Maybe someone can help me out.. .I have an 07 3.7, and I was driving on the highway and started hearing a faint whine. Every time I hit the gas I heard it. I got off the highway and quickly realized I had no power steering. I checked the fluid and the reservoir was full. I did a quick google and found that there's a filter in the reservoir that has a tendency of getting clogged over time? Not sure if I need a new pump or not... any suggestions? I come from the jeep world... the pump breaks, it leaks, you put a new one in. I've never opened a whining pump and found fluid!

 

The power steering pump pulley spins free without the belt on.. no wiggling, no grinding, smooth as butter.

 

What did the fluid look like when you checked the reservoir? See if this video helps you figure out where to go.
If I were you I would just go ahead and flush your P/S system, especially if it hasn't been done in some time. There is a filter inside the reservoir but it's not really "serviceable." Here's a detailed breakdown for performing a flush/bleed correctly as well.

FLUSHING THE POWER STEERING SYSTEM

1. RAISE THE FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE OFF THE GROUND UNTIL THE WHEELS ARE FREE TO TURN.
2. REMOVE THE FLUID RETURN LINE AT THE PUMP RESERVOIR INLET CONNECTOR.
3. PLUG THE INLET CONNECTOR PORT ON THE PUMP RESERVOIR.
4. POSITION THE FLUID RETURN LINE TOWARD A LARGE CONTAINER IN ORDER TO CATCH THE DRAINING FLUID.
5. WHILE A SECOND PERSON FILLS THE RESERVOIR WITH NEW LOW TEMPERATURE CLIMATE SERVICE FLUID, START AND RUN THE ENGINE AT IDLE.
6. TURN THE STEERING WHEEL FROM STOP TO STOP.
   
   NOTICE: DO NOT HOLD THE WHEEL AGAINST STOPS WHILE FLUSHING THE SYSTEM. HOLDING STEERING WHEEL AGAINST WHEEL STOPS WILL CAUSE HIGH SYSTEM PRESSURE, OVERHEATING, AND DAMAGE TO THE PUMP AND/OR GEAR.
7. CONTINUE DRAINING UNTIL ALL OF THE OLD FLUID IS CLEARED FROM THE POWER STEERING SYSTEM. ADDITION OF APPROXIMATELY ONE QUART OF NEW FLUID WILL BE REQUIRED TO FLUSH SYSTEM.
8. UNPLUG PUMP RESERVOIR INLET AND RECONNECT RETURN LINE.
9. TURN ENGINE OFF, AND FILL RESERVOIR TO THE "FULL COLD" MARK.
10. CONTINUE WITH FOLLOWING PROCEDURE "BLEEDING THE POWER STEERING SYSTEM."

BLEEDING THE POWER STEERING SYSTEM

AFTER REPLACING THE FLUID OR SERVICING THE POWER STEERING HYDRAULIC SYSTEM, YOU MUST BLEED AIR FROM THE SYSTEM. AIR IN THE SYSTEM PREVENTS AN ACCURATE FLUID LEVEL READING, CAUSES PUMP CAVITATION NOISE AND OVER TIME COULD DAMAGE THE PUMP. TO BLEED THE POWER STEERING SYSTEM PROCEED AS FOLLOWS:

1. BEGIN WITH THE ENGINE OFF, FRONT WHEELS OFF THE GROUND, AND WHEELS TURNED ALL THE WAY TO THE LEFT.
2. ADD LOW TEMPERATURE CLIMATE SERVICE FLUID TO THE "FULL COLD" MARK ON THE FLUID LEVEL INDICATOR.
3. BLEED THE SYSTEM BY TURNING THE WHEELS FROM SIDE TO SIDE WITHOUT HITTING STOPS.
   
   IMPORTANT: THIS MAY REQUIRE TURNING THE WHEELS FROM SIDE TO SIDE TWENTY TIMES. ON SYSTEMS WITH LONG RETURN LINES OR FLUID COOLERS, TURNING STEERING WHEEL LOCK-TO-LOCK FORTY TIMES MAY BE REQUIRED. KEEP THE FLUID LEVEL AT THE "FULL COLD" MARK. FLUID WITH AIR IN IT HAS A LIGHT TAN APPEARANCE. THIS AIR MUST BE ELIMINATED FROM THE FLUID BEFORE NORMAL STEERING ACTION CAN BE OBTAINED.
   
4. START THE ENGINE. WITH THE ENGINE IDLING, RECHECK THE FLUID LEVEL. IF NECESSARY, ADD FLUID TO BRING THE LEVEL TO THE "FULL COLD" MARK.
5. RETURN THE WHEELS TO THE CENTER POSITION. LOWER FRONT WHEELS TO THE GROUND. CONTINUE RUNNING THE ENGINE FOR TWO OR THREE MINUTES.
6. TEST THE VEHICLE TO BE SURE THE STEERING FUNCTIONS NORMALLY AND IS FREE FROM NOISE.

 

Hey, thanks for posting those instructions. That's very helpful. I already ordered a new pump but I was planning on flushing the system first and seeing if that fixes the issues and if not replacingf the pump. It seems that the cap isn't sealing and I had fluid dripping from the cap down onto the rack. I had ordered a new cap a few days ago before having this issue. I don't know if that has anything to do with this problem though. I'm actually not 100% sure if the fluid was frothy thinking back. It may have been. I saw that there was fluid and I'm pretty sure it wasn't frothy but not 100%. I wasn't in a good spot to check it because the sun was down and it was dark and I was on the highway and using my phone flashlight.

I've owned the truck for a week, and put about 500 miles on it without any power steering issues. The pump looks brand new. I'm wondering if this has been an issue the previous owner was chasing, or just a random thing. I was going to try and ultrasonic clean the reservoir and blow it out with the air gun to see if I can clean that filter. I'm not sure what the filter does.. is it filtering the return line fluid, or is it filtering new fluid from the cap?

 

The car has a very primitive pump. Easy to disassemble (the pulley does not need to be removed). Change seal and rubber bands. The valve is cleaned. If there is no wear on the blades, then it will work for a long time. I've serviced it twice, works great.

 

I flushed the system with new fluid today... the old fluid was very black. I bled it too. I started it up and still have little to no power steering pressure unless I give it gas and turn the wheel. The fluid had metal in it, I assume from the previous pump failing. So someone had a failed pump, changed it but didn't flush the system. Then I bought it and it lost power steering soon after and here I am. I bought a new pump already but haven't installed it yet. I put the pulley and reservoir on it tonight. I'm going to install the new pump tomorrow and bleed the system again.

 

Make sure to update us

 

Well I put the new pump on flushed/bled again and so far so good! I drove it for about 50 miles today without issue. It look 3 quarts to flush all the metal out. I read there's a pressure valve in the pump that can get clogged? Maybe that was the pumps issue?

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