Odd annoying noise.

[gas mart 1]

I have an odd and very annoying noise ,best described as a fairly high pitched fizzing noise ... it seems to be transmitted through the steering column its louder with the steering wheel centre cap removed ..the noise is not noticeable outside of the car.. I had the rack refurbed a few weeks ago, this has made no difference to the noise ... its more noticeable when the wheel is turned about a quarter turn either way when driving. Any thoughts welcome.
cheers
martin

[stevoj]

Power steering or not?

[v8s4me]

Could it be the plastic cowling around the column switches? The part where the screw goes through the top section is prone to breaking.

[gas mart 1]

Thanks for the replies , its power steering , tried it without the cowling in place, no difference.

[gas mart 1]

Went out for a run tonight did about 50miles before getting pi....ed off with the noise when we got home I found out a stethoscope I had in the shed. When I put the probe onto the steering wheel nut , the noise coming through is compairable to a dentists drill .When I removed and replaced the steering rack l noticed that the rack had a standard rubber horse shoe shaped mounting ,the rubber wraps around the rack...so that the doesn't touch the chassis . The mounting on the other end O/S has no rubber it was bolted through a plate on the rack directly onto the chassis , Should there be rubber under this mounting , could the noise be caused by vibration coming from the rack.

[v8s4me]

Normally the rack would have rubber bushes on both ends.

[mrzigazaga]

Not sure if the plate has a rubber mounting??...Is this noise only when you turn the wheel?...Is there enough PAS fluid in the reservoir and what colour is it, Try turning the wheel on full lock left to right a couple of times to bleed the system...

If the fluid is back then its possible that the pump is failing......

[gas mart 1]

Thanks Mark, the noise is there all the time , it is more noticeable when the wheel is turned . The pump was drained and flushed when the rack was replaced.... the fluid looked ok.. checked the level before going out last night ...all ok.

[mrzigazaga]

mmmm...well the only moving part of the PAS steering when stationery is the pump......unless something else is touching the steering column.....

[v8s4me]

Slip the belt off and heave on the wheel. Does the noise go away? If it does then Zigga's on the button.

[colin mee]

Have you trued it on stands when it's not under load

[gas mart 1]

Thanks all, I will try it without the pump running later.

[gas mart 1]

Got around to putting the front up on ramps this evening , started her up and crawled under i can hear the pump bearing not sounding great.... took the belt off and sat inside and no more annoying noise coming from the column . Knackered pump it is.

[v8s4me]

Sorted! And a straight forward fix. Sometimes it is easy, not often, but sometimes

[mrzigazaga]

Grimmer bros have them...they are SD1
https://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-ERC6969
Might be cheaper to get it refurbished......

[gas mart 1]

Thanks for the link Mark. I had a quick look on flea bay this morning....picked one up S/H ... "Working ok when removed" ... cheap enough...so fingers crossed.

[mrzigazaga]

gas mart 1 said:

Thanks for the link Mark. I had a quick look on flea bay this morning....picked one up S/H ... "Working ok when removed" ... cheap enough...so fingers crossed.

At least get the other rebuilt then you have a known working spare, just in case....I have bought pumps that were reportedly fine until I fitted it and it pi55ed fluid everywhere ...that stuff is highly flammable!!

[v8s4me]

Now you've got that one sorted, here's another anoying noise...

"strong and stable government" Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If it hear that one more time I'm going to buy another TVR

[mk1fan]

Strong and stable government.

[gas mart 1]

Strong and stable government !!!! .... its not fake news ??? Its already got to me possibly viewing a 350i next week. If its not sold over the weekend.