Grinding Power Steering pump

[Harriz801]

Well ive got all of my other problems figured out on my car now and im left to this one problem. When i put my motor back in and started my car... my power steering pump started griding like crazy. All my fluids are at the correct height and its getting fluid because i tore the pump apart and it was all in there... it almost sounds like the pully is grinding on something but it shows no sign of wear. I need to figure this out quick... thanks for the help...

 

[candela]

Its probably cavitating; this is when bubbles form in the low pressure area and collapse in a higher pressure area of the pump, causing noise (grinding noise) or sometimes when and always damage as well.

Was it low on fluid before? What kind of fluid are you using? If you start your car without PS fluid it will grind and howl until its filled (thats not a good thing). What do you mean you tore the pump apart? Does it always make noise?

PS- either way you probably need a new one (or a used one that works). Make sure you dont have any leaks anywhere creating a loss. sometimes they are hard to find as some systems only leak during extremely high pressure (heat + hard corner...etc).

 

[Harriz801]

When i first started my car after putting the motor in it, i put fluid in it until the resevor was full. then i tured the car over to get the ps fluid flowing and then i added more. So then i started it and its started grinding.. so i took the pump off and took off the 4 bolts on the side and checked everything over.. it had fluid in it so it had to hvae been getting fluid. But yesterday i tried it again and it was still griding. So i shut the car off and looked at it again about 10 seconds after that the pump started bubbling and then all the fluid over flowed and went on the floor with the cap on the resevor. So i dont know whats goin on.

 

[hereitcomes]

Its clogged. The pump is getting fluid to it, but the pump cant push fluid out. That is why the pump is making noise, becuase its struggling to push fluid.
Pumps arent like other accessories, they dont necessarily leak if something is wrong. They just stop working. I would put money on the pump failure. Swing by a junkjard, or check out some OEM pumps as there arent replacement "performance" pumps that will allow more flow or anything like that. good luck man.

 

[neuro]

Did you go through the bleeding procedure in the manual? From your description, it seems that you didn't. When I changed out the pump in my 1G, it howled like crazy until I followed the procedure.

Basically, the procedure is as follows:

Turn the pump pulley manually by hand a few times. Since you've already started it once, you could probably skip this part.

Pull your MPI fuse so that the car won't start. While operating the starter, turn the wheel fully to the right then to the left a few times to push the air out of the system.

Reconnect the MPI fuse and start the car. With the car running, rotate the wheel lock to lock until there are no air bubbles visible in the reservoir. The grinding noise should start to quiet itself as the air is bled from the system. Check the level of the fluid every couple of turns and make sure it stays at the correct level during the procedure. Mine was quite noisy at first, sounding like it didn't have any fluid in it until I'd moved the steering wheel back and forth about 10 times, then it quieted down.

If this doesn't work for you, the guys above me are right...find another pump.

 

[Harriz801]

Alright well thanks guys... come to find out there was just a huge air pocket in the system.. i never even thought to start turning the wheel to get it to go away... the air pocket wasnt letting the fluid flow so it was griding... everything works perfect now... thanks again.

 

[candela]

hehe, I knew it