steering wheel problem

[DarkSideCelica]

whenever i turn my steering wheel to either side (even the smallest turn), i hear this whirring sound coming from the engine bay and the car shakes a bit.... it's even louder and shakes harder when the motor is still cold... PS fluid is good (but not sure how old it is tho).... at what intervals do i need to change the PS fluid anyways? i think it's 100K rite?

or could it be my side motor mounts going bad?

[thousand_five]

Your power steering pump is taking a shit. Mine does the exact thing. Power steering pumps blow in the celicas. I'm in the market for another one. Changing fluid will help for a little bit, not a permanent fix. 3-4 months.

[DarkSideCelica]

crap... how much is the part, and is it difficult to replace? any DIY?

[thousand_five]

The part is $50 off of ebay...... but I'm too cheap and don't wanna go through the brain damage of returning it if happens to be wrong or bad.
$10 at the scrap yard. That's where I plan to get mine. I think it is a DIY. I'll do the picture thing when I get around to finding a donor.

[DarkSideCelica]

here's wat i did guys...

last time, i just topped off the fluid, and it still made tht noise... today, i actually pumped out everything from the reservoir and added in dexron III fluid.... noise went away for the most part, but still some noise...

AND THEN, i saw fluid leaking from the bottom of the car... it was the fluid tht i JUST put in... it was leaking somewhere in between the cat and passanger front wheel... any ideas?

[tankd0g]

Originally Posted by DarkSideCelica

here's wat i did guys...

last time, i just topped off the fluid, and it still made tht noise... today, i actually pumped out everything from the reservoir and added in dexron III fluid.... noise went away for the most part, but still some noise...

AND THEN, i saw fluid leaking from the bottom of the car... it was the fluid tht i JUST put in... it was leaking somewhere in between the cat and passanger front wheel... any ideas?

If it's really pouring out the hose may have cracked. If it's just a small leak well that's probably the seal on the pump.

[DarkSideCelica]

Originally Posted by tankd0g

If it's really pouring out the hose may have cracked. If it's just a small leak well that's probably the seal on the pump.

it drips a few times (maybe 5-7 times) a minute... it might be a hose, but i dun have the chance to jack up the car to see it cos i'm at work... how diff is it to replace the seal on the pump?

[DarkSideCelica]

ok... more analysis.... the fluid ONLY leaks out if i turn the wheel all the way to one side.... so, it only leaks under high pressure... a seal maybe? it still leaks at the same spot btw

[stepho]

If it's leaking from between the cat and the front wheel, then it sounds more like a seal on the rack itself.
Or possibly the fluid is dribbling down the hose from somewhere higher.

- Stepho