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Have 2008 Explorer Sport Trac with 4.6L V8, 59K miles. A couple of months ago I noticed a low-pitch whine from the PS pump. I bought the car two years ago with 17K on it and have kept the steering fluid (which is Mercon V ATF spec) fresh the whole time. No steering problems and pump is not about to disintegrate – it’s just annoying at this point. Local fast lube helped me exchange entire system fluid a couple of weeks ago, but that doesn’t appear to have had any effect. I’m thinking this is a common issue with Ford PS pumps and that I’m going to have to live with it until/unless I decide to replace the pump.
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I will say this with full respect of your opinion, and I hope you don’t take offence to my words. My chevy malibu 2003 I had 2 years ago had the same problem, but it was loud, and it was from when I started the car to turning off, the faster I went, the louder it was until I hit 60, and the sound died out. I believe you have a bad Power Steering Rack. I replaced a pully, my alternator, and my water pump, as well as the power steering pump to try and fix the issue (Local garage did all this…. back then I didnt know what I was doing at all) and I replaced the PS rack and the problem went away, the crappy thing is that is a bit of a job and it’s costly. I would suggest checking your rack, and if you know how to, bleed the power steering, there COULD be air in the system! Keep me posted! Same issue as I had and I dont want anyone else to waste over a grand like I did
Power steering noise can be difficult to nail down. Many people start by replacing the pump but often it ends up being the PS rack itself. As you suggest I would continue to monitor the situation and see if it gets worse. At some point it may become obvious as to what the problem is. In the mean time you might want to read through this article I wrote about diagnosing noises.
http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/diagnosing-noises-in-your-car
Good luck and keep us posted.
Basically for diagnosing the noise you need to find out if there’s air in the system first, if there is the fluid will be a bit foamy and pinkish. A small leak might not leak anything of note but it may be letting air into the system. It is also possible as others have suggested that the rack may be the culprit. The best way to check for a small leak is to remove the outer clamp from the rack boot and stick a small screwdriver or pick in there and turn the wheel all the way so the boot is collapsed and check for fluid leaking out.
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