2001 Taurus power steering question

I just bought a 2001 Ford Taurus SES with 68k miles. There are a few small things that i notice about it one being that when you turn the steering wheel hard to either side, or sometime just making a normal turn into a parking space, the steering makes a kind of groaning noise. It does not affect the performance, but i don't know if it is something i need to address soon. I checked the powersteering fluid and it was a little low so i bought some and added a bit but it did not really help. Any ideas? Thanks

the pump on the taurus is a peice of shit and makes noise, thats just what it does. They break alot too, but making noise isn't a huge indicator of imminent failure.

I have a 2001 Ford Taurus SES too and my steering wheel also makes this annoying "groaning" noise. It honestly doesn't sound like there is a problem. It almost sounds like it needs some grease somewhere to stop the noise lol. Everytime someone rides in my car, they ask me what that noise is. I guess I've gotten so used to it - that it doesn't really bother me anymore. :)

Something to try....

Flush the system with REAL PS fluid NOT ATF.

After flushing, jack it up to take weight off ft wheels, disable ignition, crank engine and turn steering lock to lock.

This procedure should remove any air in the system...good luck.

I also agree that the pumps are a peice of shit. I've had a couple of of these cars and had the same noise. Nothing wrong with them, just loud. They have had this problem since the late 80's and early 90's with the taurus. I can't believe that they havn't fixed the problem yet.

I just bought a 2001 Ford Taurus SES with 68k miles. There are a few small things that i notice about it one being that when you turn the steering wheel hard to either side, or sometime just making a normal turn into a parking space, the steering makes a kind of groaning noise. It does not affect the performance, but i don't know if it is something i need to address soon. I checked the powersteering fluid and it was a little low so i bought some and added a bit but it did not really help. Any ideas? Thanks

We purchased a 2001 Taurus SEL in August 2003. We had the exact same problem with our steering wheel. We took it in on a few occasions and they just said they needed to "lubricate" some part in the steering rack/column. I thought this was very strange. Several months later, our steering column/rack had to be replaced. We just traded our Taurus in today. Good luck with your car. Our Ford dealer could never give us a straight answer as to why the steering wheel had this problem.

the pump on the taurus is a peice of shit and makes noise, thats just what it does. They break alot too, but making noise isn't a huge indicator of imminent failure.


Are you referring to the pump related to the steering wheel noise? Our 2001 Taurus steering rack had to be replaced. Several months later, our fuel pump had to be replaced. Today we discovered at least 6 inches of water under the trunk with the spare tire. What's next?

I've got a noise when turning at low speeds (2000 ses)...a kind of groaning sound..but it sounds like maybe a rubber against metal sound so I have suspected the top of the strut (which is rubber) rubbing against the body of the car....I thought i might try silicone spray or tightning the nuts on the strut...but it doesnt sound urgent...so I will wait for nice weaTHER

It's good that you're pretty handy with cars. I'm clueless and took the car into the Ford dealer a few times for this noise. Each time they lubricate something in the steering column or rack - not sure which. However, they cannot explain why the noise is there or why it keeps coming back. Good luck with your Taurus. :-)