Get Quiet Power Steering

[myhotrod]

I have a 73 Mach I. Been through many power steering pumps... one every year it seems, and have been told Ford PS pumps are just expected to be this way. Well, I don't want to have to live with the noise just at idle and then it gets louder upon steering, as if I have no fluid in it when I do. It's embarrassing, and then I'm told I'm picky?

Also, to make matters worse, any pump does not come with the reservoir, which mine was leaking from the back wall, not near any fitting, and told an after market one is $700. I just took it to a new mechanic that actually found a new one and with reservoir but was $200 for the same noisy problem. He offered to replace it with the same thing. What good will that do? Then he offered to drain the fluid and use a different brand fluid. Will that really help, seriously?

Can a Chevy pump be put on and modified, or some other manufacturer? At wit's end. Also, does anyone know how to clean up years of this PS fluid on my guy's mom's driveway? He already brought home his pressure washer once, but there's still the big stain. He's also fed up with fixing and re-fixing my pump.

Thank you for any help,
Ruth

 

[rbohm]

ford buys their pumps from the same supplier as chevrolet does, saginaw. thus i have to suspect that the air in your pump has never been fully and properly purged, which is why you have a noisy pump.

start by warming up the system, and then turn the steering wheel a few times from lock to lock, then check the fluid level in the pump.

as for a different fluid, yes it can make a difference. if you have a cheap fluid in the system now, and replace it with the proper fluid, it will make a difference.

 

[myhotrod]

Oh, thank you for your input! Well the new mechanic said he did turn the wheel about 40 times and that a long time ago, Ford started putting tags on their pumps saying they are noisy because of so many returns. Interesting. I will have the different fluid done next to try. Thank you for your comments!

 

[myhotrod]

Well the new mechanic put all new Lucas fluid in and it is worse than I have ever dealt with, so bad I don't want to drive my car, makes me feel like selling it, or something to not be so stressed from hearing this noise. When you turn it on, it's instant noise and has locked steering until it warms up, then worst of all, every time I step on the gas, I hear this loud sound as if a house vacuum cleaner was on and the pitch increases higher as you go faster/drops in pitch as you go slower. I could not do 2 errands without coming back home with high blood pressure like I wanted to scream.

The steering rotated quiet for the mechanic at stand still, then he steps on the gas while half standing outside the car, which of course made no vacuum noise for him, which made me look like an idiot for hearing this dreadful noise that he didn't, until I realized he needs to sit inside and drive the thing to know what I'm going through.

What do I do? The guy did not want to custom fix my old one nor put a different brand than Ford on. I do not care if it has a warranty now... how do I get a normal power steering pump to fit my 73 Mustang with no noise or leaks and last more than a few years?

This will be the 3rd time taking it back to the mechanic and I don't want to be a problem customer. The guy was cool. But I seriously do not want to pay $200 for this pump for me to be tortured when driving it. Any ideas?

 

[rbohm]

the problem is that there is air in the system, which means they need to purge it properly. in the case of some cars that means keeping the reservoir filled while running the engine with the power steering return line disconnected, and turning the steering wheel to purge the air from the system.

 

[myhotrod]

Ok, the new mechanic gave up, refunded me the new pump with reservoir ($250) and all his labor ($90) to give me $340 just to kind of get rid of me, gave me back the old quiet pump but with leaking reservoir, and left the new pump on the car and gave that to me too.

Now my guy is stuck with dealing with this again and has questions, not fully understanding what you mean in bleeding the air out with engine on. He wonders:

*How can you you disconnect the return line and keep the reservoir full while rotating the wheel? It will empty in seconds with motor running and tomorrow he wants to try bleeding without it running just because he pictures it better.

*Where to put the return hose? A catch basin?

*How do you know when to stop? (My question) My guy says you could hear the bubbles pop?

*Is this a 2 person job? One to pour and the other to rotate the wheel?

*He also learned the term "power bleeding" but doesn't know what it is and does not find real info on the internet about it.

An idea given to him was to try turning the wheel a few times then lock it fully turned to the right, turn the engine off and let it sit for 20 minutes, turn the engine back on and do the same to the left side, and then do this series several more times (That will take all day...)

An idea we both have is now to use the new pump as parts, like putting the new reservoir now on the old pump that was quiet, at last resort.

 

[myhotrod]

My guy also thinks the thicker fluid of the Lucas may be what makes it sound worse in the morning, because it's thicker and harder to get moving. He thinks to use a thinner fluid. Another friend told me tranny fluid Type F is being used in newer pumps with good results.