Power Steering not working

Tiny
INTEGRADUDE19
  • MEMBER
  • 1997 FORD F-150
  • V8
  • 4WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 121,499 MILES
Power steering failed while driving and very loud whine coming from pump. Fluid in resovoir appeared to not be circulating. No leaks or kinks in lines. Had proper level of fluid in decent condition, serpentine belt in good condition, pulley in good shape. Replaced pump with remanufactured unit and cleaned/flushed resovoir, fluid appeared to be circulating afterwards but still loud whin and steering would only work when the engine was reved above idle. Whine would get louder as you reved. Bled air from system, problem persisted. Installed another remanufacted unit but same conditions. Performed system flush, noted slight metal flakes in fluid that came from the steering gear. Flushed several more times. Problem presists. What should be tested or replaced now?
Thursday, December 9th, 2010 AT 7:06 PM

4 Replies

Tiny
FIXITMR
  • MECHANIC
  • 9,990 POSTS
I was thinking you could disconnect lines at steering unit and tie together with rubber hose and run engine to see if noise persists? I'm also wonderin if there a check valve in the line somewhere? Maybe right where it connects to pump?
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Thursday, December 9th, 2010 AT 7:34 PM
Tiny
INTEGRADUDE19
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
I talked to Ford and there are no check valves or anything like that in the lines. I bypassed the resovoir with a funnel to the inlet line and put the return hose into the funnel, ran the engine for a while and there is plenty of pressure and flow. So any blockage is out of the question. I am replacing the pump one more time. If this doesnt work the only thing left is the steering box.
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Thursday, December 9th, 2010 AT 8:22 PM
Tiny
INTEGRADUDE19
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
Yes it ended up being the steering box.
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Friday, December 10th, 2010 AT 7:36 PM
Tiny
DANNY L
  • MECHANIC
  • 5,648 POSTS
You're welcome!
Glad to hear you completed the repair. We like when you add to our thread with this information as it may help another person with the same vehicle and symptom. Thanks for using 2CarPros and we hope you will use our site again in the future when needed.

Danny-
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Wednesday, June 30th, 2021 AT 11:11 PM

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