[TimmyC]

I have 2006 STS4 with the 1sg package and the power steering is starting to become a problem. A couple weeks ago I noticed that the steering was harder when I got to my destination than it was when I left. The pump starts to whine after the car warms up and I turn the wheels when stopped. There is almost no assist at that point. If I rev up the motor a bit I get some assist. Is this a pump issue or a rack issue? I'm thinking pump but some other threads seem to point to the rack

Edit: The reservoir is full

 

[TimmyC]

I checked the fluid and it is not aerated. I also have a wrecked 2006 STS that I'm fixing so I'm going to try the pump from that car. I'll repost when I get that installed.

 

[TimmyC]

It was the pump. I just finished swapping it over. It's quieter now than it ever was and the steering is lighter than ever too. The pump was on it's way out when I got the car. Now I'm not sure if I should put the new pump I'm going to have to buy on my car or the wreck. The wreck only has 33,000 on it so I might just leave that pump on my car instead of putting the new one on there.

 

[TimmyC]

timmyc;

the dealer is telling me i need to replace the p. steering pump on my '05 sts-4/v-8. how big a deal is this?

dick62m

Sorry I didn't see this, the site won't let me use my yahoo email so I don't get notifications.

Changing the pump is not that hard. You have to take the airbox out and the engine cover and side cover. The pump has two bolts that hold it to the motor. One goes into the head from the side and the other one goes into the block from the front. If you look around you'll see them. Then there's the pressure line and reservoir hose. If you've worked on cars before you'll figure it out. Otherwise it probably doesn't take the dealer guys that long so it shouldn't be too bad labor wise.

 

[TimmyC]

I took the bad pump apart after I replaced it. The rotor and housing inside were scratched up like sand went through it. I milled about .008 off each one and put the pump back together and it worked ok on another car. Not quite full pressure but the whining was gone and the effort stayed the same hot or cold. I don't recommend that necessarily but it was fun to do it to see if it would work.

 

[TimmyC]

My power steering went out a few months back but it was my fault from doing a couple donuts. I didn't have any noise, and flushed the fluid but still didn't work. I ended up just taking to the dealer and they replaced the pump along with a flush. They charged like 550 but that included a tranny flush as well. Would be much better to do it yourself if you can.

How could doing donuts damage a power steering pump?