What does a dying power steering pump sound like?

Alright, so you know that sound that comes from your power steering pump when you go to full lock? Now its doing that all the time, and gets louder with RPM's, there's also kind of a knocking sound coming from the pump as well. It seems to be getting worse as I drive it more. So my question is, is there any aftermarket pumps out there, and if not, should I go reman or oem? I did a search on , and plan on flushin the system before I put the new one on, but guys seemed to be having quality issues with remans.

I'm 99% sure its the pump going out though, am I correct? The fluid looks fine, filled up, smells fine, good color. I have also been kind of noticing a pulsing in the steering during turns when it is cold, and all these symptoms have just showed up in the past three weeks.

So to recap, Do you think its my pump? How hard is it to replace? OEM, reman, or aftermarket? Also, should I park this thing until I get it fixed,and what type of price are we talking about for a new pump. I can do the work myself no problem.

Thanks for all the help guys!

couple of things come to mind. my scout was making a bad rapping sound at one time. found the PS bracket had worked loose. some torque on it and no more noise, but it was letting the pump move a little. check all dem dare bolts. my 87 XJ had made some nasty noises from the pump and i drained it all (a few times) and put the valvoline sythetic fluid in. quieted down and worked well for years. worse case scenario you need a new pump anyway, but better yet if it works for you.

My pump went out on my '98. I'm pulling it today. I'm going with reman. About $70. The knocking sound could quite possibly be the bearings. That's the sound mine was making. I would highly recommend parking it. I've heard of all sorts of things happening when running a bad pump. Just my $.02...

where'd you get your reman at? Also, i just flush the system by pulling off the return hose, lifting the front of the jeep off the ground, and cycling the steering back and forth right?

What you've described is definitely a bad pump.

A whining noise alone doesn't signal imminent pump failure, but that erratic steering boost and knocking sound does.

I'm surprised the fluid still looks good, must not be very old.

Might be good to install an inline transmission filter on the return line, to protect the new pump from the junk still lodged in the steering gear.

johnsoninc86 said:

where'd you get your reman at?

Click to expand...

Autozone

Also, i just flush the system by pulling off the return hose, lifting the front of the jeep off the ground, and cycling the steering back and forth right?

Click to expand...

That's what I did. Just be sure to cap off the plastic elbow where the return hose was on the reservoir. I also yanked the ignition coil wire so I could turn the engine over (in turn, cycling the P/S pump) without actually starting it.