[trebor8820]

I know this seems like an exhausted subject, but I've been searching for days and am entirely at a loss for what my issue is.

My 02 Mustang 3.8l Automatic with 160,000 miles has developed this horrid whine from the engine bay. It doesn't whine as I'm turning the wheel, but only as I rev/drive. It has a brand new power steering pump and pulley (even changed it twice incase it was defective), a brand new belt tensioner pulley and a brand new idler pulley. It doesn't make a difference whether or not the A/C is on or whether or not the car is in gear. It gets worse as the vehicle warms up. The whine is so loud that it's probably 3 times louder than my flowmaster exhaust and it's really quite annoying and embarrassing.

I pulled the cap on the power steering pump, and when manually revving the engine, it doesn't produce any air bubbles in the power steering fluid, so I'm fairly certain that the pump isn't the issue.

Any thoughts/ideas? I also have an audio recording that I could email to someone who may be able to get an idea from the type of whine but I cannot attach it to this thread due to forum upload limitations.

Thanks!

 

[trebor8820]

Bringing back up an old post that never received any attention, lol... this is still an issue. Anyone?!

 

[NHinNC]

A not-so-common whine can be from a loose spark plug.
I've seen a few threads about the synchronizer making a whine too.

 

[trebor8820]

I used a stethoscope on the engine, pinpointing the whine to come directly from the power steering pump - but how many pumps do I need to go through to get one that doesn't whine?! Haha it's just irritating.

This spark plug deal... could it cause a whine through the power steering somehow, or would it create a new whine altogether?

Thank you for your response

 

[MasterX]

The whine from the powersteering will always be present, its a ford thing, the loudness will just vary based on its operation.

if the fluid is low, it will get louder, and while more constantly, or if there are air bubbles in it as well. It will also whine more when you turn the wheel hard left or right.

if the fluid is full for sure and the whine persists its probably just the normal sound of the pump working.

The whine they make when they are damaged or low on fluid is loud enough you dont need a stethoscope to pinpoint.

 

[trebor8820]

Oh I didn't NEED a stethoscope to pinpoint it; it's so loud that it overpowers my exhaust. I see many fords and mustangs as old as mine that aren't nearly as loud as mine.

 

[MasterX]

maybe there is a problem/blockage or dent in the power steering lines somewhere, inspect them.