uh oh - she's whining . . . . . .

[cruisermark]

So my LS430 with 167k miles has started to make a whining noise. The noise is present on cold started and gets better as the engine warms - and almost goes away eventually. The noise pitch increases with engine revs. It also gets louder when turning the steering when driving and stationary. The steering also feels slightly heavier.

So with a bit of googling I am LED to believe its the power steering pump failing? or it could be the reservoir at fault - a partially blocked filter on the flow pipe?

Do you guys agree? 

There power steering pumps are not known for failing . . . .

So I guess I'm asking is should I buy a fit a pump or start with the reservoir

many thanks in advance

 

[donkmeister]

Possibly teaching your grandmother to suck eggs but... Have you checked the steering fluid level is correct? Low fluid causes noisy PAS too.

ETA obviously if the fluid is low you have a leak somewhere! 

[Malc1]

16 minutes ago, donkmeister said:

Possibly teaching your grandmother to suck eggs but... Have you checked the steering fluid level is correct? Low fluid causes noisy PAS too.

ETA obviously if the fluid is low you have a leak somewhere! 

For sure check and monitor the reservoir level 🤞

Or could there be some prone evaporation over the years ? 

I have experienced this over the decades and never noticed even any perception of a leak 🤔

Malc 

[donkmeister]

Just another thought to rule out the cheaper/easier possibilities: see if the noise reduces temporarily when you spray the serpentine belt with water. If so then could just be the belt (belt gets loaded up when the pump does too).

Could also try detensioning (crank the tensioner anticlockwise with a socket and look for holes now lining up where you can jam a drift to hold it in the detension position) or removing the serpentine belt altogether and seeing if any of the pulleys have excessive play.

[BigBoomer]

Definitely check the PS fluid level, but make sure that you remove the cap and put a stick in there to gauge the depth.
The reservoir gets stained so you can't see the actual fluid level.