Power Steering Hose and Whinning Noise

first thing to check is the fluid level in the reservoir.

If the power steering system was ran for a long period of time with the system low on fluid the power steering pump may have been damaged.

The pump is like anything else that requires lubricant, if it has been running for a long time dry or low on fluid the damage has already been done.two months is a long time to be running the pump this way.

I'm here, I'm there, I'm everywhere!

if this is the case - the pump being possibly damaged ... how long can it wait - will the situation deteriorate if there is no leakage now, and the fluid is kept at recommended levels?

TIA - N

Well lets put it this way, the pump is not going to fix itself :-)

You can wait as long as you like or until the pump gives up the ghost, whichever comes first.Or until you get tired of hearing the noise.

The pump should not seize up on you so you can still drive it , just keep the fluid level up to its specified level and drive it .

You may want to look into additives that you can add to the power steering system, they might do some good to cut down on the pump noise.

NissTech,

thanks for your assistance - is there any additive you can suggest -- Noela

At my dealership we use a line of products made by a company called BG , I have faith in their products and have been using them for quite a while now.

BG has a 2 part power steering system service that consists of a cleaner and an additive.

part 1 , the cleaner is added to the system and allowed to run for about 10 minutes.

once the cleaner is done doing it's thing , a special pump is used to siphon out the old fluid while pumping in new power steering fluid, once the system is near full a special conditioning additive is put in and that's it.

You can go to

to find a local shop that uses their products and have the service done, and read all about the different services they offer

thanks, NissTech;

i checked their homepage, and I will do some of the engine oil, transmission, and power steering flushes -- at least anything that will help get one more year out of my aging but reliable 91 GXE with about 270k miles.

i intend driving it to Canada for xmas holidays, so i will likely get these done.

there is a problem with the transmission - i have to always nudge it back to get it into drive - for some reason, kicking it into drive doesn't seem to engage, unless you hit it back a bit. but when you put it into 1 or 2, it engages instantly. i have done a transmission oil/filter change in spring this year. is this a concern?

thanks again for all your assistance on this board.

/p

nope not a big concern, the slop in the shifter is caused by a rotted/missing shifter bushing, that part is less than 5 bucks at the dealer