Power steering whine

[snowy]

If I don,t use van for a few days I get a whining noise after starting when I turn the steering wheel, it only lasts a couple of minutes so I suspect it,s the oil level, can someone helpfully tell me how to check and where to put the oil thanks Snowy

[Colin Lambert]

It may be the oil level or it may be that the oil has dropped back in the pump or it may even be (in this crappy weather) that the belt driving the p/s pump has got damp and slips until it is dry.
To check the p/s oil level you have to remove the centre console and get into the engine compartment by releasing the clips on the front seats.
I am not sure of the exact position but it will be a smallish (1 litre-ish) size resevoir with an unscrewable lid and a small dipstick usually attached to the lid. the oil within should be red.
Hope this helps.

[Vanmanerik]

As Colin says remove center console by unscrewing the two thumb screws and lifting off. On the drivers side release the spring clamps, tilt the seat back forwards, then tilt the whole seat assembly to the rear. The power steering tank (plasic bottle) can be seen towards the front of the engine bay on the side towards the outer sill.
You may be able to see/feel if the vee belts are tensioned correctly, or you may have to approach them from under the passenger seat - I can't remember fully.
Hope this helps.

[dandywarhol]

As Colin says remove center console by unscrewing the two thumb screws and lifting off. On the drivers side release the spring clamps, tilt the seat back forwards, then tilt the whole seat assembly to the rear. The power steering tank (plasic bottle) can be seen towards the front of the engine bay on the side towards the outer sill.
You may be able to see/feel if the vee belts are tensioned correctly, or you may have to approach them from under the passenger seat - I can't remember fully.
Hope this helps.

Or just spray them in WD40...............

[Fredanz]

I am not sure of the exact position but it will be a smallish (1 litre-ish) size resevoir with an unscrewable lid and a small dipstick usually attached to the lid. the oil within should be red.

I've got a below-min P/S reservoir and clear signs of a slow but steady leak too (knew I shouldn't have done that offroad stuff before NY ).

Question: someone else here mentioned using stop leak to help sort their problems and avoid mucking with the steering rack. Sounds like it's worth a try. BUT, will ordinary STP engine stop-leak do, or is that risking something, i.e. do I need something special for the P/S system?

The local auto place offers me "P/S fluid which has a stop-leak in it" but, as I already have plenty of Dexron P/S fluid, I don't want to go and buy more and then have to drain all the existing fluid to get it in there. I'd far rather just top up with some fluid and suitable stop-leak additive.

Clues welcome, thanks!

[antique]

hi if you take steering rack off and get it recond its about £100 solves all the probs ?

[Fredanz]

hi if you take steering rack off and get it recond its about £100 solves all the probs ?

With respect, I find it a lot easier to take the lid off a bottle of additive, if it works.

[antique]

dont think there is a quick fix thats any good ? if your seals are perished cant see what a bottle of miracal qure is going to do?

[Fredanz]

dont think there is a quick fix thats any good ? if your seals are perished cant see what a bottle of miracal qure is going to do?

Others on this forum (e.g. gogongo) have described exactly that kind of quick fix; that's why I'm asking. I think one of them mentioned Wynne's Power-steer Stop Leak; I'm just wondering whether the engine stop leak (which I already bought) will do the trick, or isn't safe to use for the power-steering system.

[antique]

well it cant do any harm to try it ? i am a trader . if one off my vans had leak i wood have the rack reconed. then i no its never going to be a problem again , also if you go for mot and still weeping ,its a fail ?

[Fredanz]

well it cant do any harm to try it ? i am a trader . if one off my vans had leak i wood have the rack reconed. then i no its never going to be a problem again , also if you go for mot and still weeping ,its a fail ?

Antique, I know you've got the very best of intentions but, to me, it's the difference between a bloody simple thing and a bloody hard thing.

You're asking me to start by doing the bloody hard thing (and expensive, and time-consuming, because I'd be getting a mechanic to do it). I'd prefer to FIRST try the inexpensive, quick and easy thing. Particularly as at least one other person here has said it worked for them. I'm prepared to find it doesn't work, but I want to give it a shot before considering something more drastic.

That's completely logical from where I sit, and it's the same approach I use to deal with a host of technical problems I encounter in my working life, which is more electronic than mechanical.

But because I'm not the mechanical type, I do need advice about the reasonableness of using a regular engine-stop-leak rather than taking the trouble to source a proper power-steering stop-leak. I'm in no position to judge. Can someone else here venture an opinion on my actual question?

Thanks!

[Peg leg Pete]

If the enigine stop leak does what it says on the tin, you would be better getting the power steering stop leak I think you will only be delaying the ineviatable

[dandywarhol]

Fer feck's sake DON'T put the engine stop leak in the PS system.......you're liable to damage the pump cos the fluid will froth and airate.
Use the PS stop stuff - I used a Wynns branded Power Steering seal swell stuf on a Citroen yonks ago and it both stopped a leak and quietened the pump. I used the car for a couple of years after that.........

[Fredanz]

If the enigine stop leak does what it says on the tin, you would be better getting the power steering stop leak I think you will only be delaying the ineviatable

Aye, I got some Wynnes Power Steering Conditioner (stops leaks), just about to try it. We'll see how it goes...

Thanks!

[Ian]

Did this get sorted (another member had telephone query earlier today)?