Nasty noise

[bernhund]

The usual 'nasty noise' posting!

I noticed today when reversing, a whining noise from over my shoulder. I couldn't quite home in on it and found it
difficult to tell exactly what caused it. I have a feeling it is power steering related...could that make sense? Would
I get a noise from behind if there's an issue? And why would it be that in forward gears I didn't get it? Any clues or tests for the mechanically naive to try?

[Green3R]

corrections welcome:

reverse is probably straight cut gear so will whine a bit.

is it possible that the whine is always there but in the act of reversing you move your head such that you hear it?

power steering pumps tend to make more noise as you pull on the wheel, especially at steering extremes. check ps fluid level.

[bernhund]

Green3R said:

corrections welcome:

reverse is probably straight cut gear so will whine a bit.

is it possible that the whine is always there but in the act of reversing you move your head such that you hear it?

power steering pumps tend to make more noise as you pull on the wheel, especially at steering extremes. check ps fluid level.

Is the power steering pump at the back? I've owned this car for over 7 years and this is a new noise, not one I would normally hear when reversing. In fact it's quite loud too. I'll have another listen over the weekend and report back!

[mr-manners]

mine made a whining noise when the power steering fluid was low,worst when low speed turning

[bernhund]

mr-manners said:

mine made a whining noise when the power steering fluid was low,worst when low speed turning

Checked it out and the fluid is indeed low. In fact, it's about 15mm below 'low'! This is interesting as it has never dropped its level in 7 years. This tells me something is leaking, but what and where do I start looking?

[TuxMan]

Split cooler or leaking from where bottle joins pump , runs down face of cam corner .

Tux

[bernhund]

TuxMan said:

Split cooler or leaking from where bottle joins pump , runs down face of cam corner .

Tux

Cheers Simon, difficult to see or get to?

[TuxMan]

Cooler is a pain , front clam off ect but fittings can be a problem , leak at the pump end normals smokes when engine is hot , on mine it was just a Tweek of a jubilee clip to fix .

[bernhund]

Thanks Simon, I'll have a closer look and hope for the best!

[mgbond]

Mine had a leak onto the drive belt. It was at the solid connection coupling just under the top engine mount by power steering reservoir. Just need a little tweak.

[bernhund]

Will top up the reservoir this weekend in order to look for the leak. Any particular power steering fluid recommended?

[TuxMan]

Just make sure it's the same colour bud :-)

[Gadgeroonie]

what diff do you have ?

[bernhund]

Gadgeroonie said:

what diff do you have ?

Quaife LSD...about 4 years old now.

[bernhund]

TuxMan said:

Just make sure it's the same colour bud :-)

Thanks Simon