I wanted to get some opinions before i go buy a new power steering pump. When i turn my steering wheel back and forth at idle the pump is making a pretty loud straining noise. My fluid is fine, my belts and pulley are tight. I have a hydro winch that taps into the pressure line, also I'm turning 36 in tires. Also theres no air in the lines, I bled them out already.
The whining noises you're hearing are the pump vanes cavitating which damages them. If you are certain the entire hydraulic system has been bled properly and is totally air free, replacing the pump is the only thing that is going to quiet things up again. Exactly how did you bleed the system?
I bled it how the book says to do it, by working the wheel back and forth at a fast idle then letting it idle for 5 minutes. At the beginning i had a ton of foam in the res, and now theres no bubbles at all.
The engine should not be running when initially bleeding the lines, doing so can damage the pump vanes because there is way too much air in the system after installing a new component like the winch.
The way I was taught to bleed them after having opened the system which introduces a lot of air is to first raise the front-end up so the tires are off the ground which makes this easier. Then, without (!) the engine running, start cycling the steering fully back and forth, all the way to the steering stops. Do this at least 20 times, fully back and forth... without the engine running. Then start the engine and do it a little more, to the point the whining should be gone or mostly gone. If it still whines after driving it for a while, the pump is damaged and needs replacing.
^^ That's how we do it in the Army, except 40 times. Turn and hold for 3 seconds.
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