I'm in search of a new power steering pump for my Ranger. I've been through about 4 remans, and I've pretty much had it with the whining that it seems plagues the remanufactured pumps. I've called my local Ford dealership and was told by the parts guy to "look online" because Ford doesn't sell new ones any more. I'm hoping that you guys can help me out here lol. I know it sounds dumb, but when riding with the windows down it drives me nuts, and I can only turn the radio up so loud. Thanks for any help you guys can offer.

2001 Ford Ranger Edge Regular Cab
2WD
3.0 V6 (Not Flex Fuel)

 

What type of fluid have you been putting in these pumps?

 

Mercon V ATF. I'm not sure if I read that in the Chiltons manual or the owner's manual, but one of them recommended it.

This here:

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/...hTerm=mercon+v

I also added this to one of the pumps because I saw that some of the Mustang guys were having good results with it. I didn't have much luck though.

https://www.zoro.com/bars-leaks-powe...00/i/G5096007/

 

I went through 6 rebuilt pumps from Advance Auto before I got one that would not squeal. On the third pump AA started giving me synthetic Mercon ATF. The manager apologized every time, his boss contacted me on #4, and a VP called when I returned #5.

What I was told by the district manager is when the company that rebuilds them they do not test the rebuilt unit. They do record the serial number and if the unit comes back they will rebuild it one more time. The third time it comes back they junk it. That is why the pumps come with a lifetime warranty.

I got to where I could change out the pump in just under 20 minutes. I did get lots of discount coupons from Advance Auto that lasted for a few years.

 

What are they doing wrong when they rebuild them that causes all the racket ?

I found a kit locally and rebuilt my own.
It was a little daunting at first, but I'm glad I did it.
The most difficult part was getting out (and in) this giant snap ring that holds the guts into the body of the pump.

Maybe when they rebuild it, they get the innards the wrong way around, it's easily done.
I could see the high pressure oil being forced into and area where it's not supposed to go.

This video was quite helpful. It's from a 94, but they are basically all the same.

 

Do you remember the brand of the pump that finally worked? Maybe I'll start there

 

I think I might be doing this if I get too many more whiny pumps. I have an uncle who's pretty savvy with this sort of thing and he actually has a decent driveway to work in as well lol

 

They were oem pumps that Advance Auto had a contracted repair facility to rebuild the pumps.

If I ever have another issue with a PS pump I will get I will rebuild it myself and forgo the non-existent QA check from someone else rebuilding it. The rebuild kits come in different levels of quality. Some of them only replace one of the two bearings???

 

There's only actually one bearing, and that's the sleeve bearing at the front.
It's lubricated by the oil in the pumps reservoir.

 

The 99 F150 has 2 bearings.

 

My reman is reasonably noisy too, though i used regular Mercon in it :(

 

Hmm, so it seems to me that the best option is to just rebuild it myself. Any recommendations on a rebuild kit? If I'm going to take the time to do it myself I'd prefer to only do it once lol

 

Yeah, that kind of sucks that these remans are such low quality. Someone could make a heap of money if they bought cheaply priced pumps, rebuilt it themselves so there is no whine, and then sold them at a mark up. I'd a decent price for a pump that is guaranteed not to whine

 

I just uploaded a video to show how the pump sounds, I'm not sure if that's normal or if that is just the famous Ford whine. I hope rebuilding/new pump would be quieter.

 

Bloody hell, that is noisy !
Mine makes noise, but it's not pronounced like that, mine is normal from when I compare it to other trucks.
Mine doesn't sound like that and it never did, I rebuilt mine because it was leaky.

What was wrong with you original pump and do you still have it ?

 

Did you re-check your fluid level after running it for a while?

After a replacement I have seen bubbles in the system work their way back to the pump and make the fluid level lower to where it would whine.

 

I thought it was! I see Rangers all the time in my area and I never hear the whine like I do in mine, I'm happy to have some verification on it though.

I had issues with the rack and pinion so when they replaced that they also replaced the pump, so no, I don't have it. The first one was similarly noisy though, and the one I had before this was so noisy it would wake my neighbors up in the morning when I started my truck lol

Did you notice a noise reduction after the rebuild? Just curious

 

Yeah, I've check the fluid pretty regularly, pretty much any time I'm under the hood. I've actually had it in the shop for routine maintenance not too long after the R&P replacement and had them put a vacuum on the power steering system to get any possibly trapped air out.

 

I replaced mine that had a leak in the reservoir as the aftermarket filter had worn a hold in it.

Old pump wasn't quiet, 'new' reman pump is almost this noisy.

I did use Mercon and not MerconV before i knew it had been replaced in the specs. I noticed it was noisier this way when it still had air in it.

There was an improvement when i used the vacuum pump on the system until it help pressure instead of slow losing it (pulling air) and a another few improvements when after *that*, i took it for a few drives. Again, small improvement when i pulled some of the ATF and replaced with MerconV ATF.


I did notice that Ford's check specifies to check when hot, even though there are hot and cold lines to check for levels, but as someone said, the level seems to suddenly go both up and down whilst it's still getting rid of the last air.

 

Mine was never noisy, before or after the rebuild.
And just tonight another B3000 just happened to be in the A&W parking lot as it pulled away _ it was quiet too, or at least if it was wining, I couldn't hear it over the engine at its idle or as it pulled away, certainly not like yours.

Of all the vehicles I've had over the years, it has made more noise then any of them though.
It was with in tolerable limits, however to be fair, those other systems were not rack and pinion, but steering box types, one with a rather nicely made recirculating ball, so the quality was far beyond Ford.
One would expect it to be quiet.

 

Just wanted to give everyone an update:

I took my truck down to my uncle's house last week and had him take a look at the pump. Not surprisingly he said that the pump has a mechanical issue, but, he also said that there was air and moisture in the system because the fluid was murky and cloudy (just had the fluid replaced when they did the R&P a few months back BTW). He also told me that he has a Ford mechanic at his work that takes care of all their fleet vehicles and he ran the problem by him as well. The Ford mechanic agreed, he said to get the system flushed, he also said to get a new cap for the pump reservoir as the old one might be loose and letting air in the system, and he is going to find me a pump that is either new or a pump that is known to be in good condition.

So tomorrow I'm going to the local shop to have them flush the power steering fluid and I already picked up the cap from the Auto Zone.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions guys =)

 

Thanks for the update, but I gotta ask about the cap, I've seen reference it's supposed to have an O ring? Is that for all years?
Mine does not.

There is what I assumed to be a breather hole in the cap too, is that correct?

 

Not sure about other years, but mine (a 2001) does have an O-ring. That's what was the problem with the old one, the O-ring was so old it felt like plastic and wasn't actually sealing the system like it should. I'd wager a guess that most of the newer years would also have an O-ring as well, I'm not so sure on the older trucks though.

Oh and yes, it has a breather hole, though I notice that the new cap doesn't seem to let out as much air as the old one.

 

Alright, my '02 should probably have one then, though other than sealing fluid from sloshing around, i question why it'd need one, if has a breather hole it'll come out of.