‘03 Mazda B3000 3.0 V6

I was driving home from work today and it sounded almost as if there was a dozen wasps buzzing harmoniously under the hood. Okay, no worries I was 30 seconds from home anyway. I pull in, pop the hood with the engine running. The buzzing is only heard while accelerating and turning, not idle. So at FIRST I was positive it’s power steering, bubbles in the reservoir, low level. I keep an eye on all my fluids weekly so this had to be new. I topped it off with Mercon V, the bubbles were still present but not as much. The sound dampened but is still present.

So yes, I can confirm there’s an issue with the power steering. The bubbles are caused by a leak, no?

But the only thing that baffles me is how it can be heard while driving in a straight line, and gets louder on acceleration. Can a failed/failing power steering pump cause drivetrain or trans issues? Trans shifts fine and just got a new filter with the necessary 4 quarts it needs. I’ve never heard of a bad power steering pump causing a buzzing sound while accelerating and not turning. As I mentioned above, adding more fluid to the (probably) leaking reservoir DID in fact dampen the strange noises, but now they’re definitely here to stay.

Anyone know more info about this? Thanks in advance.