Let me begin the thread by stating the fact, that im deaf.

Ok so yesterday when I was leaving work, my coworker said that my power steering pump is shot. I asked him how does he specifically point to the pump as the culprit. He said that it was loud when I steered the wheels to make a turn and it stopped making noise once the wheels were straight.

The steering was always tight and didn't cause me any problems.

Could he be right?

 

Last time the power steering fluid was changed?

I'm not sure if being deaf with a Jeep is a blessing or a curse. LOL

 

Last year. I had to replace the hoses

 

Lol. I think it's a blessing.


The fluid isn't black, it's still dark yellow Definitely darker now than the day I poured it out of the totals.

 

Well a change might help if it's super filthy. I'm not really sure how to tell with the steering pumps. I would assume that the humming/whining noise is a key indicator. Has it become more difficult to steer lately?

I suppose all of the important stuff can be checked visually, and the rest just amounts to keeping on top of maintenance

 

It isn't super filthy. Just darker yellow It used to be black until hoses broke and I replaced that last year and flushed out the old fluid inside the steering box. Steering is not tight that its hard to turn, I just mean that entire steering system is "tight" like new, because I replaced various tie rods and stuff.

My friend isn't exactly mechanical savvy, he just like to point out random stuff and say something like he know about it.

I guess I need to get someone else to listen to it.

 

Mine makes a loud hissing/hydraulic pump sound whenever I turn my wheels too. It still works fine and has done it since I bought it 40k miles ago so I don't worry about it. May be because I have a lift and bigger tires but it works fine, doesn't leak and the fluid is full and clean. Honestly if I were you I wouldn't worry about it too much.

 

if it wines when being used, generally that is an indicator that the pump is going bad. just for reference.. https://www.google.com/search?q=jeep...w=1920&bih=979

 

That's just it, I can't hear. I gotta get somebody who can hear and tell me what kind of noise.

By the way I would like to add, that my friend specifically said that "power steering pump was screaming when you made the turn on the road"

If whining is bad, I can't imagine what screaming would mean lol

 

if its that bad, then maybe a trip to the local shop just to see what they think.. or, can you post a vid of it happening?

 

I don't know how to post a video. I guess a trip to a shop is in order.

 

good luck man.

 

On another thought. Is it possible for a wheel bearing to scream while turning?

 

Not to the extent that you wouldn't hear it when going straight. It IS possible that a U joint could make such a noise if it's totally dried out inside. If the U joints are screwed it's easy to tell: get the front end on jack stands, crank the steering wheel to one side, then try to spin the wheel by hand while watching the U joint. Operation should be smooth. You can see either binding or sloppiness. In my case one joint was so seized that it was making groaning/creaking sounds, the tire was harder to spin every 90 degrees or so and I could see it binding.

 

I had a bad PS pump on mine when I bought it and it would definitely squeal - it's fairly distinctive to anyone that's heard it. It doesn't sound like belt squeal; more like a high pitched whistle. Unfortunately the replacement PS pump I got from O'Reilly's went bad after about a week. I still need to replace it again... it's whistling louder than ever. It's easy to diagnose because it's right at the front top of the engine bay and the sound fluctuates as you turn the wheel. Just pop the hood and ask someone if the sound is coming from the pump, but considering it's a fairly unique sound, I would assume the guy that heard it in the first place probably has ran into a bad PS pump before.