[LJRice]

When I try to turn the steering wheel at slow or no speed I get a loud screeching and it feels like the wheel is fighting me to be turned.

Somebody has suggested that this could be down to the PAS Pump?

Somebody else suggested that my PAS Fluid may need renewing? What colour is it supposed to be? Mine's a very, very dark colour - almost black. Is this right?

Sorry for not knowing much! :stupid:

 

[soomo]

nope time for a change it should be transparent, with maybe a tinge of colour, mine red in colour but still transparent if you know what i mean, easy enough to change and makes a world of difference

 

[E55EX_RACER]

What's the best thing to use to get the old fluid out? And how should it be disposed?

 

[soomo]

i had to replace the cooler on mine which is located at the front bottom of the engine, easily accesible from underneath, just undo the bottom pipe and let it drain out into a pot, reconnect pipe and fill slowly, bleed by turning steering from lock to lock slowly, and refill as needed, if you cant bleed it first time { unlikley } then leave for 24 hours and that should clear it, i checked mine after a week and it was fine, no more needed, and no leaks

i put it in a container and took it to the dump, they have a place for old oil at ours

 

[LJRice]

nope time for a change it should be transparent, with maybe a tinge of colour, mine red in colour but still transparent if you know what i mean, easy enough to change and makes a world of difference

So you reckon that by renewing the fluid the screeching will be resolved? :first:

 

[totalguy]

when you say turn wheels left to right is that with engine running or not? can you be more specific id like to know this info for future reference.

 

[soomo]

So you reckon that by renewing the fluid the screeching will be resolved? :first:

not 100% but more than likely.

 

[soomo]

when you say turn wheels left to right is that with engine running or not? can you be more specific id like to know this info for future reference.

sorry TG yes start the engine then turn lock to lock slowly, in the manual it says raise wheels in the air but i didnt do that, then i took it for a spin up the road, and all was fine :L

 

[totalguy]

i take it its safe to put so much in at a time and keep doing that until its full?

 

[soomo]

yeah i just filled it slowly to the max line then when i bled it the level dropped so i topped just below the full line and did it again, mine only took about 5 lock to lock turns to bleed

 

[totalguy]

cool nice to know these things cheers m8 :L

 

[soomo]

no probs :L fftopic: gonna do me brakes next and put some braided hoses on

 

[SDR]

but mine took forever, maybe a month to bleed the air, also the fluid got back to it's dark color pretty soon after replaced (or at least looks dark through the sides of the reservoir).
Although some advise oil replacement i found it pointless.
So what is the point?
When the noise gets worse they say either pas pupm is gone or there is air in the system.

 

[soomo]

point of changing the fluids is like brake fluid its hygroscopic { aka hydroscpoic }, so if its left and never changed it absorbs water, therefore reducing the efficiency of the fluid,

 

[LJRice]

... or there is air in the system.

Is it possible to remove the air with renewing the fluid?

Also I've been offered a PAS Pump for £35 with a 6 month guarantee, is this what I should be expecting to pay?

Thanks!

 

[totalguy]

that sounds fair with a 6 month guarantee you would probably be talking £20 maybe a bit more from a scrapyard and probably 7 days guarantee if any.

 

[SDR]

apparantly my pas pump is noisy under load but it took anyway ages to calm down.
About the air the manual reads that ford had a "special method" applying vacuum to the reservoir which i can't reproduce even if it is a case.
On other hand the pas works completely different than the clutch and brakes systems were the fluid is trapped in the lines and stays there forever until is bled. The pas fluid circles around all the time and if there is any air it will be left in the container. that's why it bleeds by just turning the str wheel. i haven't heard yet someone complaining of "spongy" steering.
I can swear that when i had a leak from the cooler, however small it was, the pas pump was much noisier. There was no any apparent drop in the fluid level, just the oily spot under the cooler on the plastic undercover. The lost fluid was replaced by air, most likely when the eng cooled down from the same crack.