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How does the reservoir look? If the fluid is low it may whine, if the system has air in it it may whine. Is the fluid dirty? With the engine warm does it still whine? It may be the pump/bearing on it’s way out as well.
Thanks for the quick reply. But I won’t be able to answer your question until Saturday evening because the car is at friends house 🙁 . I should have made a note of those things but it’s my first time dealing with car repairs. Also, I was just about to add to the post that the van got flooded once but we had changed all the fluids right after and everything worked fine for awhile… Normally i would have scarped the van after it had got flooded due to the fact that it’s old and has had a good run but my parents refuse to give up on it.
Here are some more things about the van if it helps any. For the year i thought it was 1997 but after looking up the VIN it had said 1998.
Engine: 4.3L V6 OHV 12V
Vehicle: 1998 GMC Safari Trim Level: SLX AWD
Made In: UNITED STATES Style: EXTENDED SPORTS VANNoisy power steering like that is normally caused either by air in the fluid or a faulty pump. Look at the fluid to see if it’s aerated (lots of tiny bubbles like soap suds). If it’s not, then almost surely the pump is noisy and needs to be replaced to make it quiet. If it is aerated, then air is getting into the system thru a leak. 95% of the time this is happening, there is also fluid leaking out where the air is getting in. Usually a leak like this is on the return side of the system. It is possible that the fluid can be free of air and just be so old and crappy that changing it quiets things down, but it usually needs a part of some kind in the end.
You cannot possibly hurt anything by changing or flushing the fluid. It’s a total crap shoot whether it will fix anything, but I’ve never even heard of it hurting anything. Nothing like the myth about changing old auto trans fluid causing some kind of catastrophe.
[quote=”J B” post=127535]Thanks for the quick reply. But I won’t be able to answer your question until Saturday evening because the car is at friends house 🙁 . I should have made a note of those things but it’s my first time dealing with car repairs. Also, I was just about to add to the post that the van got flooded once but we had changed all the fluids right after and everything worked fine for awhile… Normally i would have scarped the van after it had got flooded due to the fact that it’s old and has had a good run but my parents refuse to give up on it.
Here are some more things about the van if it helps any. For the year i thought it was 1997 but after looking up the VIN it had said 1998.
Engine: 4.3L V6 OHV 12V
Vehicle: 1998 GMC Safari Trim Level: SLX AWD
Made In: UNITED STATES Style: EXTENDED SPORTS VAN[/quote]
Alright update us as soon as you get it back!Sorry for taking so long but turns out theres are a lot more problems with the van than i thought. For one thing theres is section of steel brake line that needs be replaced and for the power steering pump there was no fluid!!! after filling it up with some fluid it fixed the noise. I realize now that it’s leaking somewhere. Do you know any ways to find the leak or is it just better to replace all the lines? Also, is there any connection with having no brake fluid because of a rusted line and with the power steering system?
Crawl under the area the engine and powersteering pump is (while the engine is off), and wipe EVERYTHING off. Everything wet needs wiped. Then when thats done, start the engine, and just watch it while someone turns the wheel lock to lock.
I had this issue with my Truck a few months back. A Seal in the pump went bad, and was leaking from the pump itself, but from all the fluid everywhere, I could have sworn it was one of the high pressure lines that hooked into the back of the thing.
Like he said, You need to clean everything up if whoever is looking at it can’t spot the leak as is. I recommend self-serve car wash pressure washing it. I used to put my car up on jack stands in the stall to wash underneath, before I had free access to a lift. It was a pain, but if I’m working on my own car, I’m not working on filth, plain and simple.
To answer your other question, the rusty brake lines have nothing to do with the steering leak and are normal conditions on an aged car. Although you could say that lack of cleaning/corrosion caused both problems. Neglecting to clean parts of the car that are prone to corrosion is overwhelmingly common cause of fluid leaks, and contributes many mechanical failures. People take cars through the car wash, cleaning off all the paint/plastic/glass and ignore all metal. A car wash bottom blast accomplishes nearly nothing.
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