Today my car started making the old power steering moaning noise when turning the wheel at low speeds, like engine running in the garage, turn the wheel slightly, pump makes moaning noise. Fluid was low in the resirvoir, not on the dipstick, but visible in the container. I pulled out what I could that was in there and put in some new Prestone Dexon III to the full mark, started the engine and cycled the steering lock to lock about 8-10 times, same behavior and the resirvoir now shows foaming in there, which I think means I have air in the system.

Can I get the air out by simply driving and checking the fluid level or is there a bleed process to extract the air pockets? Or is it time to order a pump and probably some hoses that will likely break off as I do this? I'm assuming I must have a leaky hose fitting or seal somewhere or the fluid wouldn't have gone down this low as the system is closed loop, correct?

Steering effort is normal and light, just drove 300 miles today for work without issues...just the noise and the foam.

Thanks in advance.

Edit: This is an 01 XJR with 145k miles on it. Had it about 10 months now, I topped off the ps fluid last fall and checked it frequently for awhile after with no change in the level. Obviously I've now gone too long between checks.

 

It's a common issue.

​​​​​The PS pump is done. Just replace it.

 

SOMETIMES the filter inside the reservoir (integral) gets clogged and causes foaming.

Make sure the the fluid supply is not restricted.

 

Any particular brands recommended or are most warratied reman pump good?

 

To have foam leak has to be on suction side. So either in pump or hose from reservoir to pump. Probably the pump, but check the hose first. A very small crack in hose that is hard to see can cause foam. I know this from first hand experience.

 

Can these pumps be rebuilt? Ive done a few on older bmws that were cheap and easy

 

well..everything is possible but PS pump for X308 is not insanely expensive.so not sure if just getting a new(re-man) one will just make your own life easier and call it a day

 

Didn't use the car at all today, reservoir lost about an inch of fluid just sitting there. I'll slink underneath tomorrow and see if I'm lucky and its a leaky hose. Bet I'm not that lucky!

 

Welp. Good news is my hoses all seem good. Bad news is the pump is leaking fluid out just sitting there, so new one ordered and will be here later this week.

Anyone have a R & R procedure handy? I saw some other old thread that said remove the pulley bolts before taking the belt off, but from there I'm a bit fuzzy. Hoses are self explanatory, but where are the mounting bolts? Seems weird that the pump has threaded holes, so I'm guessing some bracket must be in front of it?

Probably high time I got the JTIS downloaded and working on win10.

 

What I gathered from the exploded view it is simple as alternator. Loosen up belt wheel bolts before taking belt off. Mounting bolts 2pcs are behind the wheel.
When installing tighten wheel bolts after the belt is tensioned. Belt keeps the wheel steady.

 

The Duchess had a whine that would become higher pitched as the engine rpms increased. I eventually
determined it was the power steering pump. I replaced it it with an aftermarket part which whined almost
as loud. Lesson learned.

 

I fiddled with JTIS a little bit several years ago, but I thought it was clumsy. What I use instead is a PDF of the workshop manual which has live links in the table of contents and in the procedure references throughout the PDF. All you have to do is click the topic or procedure and it jumps to that page. The back button brings you back. You can bookmark pages too, which makes jumping around pretty easy. I suppose the bookmark feature might depend on the app you're using, not sure. Anyway, I'm 99% sure I found it in one of the stickies. Been using it for several years.

 

If you haven’t replaced the supply hose going from the reservoir to the pump in the last 2 or so years, you’ll want to order one of those as well. The rubber hose turns rock hard and won’t come off and reinstall willingly.

 

Thanks for the tip, ordered a new hose.


Aquifer, I'll have a look, thats sounds perfect for my needs.

 

This seems harder than it ought to be. The pulley bolts will not budge. 6 point socket and a foot ling ratchet just turns the motor with the belts.

Took the radiator fans out to make extra room and put my 1/4" impact on them. Killed a full 4amp/hour 18v battery, zero motion on any of the bolts. 1/2" impact won't fit.

Can this be done with the pulley on there? I'm thinking no. I soaked the bolt heads in penetrant and then tried to spritz some on the end of each bolt as well. Maybe some heat...nope. hit it with a bit of map gas and it did nothing, don't dare use too much heat as im sure to torch the garage.

Any suggestions?

 

I wonder if these bolts have threadlocker on them?

Edit:

So my impact gun is a 1/4" gun, more for driving screws than anything else...I think it provides maybe 100 ft-lb or so. I just ordered a stubby 3/8" cordless impact wrench (225ft-lb) that I'll pick up on my way home and try out tonight. I'll also consider hitting the bolt heads with my heat gun for awhile to potentially loosen any possible threadlock that might be in there...not crazy about the torch in that space as I'm sure I'll wind up breaking something I need.

Barring that, maybe a strap wrench will hold the pulley tight enough for me to put a 7' breaker on it? Are there any pulleys in there with a slot in them that I can lock with a screwdriver or something to keep the engine from spinning?

 

I’m willing to bet someone put enough loctite red on those 3 bolts for 10 cars.

 

Wasn't a garage night last night but I couldn't resist the call of a new impact wrench so I popped a battery in and an impact socket on and hit those bolts. They held on for dear life for a few seconds and then each one came right out fast enough that I got the gun wedged in between the bolt and the radiator and I had to reverse to put the bolts back in. I haven't removed any of them, just broke them loose so I haven't seen any residue on the threads, but I'll be surprised if they're clean.

New pump arrives today so hopefully this ought to be buttoned up tongiht. I have a couple quarts of Prestone synthetic Dexon III, is any Dexon III synthetic pretty much like any other or is there a compelling reason to stop and get a couple bottles of Mobil1 ATF or some other premium label? If it matters, I use the car year round in all temperatures.

 

Got it all wrapped up a short while ago. That old pump fought me every step of the way, but its done and the new pump works great. Moaned a bit at startup but it stopped once the fluid purged to last of the air bubbles (I hope). Only needed about a 1/2-2t3 quart of dex3, which tells me i did a lousy job of purging the old fluid.

Belt and I think tensioner pulley are squeeking a fair bit, bubitm certain i got penetrating oil all over the belt, so I'llput those items on my short list.

Anyone doing this, do yourself a favor and take the cooling fans out. You'll pick up some valuable space for your hands, just be very xareful of the hard lines on the left side of the radiator as I hear they're delicate abd hard to find replacement parts for.

Thanks everyone for the advice.

 

Slight thread hijack here, but my power steering pump took a crap yesterday, heading back to Nebraska from Denver. The C-Store I pulled into had dex/merc fluid, so I dumped some in and got home, but it was dripping out pretty fast from the pump itself. I tossed some floor dry under there and let it sit overnight. This morning the floor dry was soaked, and it was still dripping. I got it up on the lift and took the old pump off. I remembered seeing this thread earlier, and sure enough, the rubber hose was rock hard, so I ordered a new one along with a new pump. I’m not sure why the pump is a two piece unit, but fluid was running out at the bottom where the gasket had apparently failed.

For anyone who stumbles across this thread later: I recommend taking the wheel off and removing the fender liner. It doesn’t give much extra room, but it allows you to see what you’re doing a little better. I took the lower pump bracket bolt out from that vantage point, and I loosened the lower pressure hose and spun it off with my fingers from the wheel well area too. For the upper supply hose, I took it off at the reservoir and it came out with the pump. I also recommend removing the fan shroud to have more room to work.

Something that amused me is that the workshop manual does not have a R&R procedure for the power steering pump. At least not that I could find anyway.