Whine When Turning - 8v With Power Steering

[jason7579 5]

My car is making a whining sound when going around corners / roundabouts etc. I can't hear it when at slow speeds but when I'm going at a reasonable speed it's there (not excessively fast). I also occasionally hear a hissing type of noise when taking a corner, I'm not sure if they are related.

I have power steering fitted as standard.

 

Any ideas?

[Tom Fenton 1,540]

I'd check the power steering fluid level as a starting point.

[jason7579 5]

I never thought of that, it could probably do with having the power steering fluid drained and replaced (I'll do a search )

 

Thanks, I'll try that first and see how it goes...

[Jamal 2]

As the sound like when you turn the wheels to knock?

If yes, It's maybe the actuator in the rack.

[jason7579 5]

Theres no knocking sound, its hard to explain but its more of a whine - a bit like somethings struggling.

[TT205 42]

^^ as Tom says

 

if fluid is low it will do this so first on the list to check

 

certainly it was the cause on my 309

[jason7579 5]

Checked the level and it appears ok but the fluid doesn't look too clever, its very dark and doesn't look very clean.

 

Does anyone know how to drain the PAS fluid? And how much will I need to replace it? I have got 1 litre just in case it needed topping up but I don't want to drain it if I don't have enough to refill it.

 

I have checked Haynes and searched this site but can't find the answer.

[shalmaneser 26]

It's in the Haynes manual, I keep meaning to do it but can never be arsed.

 

It's Haynes chapter 10 section 17, basically undo a hose, move the wheel from lock to lock a few times to get all the fluid out. Then bolt the union back up, refill the bottle while turning the wheel lock to lock a few times, once this is done start the engine and continue moving the steering from lock to lock until the fluid level in the reservoir stops dropping and you're done!

 

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

[jason7579 5]

Thanks, I saw the bit about refilling and moving from lock to lock but missed the remove a hose section (had a quick look in Halfords when getting the fluid). Might gice this a bash tomorrow if I get a chance.