How hot for PS fluid?

[SHOZ]

On my '97 SHO the PS pump is making growling noises. It has always had clean fluid and usually Amsoil or Mobil One ATF fluid.

I do know that at its has not gotten over 150F on the worst days on a road course.

Do you think an oil t-stat that would keep it around 190F would be better at driving any moisture out?

 

[unDummy]

No.
Does it need to heat up to 190f outside in order to let the rain dry?
How are you measuring the temp?

You should be glad that your PS stays at 150f!

I've always hated Ford PS pumps. They must have supplier issues. These things are noisy. Its hit or miss with job #1.

 

[sbc350gearhead]

On my GMC truck, when I went to wide tires (295/50/15) on the front, my PS pump began to make noise. I changed the fluid and went to a synthetic (RP max-EZ) and the noise went away. I cannot tell you why.

 

[Tremo]

I don't know exactly how hot it gets, but on a hot day, my PS fluid runs friggin' hot. You can't hold your hand on the hose. My car has a cheezy loop PS fluid cooler that runs under the radiator across the car and back. I don't know how well it works, but GM put it there for a reason.

 

[JohnBrowning]

Fords are known for P/S issues more then any other brand. It is probably on it way out of this world! I would prepare to buy another one. I doubt they make one for your ride but check with AGR and see if they make a replacment pump for yours. THey mostly make them for trucks but they build them much better then the OEM does. If you go on the cheap side of things like parts stores get the best warranty you can. It has been my experince that most aftermarket p/s pumps do not last as long as the oem ones. You normaly can get a remaned one at a parts store from $39-$100+ $10 "CORE CHARGE" and a new OEM one if still available from ford will proably run $300.

 

[Caddyman]

If your car has an external resauvour (!) it has a fine filter screen hidden down inside it. Remove the plastic tank from the fender and clean it out with solvent (mineral spirits) and see it that helps. Forget the additives, just Dexron works best. Still moaning and groaning? Replace the pump. You will need a pully puller/installer which most A/P stores will loan you...

 

[brianl703]

quote:

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Originally posted by SHOZ:
On my '97 SHO the PS pump is making growling noises.

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My 1988 Mustang 5.0's PS pump has been making groaning and growling noises since I got it at 116,000 miles.

Now it has 161,800 miles and the PS pump is still making the same growling noises it has been for 45,800 miles. I'll also point out that here in Virginia, power steering pumps get much more of a workout than they do in Illinois because rulers hadn't yet been invented when they started building roads here

I changed the fluid and did an Auto-RX (mainly because it had "morning sickness"..stiffer steering than normal at startup in cold weather), but it still groans and growls. The morning sickness seems to have gone away though.

On http://www.corral.net it's been reported that even new power steering pumps will growl.

I'm not particularly worried about it anymore. It's normal, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[punisher]

The Ford C3 pump (integral plastic reservoir) was known for being noisy, as well as difficult to bleed after component replacement.

The newer pumps (remote reservoir) are a step up from the older ones. Ford also installed a fluid filter in the pump return line (rack-reservoir) to keep contamination out of the pump vanes. If a new style pump is noisy, and the system has not previously run low enough on fluid to get air into the fluid, the pump is worn. I have only seen one p-steer pump fail to the point of no pressure in 10 years, so eventhough noisy, they still function.

EDIT: The fluid gets extremely hot, to the point of boiling out the reservoir on hot summer days in heavy traffic and lots of steering input. P-steer fluid coolers were optional on many vehicles.