Power Steering Line Seepage

[JasonA]

There's something definitely wrong with my power steering system somewhere, and a few people have reported the same symptoms. Under some low-speed, high-effort situations, there's a distinct grumbling in the power steering, only when the wheel is actively being turned. For instance, it'll grumble and growl (and I can feel it in the wheel) as I turn the wheel. If I stop, and hold the wheel turned, the noise and rattling will stop. Jerk the wheel some more and the rumbling will come back, etc. It's done that really as long as I've had it, and I've never even taken it into the dealer, because I was sure they'd say something like, "yeah, needs new rack, $800" or something similar. I've just learned to live with it, and I've learned to drive to minimize the symptoms.

I noticed this past weekend when I was sealing up the water pump, there's some distinct wetness around both hose clamp connections at the power steering cooler at the front of the car. No drips or anything like that, but the hose around each connection is damp, and accumulated some dust, etc. My question is, if air is getting into the system here, perhaps while the system is under pressure (wheel being turned), could that cause the grumbling and rumbling I'm feeling in the wheel?

Thanks,

[jschunke]

The noise could very well be caused by air in the

system. My pump made an awfull ruckus after changing

the steering fluid. It can't hurt to tighten the lines and

purge the system.