Yeah I did the flush of the power steering last year and it didn't help the sound. The reason I knew where it was coming from was because I had a guy listen with the headphones(stethoscope) and could tell it was right at the steering pump. I pray that if I do replace it the noise goes away.

I'm on my third PS pump due to them failing. This one I've had for about 30k and it makes all the noises you mentioned. Oh well..

Mines been noisy since I got the car at 43k miles. 57k now, still has power steering just fine, still makes more noise than anything else under the hood too!

Wow, didnt realize that this many people had that problem ,when it happened to my friends i looked on this site and didnt see too many people with the prob, but i guess they go at about 40-50k, which is sad... I hope it doesnt go on my GA anytime soon(2002, 31k)

noisy pimp.....i mean pump
 

if you sit in park with your hood up and wheels straight, DOES THE NOISE COME AND GO AS YOU APPLY PRESSURE TO THE STEARING WHEEL??....and does the noise come back once you completly let go of the steering wheel???.....

i have this same issue, i have been told that a vortex is greated in the fluid as it is getting pumped through the system......which in turn is creating a noise......

has anyone heard of this??......i'd love to hear imput

Mike.... that sounds like exactly what I have. I also think the noise is some kind of cavitation or some other noise in the fluid. Kinda like the fuild surges or something.

Yeah, thats the way power steering pumps sound, but it sounds like a metal grinding sound, but ive never found any metal in the resovior ever ....high pressure fluid, eh

My pump (99 GT 100,000 + miles) is throwing fluid everywhere, and making noise. It's that sound you hear when fluid is low. It looks like it's being forced out through the cap. Any ideas? Time for replacement?...

There is a TSB on this issue. I had the fix done at the Dealer Service under warranty.

Do you know a bit more about this problem, car is WAY out of warranty... I hate spending money at the dealer when I could maybe fix or replace whatever is wrong myself. I checked the TSB section here and didn't find any information on a Power Streeing problem.

Send a PM to Iceman. He is the TSB Guru.

Thanks! I'll be checking the date of build and other tidbits from this report. Thanks again,. I love this board!

Power Steering
 

Ok I will admit my stupidity. I had some fun in the show doing reverse donut. Right after that my steering was really hard to turn. Started the car later again, and it seems normal, but still a bit harder to turn sometimes. And the traction control button does not work all the time. Any clues? Good thing it's under warranty, and they won't know.

My friends with a Taurus and a Malibu did the same thing, and their car seems ok.

See if you have fluid in the system. I remember when my was a little low, and i do a sharp turn and the system whould whine.

Took my car into dealer today. The power steering pump went out. Thank god warranty.
:)

I'll bet you hurt it by hitting the steering stop while under some decent rpms. Thats really hard on the pump, I know I blew the cap of a pump in one of my cars once doing something very similar to that. Plus, if you've got a 99, there's a good chance the power steering regulator isn't large enough, that is the source excessive power steering noise on 99 Grand Ams. There's a TSB around somewhere on how to fix it, hopefully the dealer takes care of it for you.

Oh man thank you Mike Jung, I have posed the question of a fix to a few mechanics over 2 years with no solution. Finally I have that print out to taje and show them what is probably causing the noise. Hopefully I can have a friend check it out for me and get a cheap fix. Regardless many thanks. I am always ashamed of that noise because without out it the underhodd has such a nice smooth sound.

When my power steering pump starting making noises it was throwing fluid out the cap and i went to have it fixed and the mechanic showed me that the fluid was not going down the hose right and then he showed me a small crack in the hose, thats why it was coming back up and seeping out the sides of the cap. Well i got the hose replaced which was not cheap at all he also said i needed to replace my pump as well but he told me that i can drive with it the way it is and he said it would make noises as i turned and stuff but i have not heard a thing and i never have a problem with the fluid coming out of the cap either now.

Noise WHile Turning Steering Wheel?
 

I hear a sound like a zipper when I turn my steering wheel back and forth.Anyone have this sound and if so what causes it?Is it expensive to fix? Thanks!