PattyCakes

Hey guys, this post is kind of long, so I'll put Cliffs at the end.

I have a 2002 IS (130k miles) that has been giving me a fit lately. I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this or is aware of the cause...

About a month ago, my power steering pump began making a whining noise that became progressively louder. Within 3-4 days of the initial sound, the car left me stranded. When I turned the wheel, the pump sounded like a jet aircraft about to take off and when I popped the hood, there was PS fluid everywhere. It looked like it came out of the cap of the reservoir. I had it towed to Pep Boys (they were the closest) and they told me I had overfilled the reservoir and there was nothing wrong with the car. They filled it back up with fluid and it never made a sound.

Since I hadn't gone anywhere near the fluid in the past few months, I immediately drove it to another local shop that also told me that nothing is wrong with it. They could not replicate what I had experienced, so I have been driving for the past 2-3 weeks and all has been well.

Until today. I started it up this morning in the garage and my wife could hear the pump whining from the other end of the house. Not quite as loud as before, but close. This time, there is no visible fluid anywhere outside of the reservoir. I took it to a third shop today that deals with JUST imports, and they too told me that they could not find anything wrong with it and the only real way to tell what's wrong is to start replacing stuff.

I will say that the whining from the pump is most audible after the car sits over night, or is driven for long periods of time (30min+)

This is frustrating as hell and these people probably all thing I'm making this ***** up. Does anyone have a clue what's going on?

CLIFFS:
- 2002 IS300 w/130k miles
- started making noise from power steering pump
- left me stranded 3 weeks ago, power steering fluid was all over engine bay
- towed to pep boys, refilled fluid, they say nothing's wrong
- drove to 2nd shop on same day, they say nothing's wrong
- drove for 2 weeks, car was fine
- start up today, noise is back, reservoir is full, no visible leaks/fluid
- take it to 3rd shop, they say nothing's wrong
- WTF?

llllllllll

iTrader: (1)

Your car should be able to drive without power steering...
How did you get stranded and have to tow your car?

I would suggest keeping a little digital camera with you or keep it in your glove box so when the noise comes back record it.. Put it on youtube or show your mechanic, using the digital camera point to where the noise is coming from and bring the camera close to that location so we can hear what you are hearing. That will help everyone help you to fix your problem and you won't have to worry about thinking people saying you are making this stuff up.

Most of us are not mechanics by far, but if we can hear and see something it would give us a better idea. And yeah I think without seeing/hearing the problem first hand replacing stuff would be your best bet... digital camera my friend

Bill Dowd

have someone check to see if your fluid is shot I change my ps fluid every 30,000 with mobil one trans fluid as I do my trans also using mobil one synthetic ps fluid which I traded out the Lexus type 4 my car is an LS400 but I am going to buy a is 300 for a sports car and put in a super charger. Always change out your Power steering fluid every 30k you can buy a hand pump and suck out old PS fluid then fill it run the car 10 min and do the same thing 4-6 times till all the fluid has been changed most people never change thier fluid till well over 100,000 miles and by then the filter and pump is just full of gooey oil and sludge I also change out my rearend oil in my lexus the IS300 also is a rear drive I use 75-80 mobil one gear oil make sure you dont have a limited slip rearend then use redline synthetic gl5 limted slip check you manual good luck from the back yard lexus fixer upper YOU CAN ALSO USE PLAIN TRANSMISSION FLUID IN YOUR LPOWER STEERING BUT MOBIL ONE WILL MAKE IT GO MUCH FUTHER AND I ALSO USE THE NEW MOBIL ONE EXTENDED 5W30 OIL AND CHANGE IT EVERY 15,000 TO 20,000 MILES AND HAVE 247,000 MILES AND NO PROBLEMS MY LAST CAR A1986 CRESSIDA WENT 550,000 MILES AND STILL HAD THE HONING MARKS IN THE ENGINE USING MOBIL ONE IT IS STILL ON THE ROAD TODAY WITH AROUND 660,000 MILES PLUS

03LexIS300

ok here is what i would try. first i would take your is300 to your local shop and see if they offer a BG Power Steering Flush. if they do try that, and if that does not work. replace the power steering pump and your power steering lines. your power steering lines can get clogged up and the fluid can get pretty dirty over the years and miles on the vehicle. also as the post says above you can use ATF in a majority of cars PS system.

PattyCakes

I shouldn't say it left me stranded, it was more of the power steering not working, my pump sounding like a space shuttle and me pulling into a parking lot. I was 1.5 hours away from home and decided to have it towed (free with USAA) to a shop so it could be fixed. I didn't count on them not being able to find the problem when it sounded like it was going to explode.

It is currently at a 4th shop because when I started it this morning...

[youtube]9mX5rwmZkxo[/youtube]

I just heard back from them and they can't duplicate the problem, so I think I'm going to leave it overnight so they can see what happens on a cold start.

It's pretty apparent to me that it is the PS Pump, but I will keep you guys posted on my phantom problem. Thanks for the responses.

voleduy

sounds like it doesnt have enough fluid in it. Did you check all the hoses to make sure they're at right location. Also, it is leaking steering fluid somewhere and did you replace a new steering wheel pump yet ?

03LexIS300

it almost sounds like your power steering system isn't flowing properly until the car is warmed up, like something is clogged up or something, maybe the PS lines. or your pump is bad. but when the pump is bad noises usually don't come and go like that.

llllllllll

iTrader: (1)

Oh man.... Yeah I was driving in my 2000 ford f150 one day, driving around minding my own business when I realized I was going the wrong way so I decided to make a U-Turn.
When I was done turning I heard this SAME EXACT NOISE, i THOUGHT I RAN OVER A BEES NEST OR SOMETHING!!! hahahaha

But yeah I just had new power steering pump put in and it was all better....





found some interesting videos on youtube.

Self Test/Check
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3U6xuZ8CC4g

Supra with same noise
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKA3m...eature=related

Sounds the same
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dt3FO...eature=related

Look in the video comments, might be some more helpful information

PattyCakes

Yes, the fluid level was normal and there were no visible leaks that I (or 4 other mechanics) could find.

UPDATE:

I seem to have fixed the problem (so far) so let's just hope it stays that way!

I found a good article on flushing the power steering fluid (http://my.is/forums/f67/is300-power-...-flush-340996/) so I decided to try it. The fluid came out brown and smelled burned just like the pics in that article ^. After about 2 quarts, the fluid looked clean and it hasn't made a peep since!

DonCorleone

iTrader: (6)

^ a year or two ago mine was making squeals of death, I was ready to buy a new pump/steering rack but found and followed Hiroshima's diy on my.is car's been minty happy since. That fluid needs to be changed out regularly!

03LexIS300

yep, flushing the system really helps. im sure one of your local garages offers a BG Power Steering flush. BG makes a special macine and such to flush out the entire power steering system.