Power Steering Problem *joy*

[meg01]

I bought my 94 LS 400 in Aug. 07, so i've only had it a few months. shortly after i bought it, it began making a faint whining noise. in my experience with cars, i know this to mean it's getting low on PS fluid, so I checked it. it was fine. very quickly, the noise began to get worse, so I took it to a shop to have them listen to it, and the mechanic told me that it had air in the pump. they also diagnosed a few other things for me, which they ended up being wrong about, so I decided to go elsewhere. I went to my a friend's mechanic, who told me that I needed a new pump. So i went to the parts store, bought a new one, put it on, no difference. i cleaned the solenoid filter, which was disgusting, and got the fluids back to where they should be, and still no difference. I will say, however, that i was amazed at the difference in how the steering responded after cleaning the filter. it's nearly effortless. but the whining is still there, what's the chances that i was sold a bad pump? does this happen often? i was told that it could be the rack & pinion. when the belt is off of the car, it doesn't make this noise. would the R&P still make this noise with the belt off? i'm baffled. thanks for your help, guys

[Harky]

The whining is most likely coming from the pump rather than the R&P.

I've read on other posts about bum replacement pumps.

Is yours a rebuilt or a reman from one of the popular auto stores?? or is it an OEM pump from Lex?

[lex4me]

When I replaced the rack and pump on my 91, I was amazed at how many times I had to turn the wheel lock to lock (while the car was on stands) to devoid the system of any air. It's been awhile now since I did this, but I want to say that I did it somewhere close to 50 times

[meg01]

yes, harky, it was a reman from autozone, came with a warranty, so i think i'll be pulling it off and taking it back for a replacement. my uncle told me the same thing last night, that in 45 years of him being a mechanic, he can count on both hands how many bad pumps he's been sold that were reman. thanks for your help.

[dcfish]

I bought my 94 LS 400 in Aug. 07, so i've only had it a few months. shortly after i bought it, it began making a faint whining noise. in my experience with cars, i know this to mean it's getting low on PS fluid, so I checked it. it was fine. very quickly, the noise began to get worse, so I took it to a shop to have them listen to it, and the mechanic told me that it had air in the pump. they also diagnosed a few other things for me, which they ended up being wrong about, so I decided to go elsewhere. I went to my a friend's mechanic, who told me that I needed a new pump. So i went to the parts store, bought a new one, put it on, no difference. i cleaned the solenoid filter, which was disgusting, and got the fluids back to where they should be, and still no difference. I will say, however, that i was amazed at the difference in how the steering responded after cleaning the filter. it's nearly effortless. but the whining is still there, what's the chances that i was sold a bad pump? does this happen often? i was told that it could be the rack & pinion. when the belt is off of the car, it doesn't make this noise. would the R&P still make this noise with the belt off? i'm baffled. thanks for your help, guys

There is a filter screen in the rack, Clean it. The most common problem with the steering noise/tight feel and general steering problems. It is a DIY project.