Power Steering Pressure Switch Failure?

[Gene]

Hey need some insight- 1994 Ford Taurus GL, Sedan, 3.0L OHV (only two hose connections to the steering rack.)

History
Heard some periodic squealing from the power steering recently and found that the fluid level was low. Refilled the fluid, moved the wheels lock to lock a few times to get any air out of the system and all was good.

Then I was out doing some errands the other day and heard the noise again. It was getting progressively worse. So one of my stops was the parts store, so bought a quart of p/s fluid ( this car uses ATF-F as p/s fluid). Resisted the urge to buy some p/s fluid with stop leak or conditioners. Anyway, by the time I get home and make the turns to get in the garage, here come the sounds!

So jacking the car up, cleaning up p/s fluid that was sprayed all around and then starting up the car to look around and find the leak. Best I could tell leak was coming from the vicinity of the Power Steering Pressure Switch (PSPS): the drip was coming from there and connector was wet with fluid. Took the electrical connector apart and it looked like the fluid was coming out from between the pins!

What I have done, so far
So I get online, look up the part number, go into search mode as to who has what parts, cost, quality, etc. Finally settled on Standard Motors Products PSPS. Got it ordered and ready to install.

Question
I am wondering if there are other problems I should be aware of? Is a failed PSPS a sign of something else going on like a problem in the steering rack?

I mean, I’d hate to replace the PSPS only to blow this one out because the underlying problem wasn’t fixed. Seems odd that a pressure switch would fail like this. Seems like the p/s pump is OK, because there is enough pressure to blow out the pressure switch?

So, any thing I should be aware of or look for?

Thanks in advance!

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Topic

[Richard Kirshy]

Sometimes components just fail.
Example, when a oil pressure switch / sensor fails and it leaks oil.
It doesn’t indicate the engine oil system is faulty.
Replace the faulty component, clean up all the fluid residue and look for any other signs of a issue ( which I don’t believe you’ll find)

[Gene]

Thank you nightflyr!

The more I wander into car repair the more respect I have for those who do this for a living and the more I realize how much there is to know and how little I do know.

So that always has me thinking I might be missing something. So rather than just tossing parts at a problem it seems prudent to ask if there is more to it or not.

So thank you for putting my mind to ease. I’ll swap the PSPS and report back!

[Richard Kirshy]

Never a bad thing to question:)

[Gene]

Oops! My bad – slow to report back.

Replaced the power steering pressure switch and that fixed the leak! No problems since then.

Thank again for the kind help offered here!

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