.

So I think there is a rat. It might not be the guy who did the tranny work, but somewhere else in the shop is some one that needs to have Edward Robinson called. "You Dirty Rat"..

 

(maybe) they disconnected the lines to the ps cooler in an attempt to drain all the fluid out of the cooler thinking it was a tranny cooler,"professional shop,maybe". then when everything was back together they put powersteering fluid in the pump instead of ATF not knowing, "also why the ps dipstick was removed". check the color of the fluid in the ps pump first, making sure its tranny fluid. just one thing to look for, good luck.

 

They probably put PS fluid in the PS pump, don't know why anyone would wnat to do that, but the will make one whine a little baby. Do the full flush, where you pump the fluid using the return line from the hydro boost.

 

Hmm. I just replaced mine because it fail suddenly. I used synthetic trans fluid and flushed out the lines first by cranking fluid through with the engine disabled. Moans pretty badly, very noticeable when on the brakes. I don't suggest A1 reman. I've gone through a couple. Some have better boost than others and some are noisier. Doesn't make any sense.

 

I didn't know PS fluid would make it whine? I assume the return line from the HB is the one that enters the top of the PS resivor just in front of the fill cap.

Remove this line then run until stops pumping?

 

in these trucks it calls for tranny fluid in the ps pump, not ps fluid. its like more dense and holds up to heavy duty mechanisms better. its in your service manual if you have one. a very common mistake that i made myself when i got my 7.3. power steering fluid makes it whine cause the pumps working harder so its possible that the shop you were at didn't know this either. research "powersteering pump flush" and you'll get what you looking for.

 

one important step on the flush is to make sure you don't flush the pump empty, its a flush-fill, flush-fill process.

 

Doesn't it empty really fast with engine running and return line open?

My thoughts are the shop doing the tranny work pulled line to ps cooler vs transmission cooler, drained the PS pump then ran it until noise and found error. Then filled pump,, but pump was damaged. Can't prove any of this but very unusual pump didn't whine when I put it in shop for tranny and first thing I noticed when starting to leave shop was whine and the pump was full of fluid.

 

No. Slow, and had my wife turn the steering wheel pumping on brakes slow. Still came out slow. Manageable. My guess swapping out a gallon was about 5 minutes, would be fair guess.

Yea, Flush her out. Could be air. Could be pump damage.

 

Run you a long clear hose from the hydro boost return into a gallon jug. With engine running, pump cap off, long neck funnel, and 3qts of ATF, have some on slowly turn the wheels a little bit side to side while you add the atf and watch the clear hose. The fluid will turn the brite red color of the new atf when you pump all the old out. It will take 3qts+/-, A flush is always a good idea and if it does have PS fluid in there, it will help quiten it down. Syn ATF is what is in mine now.

 

I don't smell a rat. Really, I don't.
Reason I say that is it is very easy to charge the fluid with air and then it's a booger to get it all cleared out again.
The whining pump happens to me at work every time I replace one. You overfill the reservoir and start the engine, then the pump sucks it down and starts to gulp air before you can say 1 2 3. You add the fluid and can see that there is a ton of air injected into the PS fluid.
What I have found works is to get the system filled, and crank the steering back and forth a bunch of times, engine running. Shut the motor down and go do something else for a few minutes. Come back, restart the engine, crank the steering back and forth a few more times. Shut down, go do something else for a few minutes. Repeat as necessary until the fluid is clear of air.
You need to give the PS reservoir time for all the little microscopic air bubbles to rise to the top. Leaving the engine running and hoping it will clear will not do it because there is too much churning going on and the air bubbles never have a chance to rise.

 

Maybe there wasn't a rat,, but surely a mouse.

I followed zx250 reco about changing the fluid. Just happened to have 3 qts of Ford spec fluid for PS on the shelf. Removed the return line from booster and routed to milk jug. Added new fluid while wife turned wheel and stepped on brake. Very black fluid came out with only red tint. I removed at least 2 qts,. spilled probably more and refilled with new fluid. There is air in the fluid as the pink color indicates. It turns more deep red when the air is out. I started up the truck. Instant whine almost could not be heard and I know there is a small amount of air still in the system. I cycled full L to R then drove the truck and parked it. After it sits I will top off. Doesn't sound like pump failure but incorrect fluid. I suspect they drained the pump accidently then refilled with incorrect fluid. The correct fluid made instant change.

Thanks zx250 and all who helped. FYI we are in S Louisiana and took a major hit with Katrina and then Gus blasted,, then IKE yesterday. I was fortunate this time and it missed us but I really needed the truck for Gus to evacuate when the transmission failed.

A very gracious thank you to everyone for your help.

And to the small mouse who jumped out of the PS pump.