Power steering pump recommendation

Post by **firstv70volvo** » 18 Oct 2020, 19:36

June wrote: ↑18 Oct 2020, 17:43
The reservoir is a common failure and as long as you have fluid aeration your pump will make all sorts of noise. Mine did for quite a while. My pump was not damaged and as you see is in good working order at 205K. I hated all the groaning an one day ran across a post about this problem. Sure enough it fixed it. I found this video of my engine minus the noisy pump and the odometer had 170K so 35K later the pump is still fine. June

I'm hoping this problem can be solved with just a reservoir replacement, this year has been a tough year for car repairs and too much pump related whining noises. Earlier in the year is was a transmission pump whine due to a clogged filter and after rebuilding the transmission the radiator top inlet broke off and then a leaking heater hose and now the power steering pump whine. Just too many problems in a relatively short time frame but prior to this the car has had many years of just doing routine maintenance. Hopefully after resolving this problem it will be one, two or three years of just routine maintenance. Still like the car and after doing all the previous work I don't want to give up on the car now. It would be nice to fix the PS whine problem with just a reservoir replacement.

Post by **firstv70volvo** » 22 Oct 2020, 14:57

June wrote: ↑18 Oct 2020, 09:42 You may have a bad reservoir. If it appears to stay wet around the cap than replacing the reservoir is your first action. A part breaks inside causing the fluid to aerate causing a noisy pump. Its a common failure on a P2. June

Yes, I did have a bad reservoir. Just installed a new one and fluid is now free of air bubbles and no more pump noise.

The bad reservoir had something rattling around in it so I cut it open and you can see from the photos there's a support plate for the return tube that broke and was floating around in the reservoir This divider plate keeps the end of the return tube down low in the reservoir. With the plate broke the return tube can raise up (it pivots) and I suspect it was floating above the fluid level allowing air to enter the fluid. It looks like the PS reservoir was redesign sometime in 2005 and now the return line enters at the bottom of the reservoir. You can also see in the photos the return line tube also was cracking on the side.

Thanks for the info about the reservoir, cheaper to replace than the pump and I would have still had pump noise if had replaced the pump.

All the photos shown are with the cut in half reservoir upper half turned over so viewing upside down.

Edit update: I found a crack in the return line tube inside the reservoir that runs almost the length of the tube. Some of the crack is above the fluid line and likely why air was getting into the fluid. Added a couple of more photos showing the cracked tube.

Post by **June** » 22 Oct 2020, 17:23

I'm glad I was able to save you money and hassle of replacing the pump! Thanks for those great photos!!! I know when I first posted it was the reservoir you had to think I was nuts

June

Post by **firstv70volvo** » 22 Oct 2020, 17:44

June wrote: ↑22 Oct 2020, 17:23 I'm glad I was able to save you money and hassle of replacing the pump! Thanks for those great photos!!! I know when I first posted it was the reservoir you had to think I was nuts June

You did save me money and hassle for sure and I greatly appreciate it, thanks again June.

Post by **xiami** » 25 Oct 2020, 12:22

What power steering fluid do you put in? I have 2002 S80 T6 with 210,000 miles and I am thinking about power steering fluid change/flush. I do not have any problems with power steering and it has been running on ATF in the power steering since I bought it new. Should I change it to Pentosin, or just keep on using ATF since I have not problem? The owner's manual states ATF for power steering. The gasket for the power steering pump reservoir is green. I read somewhere that green gasket is for Pentosin and red gasket is for ATF but I could not confirm that info. S80 T6 is a great car.

Post by **firstv70volvo** » 25 Oct 2020, 13:08

xiami wrote: ↑25 Oct 2020, 12:22 What power steering fluid do you put in? I have 2002 S80 T6 with 210,000 miles and I am thinking about power steering fluid change/flush. I do not have any problems with power steering and it has been running on ATF in the power steering since I bought it new. Should I change it to Pentosin, or just keep on using ATF since I have not problem? The owner's manual states ATF for power steering. The gasket for the power steering pump reservoir is green. I read somewhere that green gasket is for Pentosin and red gasket is for ATF but I could not confirm that info. S80 T6 is a great car.

I've always used Pentosin CHF 11S and later CHF202, which is what is recommended although I've read the owner's manual at one time incorrectly stated using ATF. It doesn't sound like ATF will cause any harm but if you did a switch to CHF it would a good idea to do a good flush so the fluid types aren't mixed. Curious, did your car come new from the factory with ATF in the PS reservoir?

Some good background information why the change from ATF to CHF here...
viewtopic.php?t=90679

Post by **xiami** » 25 Oct 2020, 14:00

Yes, it came from factory with red ATF in the PS reservoir.

Power steering pump recommendation

Re: Power steering pump recommendation