power steering pump

[pp270]

I just changed out the power steering pump on a 2000 Alero GLS with the V6 engine. After replacement the pump makes a moaning noise. The pump was bled until the foam in the reservoir was gone. After this the pump still makes the moaning noise. Will this simply go away with time and driving or do you think I have a defective pump? Or did something with the installation go wrong.

Regards,
pp270

[pistonring]

I am sure this is no help but mine has moaned since I bought it in 1999. Usually moving the steering wheel will lessen the noise but my noise never goes away. It has always worked fine though. It isn't severely loud.

I assume yours was quiet until you put on the new pump. Welcome my world.

If you get it to quiet down I would be interested in knowing what you did. I just figured it was another of the many issues with this car.

Good Luck!

[BNaylor]

Did you use an aftermarket PS pump or OEM GM type?

How did you bleed the system to include rack and pinion?

[pp270]

It is a aftermarket reman. I simply jack the wheels off the ground and moved the tires left/right at 1500 rpm per the haynes manuel. Is there a better way of doing this or did I miss a step?

[BNaylor]

That procedure is close enough. The one below is the one I use. The GM pumps are not the best but not that noisy. I'm on the second one which is a GM pump and it is quiet. On aftermarkets sometimes you have to go through a few of them depending on the manufacturer to find a quiet one.


Refill and air bleeding procedure (rack n pinion system):

NOTE: To relieve steering tension when engine is off, you can raise and support the vehicle with front wheels off the ground. Use good quality power steering fluid. A small funnel should be used to add fluid to the reservoir.

With ignition off and in steering unlock position, turn wheel to the left. Now add power steering fluid to the FULL COLD mark on the dipstick. Leave the cap off. Turns wheels side to side several times without hitting the steering stops. Check fluid level again and add to maintain level at FULL COLD mark.

Start the engine and let idle for approximately 5 minutes. Turn the wheels all the way to the left and right several times without hitting the stops. Turn off engine and check the fluid level again. Make sure that it is at or near the FULL HOT line. Replace cap.

Road test car and then check for leaks. Also you can re-check fluid level again just to verify.

[pp270]

Since I have the V6 the pump has a variable steering actuator attached to it. Do you know what this does? Might it be creating this problem? The electrical connector did get some power steer fluid on it.

[pp270]

My alero GLS V6 has a variable steering actuatuator attached to the power steering pump. This had to removed off of the old pump and remounted on the new pump. Is there something that could have gone wrong in this installation to cause the moaning noise? also the electrical connector for this got soaked with power steering fluid might this cause the problem?

What does the variable steering actuator do?

[BNaylor]

I can't recall off the top of my head but I believe variable steering was an option on Aleros. Basically it assists steering. At low speeds it make steering easy to manuever for like parking and as speeds increase the steering gets progressively stiffer for better control and road feel. The brain that controls variable steering is part of the ABS braking system. Through the EBTCM module wheel sensor input is used and then it controls the actuator.

I've never heard of one causing the noise you have but you never know.

[pp270]

Well I bought a reman OEM pump and chaged out the aftermarket purchased from Autozone. This solved the problem, but cost me a half day in work. At least the problem is fixed.

[JTrujillo86]

Is the variable steering actuator able to be changed without replacing the P.S. pump or the rack?! Since around 32K miles, I've noticed weirdness with my variable assist. The P.S. pump has been replaced twice, but I still notice that I don't always have the variable assist feature and it doesn't always work to the same degree. For example, some mornings when I leave, the steering feels ultra light and tightens up when I speed up. Other times, it feels the same no matter how fast I am going.

I explained all of this to the service advisor each time the pump was replaced under warranty. I was also told the variable assist feature is part of the rack. If this is not the case, I would like to know how to change the actuator in hopes of fixing my issue.

- Jeremy

[pp270]

The variable assist is part of the pump and you can purchase new pumps that come with the variable assist attached. I only changed out the pump because the one with variable assist wasn't in stock at the time and I didn't want to wait until one came in. It turns out in my situation that a new pump corrected the problem and the existing variable assist was fine.

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by JTrujillo86

Is the variable steering actuator able to be changed without replacing the P.S. pump or the rack?! Since around 32K miles, I've noticed weirdness with my variable assist. The P.S. pump has been replaced twice, but I still notice that I don't always have the variable assist feature and it doesn't always work to the same degree. For example, some mornings when I leave, the steering feels ultra light and tightens up when I speed up. Other times, it feels the same no matter how fast I am going.

I explained all of this to the service advisor each time the pump was replaced under warranty. I was also told the variable assist feature is part of the rack. If this is not the case, I would like to know how to change the actuator in hopes of fixing my issue.

- Jeremy

No. There are two power steering pump units. One with variable assist and the one without. I do not believe you can replace the actuator part without replacing the whole pump (integral). The rack and pinion unit is keyed to which pump you have. There are two different racks available. One with variable assist and one without. I have never seen an Alero GL, GL2 or GLS with the 3400 engine without variable assist.