kingbrian

so ive heard alot of noises from ford steering in the past but this is a new one. at idle or little load its fine. but as soon as i start to turn it makes all kinds of gurgling noises. its pretty loud and more inside than out. kinda like if you have ever had air in you water lines at home? any one else notice this?? its loud enough to where i have to have the radio on in the city to drown it out.

AEKTFAS

I don't want to be an alarmist, but I would be concerned enough to only drive it to my mechanic! At least for A cheap look-over to be sure it is safe. Better safe, then... "no steering"!

Franchi

More then likely the power steering pump is going out. I just had the same issue with my Sable. Almost like a progressively louder squealing noise. I had to replace the unit and also give it a flush and put all new fluid in.

Once you have a new pump on, and run it for a few miles, check the fluid to see if any metallic flakes in it just as a precaution. If there is any, on a new pump, could be indicator of rack and pinion possible issues....

2000xl_toronto

yeah I'd get the power steering pump checked out. Mine died on me pretty horribly and took out the serpentine belt and the belt tensioner along with it. I was stranded in a strange city at the time and had to pay a mechanic through the nose ($600) to fix everything. Boy was I pissed... I could have got the parts from a scrap-yard for $50 tops and done the whole thing myself

Franchi

Also, check your fluid level. If it's really low, you could have air coming into the system and whistling as it circulates. Topping the fluid off fixes that easily though.

kingbrian

naw ive checked all the basics and the fluid is fresh and a tiny bit over full actually. i figure ill just drive it till i cant stand it no more or till it breaks.

AEKTFAS

Yea, I push my stuff to the limit also! But not my steering. Everything else I can pull through or out of, as long as I have my steering!