couple problems

[snampro]

1st: I think my power steering pump is failing. I can hear a slight groaning sound when backing out of my garage. Also, when the car is stationary, if I turn it one turn left then back past center and one turn right (not bouncing off the stops) I get a shudder in the steering. UPDATE: I changed the fluid and took it for a little drive. Afterwards I had my wife turn the wheel while I listened with the hood up. Its making a little noise, but I don't think its excessive. I also didn't notice the shudder, so maybe this isn't a problem.

2nd: When down shifting (not aggressively, just around town) I hear a low-pitch whining sound as I just begin to engage the gear. Maybe sequencers? Definitely does it shifting into 1st and 2nd, I believe I've heard it shifting into 3rd. Maybe I just didn't notice it before...its not really loud, but its there .

3rd: This is the one I'm clueless on: There is a clicking sound, maybe 3 to 5 clicks in a row when I stop at a light. Doesn't go away or change frequency if I rev the engine while its doing it, so I don't think its engine related. It seems to do it whether or not I have the clutch pushed to the floor or just have the car in neutral with the clutch released. It's done this for about a month now, I'm not noticing any problems with it.

I always notice new stuff when I put the hard top on...

Thanks for any help...

 

[DodgeViper01]

I would suggest you call Chuck Tator. He should be able to help you.

 

[snampro]

I will, I've also got a local guy to talk to, I just figured I'd see what everyone thought

 

[99 R/T 10]

Dude,
get ready for your power steering pulley to fail! This is exactly how it went with mine. I went with a March Performace pulley($80), but you can get a new Dodge piece for about $25 from Tator. My $.02 is the pulley is going.

 

[Randy]

I'm sure power steering pumps have many different failure modes - the pump started to fail on my '95 on the track by losing power at low engine RPMs; the mustang I was passing blew a coolant hose so I chopped the throttle and went off line to avoid the coolant. When I came up to turn 4 (Sears Point) and turned the wheel, it "bounced" due to lost power assist. For the next week or two until I replaced the pump, I had to be very careful when pulling out of a business on a busy street, as it was very hard to quickly turn the wheel until engine rpms came up. I'm guessing the problem in this case was failed seals. In this case, there was no extra sound to indicate a problem, just lack of low rpm assist.

 

[snampro]

I wonder what the pump costs? if I'm going to do the pully I might as well change the pump...

anyone have any ideas on the clicking noise?