Power steering pump bad???

[debian4life]

Yesterday I was driving my 98 Windstar 3.8l, when the tension pulley snapped. Fortunately I was only 4 miles from home, so I was able to limp it home. I had lost all power steering and the engine got really hot as was expected without the serpentine belt moving things. The first two things I notice was power steering fluid had vented out the cap and the tension pulley was shredded. After I got home I had someone run me to autozone where I got a replacement tension pulley and new serpentine belt, even though the belt was in great condition. Replacement of pulley and belt went smooth.

Today, I took my van out and the power steering pump is making a squealing noise when i have to do a hard turn to where the wheel is at its limit. I checked the PS fluid and it is a little lower than it was but still between the acceptable limits for the amount of needed fluid. I also checked all lines and the pump itself and saw no leaks or broken connections. The only noticable thing I see with the fluid is it is a reddish brown, not the bright red it was when the mechanic installed a new power steering line a year ago.

I did not have this noise before the pulley broke so i am wondering if the pulley snapping could have damaged the PS pump.

Any help would be appreciated. Also if the consensus is it is time for a new pump, is it difficult for an at home mechanic to do? With the help of the community, I have learned from you how to replace an alternator, IMRC's, fix a rear A/C issue, and the rear door latch sensor, so anything else you can teach me would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thank you in advance,

Brian

[tripletdaddy]

You may have air trapped in the system, we hope. A manual or a search for bleeding, air, etc can help for more involved bleeding. Basically, start by turning your wheel all the way each way several times. Sometimes having the front of the van much higher in the back will help too.

[sbrubinson]

It would not hurt to change the power steering fluid. I had a similar problem with an '01 Windstar, and my son and I changed the fluid and put in a bottle of power steering fluid additive (Lucas) that caused the noise to go away.

Brownish fluid means that the power steering fluid is dirty or burnt or both.

[MARZBX157]

You probably scorched the fluid with the unexpected event, I would do the flush procedure with a good synthetic ATF like Mobil1. My 2000 started whining at around 52k and the fluid was brown, I passed 3qts. through the system while turning the steering wheel R>L to R>L and I now have 61k with no whining sound and a smooth turning vehicle. You should do this immediately before the rack or the pump start to fail. It's pretty easy to do. You can do a search in this forum under "power steering". Good Luck

[wiswind]

The fluid coming out may have been from your manual steering of the vehcile......without the pump running.
That is why they have the full mark so far down....when you turn the wheels without the pump spinning (as you did without the belt on there) the fluid can be pushed up into the pump resevoir, and overflow.

New fluid (ATF...Mercon/Mercon V) and purging any air out of the system as mentioned would be my first thing.

[sirdeeker]

I have a 95 Windstar with 185K mi. and the PS pump was making noise at about 110K. I just removed the fluid in the reservoir and replaced it with a synthetic fluid. I then drove it for a few days and repeated the procedure once or twice. In all I used about a 32 oz bottle of synthetic PS fluid.Since then it hasn't made a noise in years. This may not be the most efficient way of doing it but it was the cleanest and easiest way with what appear to be good results.

[debian4life]

Thanks everyone! I changed fluid as recommended and the pump stopped squealing! Thanks again, this forum always comes through for me.