power steering pump noise

need help on replacing power steering pump. is it hard to replace? mine is making some noise.

Quote
pedot21
need help on replacing power steering pump. is it hard to replace? mine is making some noise.

I know this sounds silly, however is your PS fluids topped up?

MIKELLIG

I haven't found much in the way of DIY guides out there but from what I have found, it's not terribly easy and you will need access from above as well as via the bulkhead. I must have lost some fluid at some point and ended up with a very noisy pump but 90% or the noise sent away when the fluid was topped up so I haven't faced up to the permanent solution yet.

the leak can arise is at the rack seals. They leak because a high pressure bypass valve fails and routes fluid under too high pressure to the rack which overwhelms the seals. The dust boots catch the fluid and can hold it a while. The techs report the first sign of "trouble" is a noisy power steering pump that is noisy due to low fluid level. But by this time it is almost always too late. If this is caught under warranty the fix involves a new power steering pump, a new rack, and a new line with the high pressure bypass valve. Out of warranty generally the same.

Some owners address the noisy pump with fluid top up but a check has to be made for a leak, and the rack dust boots checked for fluid behind them. If fluid is found behind one or both dust boots this generally means a new rack though there may be a rebuild of the rack, a replacement of the seals possible. Thankfully I've never had to look into this so I can't speak to the alternative to replacement of the rack.

Perhaps this thread is to blame but my painful whining power steering pump noise has just reared its ugly head again on a very intermittent baisis. As much as I'd like to attempt this myelf, I think I'll leave it to a pro and may just use my local Porsche centre. Will have a quick squeeze of the steering boots before I put it in though to see if that's where the fluid has escaped though.

Any guestimates for the time involved to swap it out? I would anticipate that the pump itself will be >$400+ plus a couple of hours??

or any other power steering related hardware.

My WAG is a couple of hours labor sounds about right for a power steering pump R&R but I suspect that $400 cost is a bit on the low side.