AWFUL power steering pump noise, then quiet...

[Klutch9]

So today on the way to work, after making my final turn before the parking lot, I open up to ~90% throttle and give the Focus a short quick burst, albeit only for about 3 seconds. But the parking lot wasn't that far from when I turned, so after my brief near WOT I was immediately on the brakes; not slamming on them, just slowed down relatively quickly and made my turn into the parking lot. Then the noise started... Even in a straight line at about 10 mph, the sound was awful. Just a whining/groaning noise (think noisy Ford power steering pumps). Upon deceleration or caosting it sounded like a straight-cut gearbox. And making the turn into the parking spot was possibly the worst power steering pump noise I've ever heard. So I immediately pop the hood and see power steering fluid on top of the reservoir. I also see that some ran down onto the serpentine routing and onto the wire harness below. The fluid was still right in the middle of the safe zone though.

What could cause this to happen? Could it be the sudden acceleration followed by the quick stop? I don't think this is possible, since people Auto-X their cars all the time and do this type of thing, but to a much more severe degree. The reservoir cap was also on tight, so I'm not sure how any fluid leaked out

Also, my near WOT began just before I finished up the turn, so I was on the gas hard while the tires were still turned, but not very much. I was already in the process of sraightening them out.

I did a lap around the parking lot, stopped, then did another lap, and the noise is gone from what I can tell. Any ideas? The steering feels fine, as it always does.

 

[Klutch9]

EDIT: Using Google, I found another person who has a 2007 Focus 2.0 that accelerated while making a left hand turn and had the awful noise as well. One of the posters made the point that the PS pump was staying "engaged", or still pressurizing the system, even though the car was staying in a straight line, therefore causing fluid to come out of the reservoir. Now, that does explain why there would be some noise while I was going straight, but it doesn't explain why the noise was so ungodly loud, and got even louder still when making a turn. Hmm... Maybe because the pressure was so high? Could I have air in the PS fluid/system?

 

[Rand]

That sounds weird.. I had a 2007 zx3 with MT and it was a very fun car to drive with great handling for what it was.
I never had any issues with anything on it except a weird rear suspension noise.. and the rubber around the trunk lock falling out when I shut it one day.

Hopefully this is a win the lottery type of problem and it doesn't reoccur.

If you got psf on the belt.. you should probably change it and wipe down the pulleys with cleaner.

If you do it yourself its really easy and takes about 10min.

 

[JZiggy]

A friend of mine is having the same issue on a Mariner V6. I'm curious to hear if anyone has any input about this.

 

[Klutch9]

I'll post back on my findings from driving home from work this evening. I wonder if air somehow got in the system... It sure sounded like it! How that could've happened, I have no clue, but I'm gonna test for it today. And I'll purge any and all air out this weekend once I have access to some floor jacks to get the front wheels off the ground. I hope it is a one-time thing that never comes back. Those type of things happen every once in awhile; they sure do give you a scare

FWIW, my car uses Mercon V for the PSF, and only a little bit got on the belt, so I'm really not too worried about it.

 

[morris]

do NOT use any thing other than oil to clean the pump. i saw a guy put kerosene in a running pump, it locked the pump up.

 

[OVERKILL]

Remember, your power steering also runs your brake assist on that car.

 

[Klutch9]

Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Remember, your power steering also runs your brake assist on that car.


Hmmm... are you saying that some portion of my brake system needs replacing? I replaced the front rotors and pads 3 months ago. The rear drums have been squeaking at slow speeds for a couple months though...

The weird thing is that the noise pops up towards the end of my drives now (happened 3 times today now), once the power steering fluid is warm, but ONLY when I'm turning left. This is strange.

 

[Klutch9]

Good news. The power steering problem is covered by my car's warranty (not Ford's, but from the company I bought the car from). I'm taking it in today around noon; hopefully they can find the culprit of this problem. I'll let you all know how it goes.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Klutch9
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Remember, your power steering also runs your brake assist on that car.


Hmmm... are you saying that some portion of my brake system needs replacing? I replaced the front rotors and pads 3 months ago. The rear drums have been squeaking at slow speeds for a couple months though...

The weird thing is that the noise pops up towards the end of my drives now (happened 3 times today now), once the power steering fluid is warm, but ONLY when I'm turning left. This is strange.


No, simply that there is more demand on the power steering pump in a system where it runs the steering AND the brake assist.

 

[Klutch9]

Problem fixed! It ended up being a bad reservoir. It was very tricky to diagnose, because the system wasn't leaking (other than yesterday morning when the pressure went really high, some squirted out from underneath the cap). Evidently something on the reservoir - we're thinking it was one of the O-rings on the low pressure nipple - was ingesting air, albeit small amounts, when turning the steering wheel. We noticed a small amount of bubbling in the reservoir when the car was idling. Reservoir replaced, problem solved.

Many thanks to Dave and the great guys at AutoRex for fixing the problem and being honest and trustworthy!