AARRGGHH! Power steering pump whines.

[Huney1]

Problem finally solved June 4th because I didn't understand way2old's instructions and shorod graciously stepped in and told me where I was going wrong.

[way2old]

Raise the front end, disable the ignition, and crank engine over while turning the wheel from lock to lock fairly slowly. Turn it lock to lock about 3 or 4 times and leave it locked in far right position and lock the ignition. Take cap off of reservoir and watch for air bubbles. When air bubbles quit, repeat procedure but leave it locked to the left. Continue this until there are no bubbles in reservoir.

[way2old]

There are a couple of diodes in the under hood fuse box. Remove both of them. Engine should not start. Or pull the fuel pump relay, or trip inertia switch.

[shorod]

Read way2old's initial post again, the engine is supposed to crank. You don't want it to start though, which it won't since you unplugged the inertia switch (turning off the fuel pump). This way the starter is turning the pump at a slow, controlled speed.

-Rod

[lectraplayer]

My '96 power-steering pump also whines, but I've had a coolant leak. Could the water have damaged it? What can I do to hush it short of taking the darn thing off? The power-steering system has no air in it. Other than the whine, it does fine.

[Huney1]

'Could the water have damaged it?' I doubt it because I don't think the power steering unit and the coolant have a way of mixing.
'What can I do to hush it short of taking the darn thing off?
The power-steering system has no air in it.' As I understand it, two things can cause the whine, bad seals, (in which case the reservoir seals would be leaking fluid), or you have air in the fluid. Read way2old's reply and do what he says and if it cures it you DID have air in the system. I don't know if the seals could be whining and not leaking, but try way2old's cure. Don't know if your fuse schematic is the same but it's easy to unplug the fuel pump inertia switch in the trunk. Park it front up then follow way2old's instructions, the engine will turn over but it won't start. After you finish the check engine light will be on, but mine went off by itself in a few days. 'Other than the whine, it does fine.' Yup, same with mine.

'but I've had a coolant leak.' That concerns me because with hot weather coolant drops enough and it runs hot and overheating is the number one cause of blown head gaskets which are very expensive to replace. Take it to a shop and let them put a pressure tester on the cooling system and find the leak and fix it. Or, I think they make a dye you can put in the coolant to show you where the leak is. Botom line, the whine won't leave you on the side of the road but a leaking cooling system certainly could. If she's a 96 I'd consider replacing all the rubber hoses simply because they're ten years old.

[way2old]

I agree with Huney1 on the coolant problem. Needs to be addressed. The coolant leak and steering problems are not related unless there is a whole lot of coolant on the belts causing a small slip and not allowing the p/s fluid to circulate anough and you are hearing the slow running of the pump.