If I start and run my van, to warm up the power steering fluid, after the power steering fluid turns to mush during freezing weather, and the power steering unit is making a humming noise, will this damage the p/s unit? The noise gets louder when I press on the accelerator and push on the brake pedal.
You didn’t like the answers we gave you in your original post?
Yes, they were great. I’m just wondering if running the engine while the p/s unit is making the loud humming noise will cause any damage or further damage to the p/s unit.
Most likely, because the pump is designed to move liquid, not slush. Do yourself a favor, and get the PS fluid changed.
Yes sir, thank you. Am I doing damage, or will I do any further damage, to the p/s unit if I run my engine, to warm the fluid, in order to drive it to get the parts I need to change the p/s fluid?
Damage, yes. How much, I don’t know. Would I risk it? Probably not. I’d get a ride to the parts store. No telling how much damage has already been done. I’d save up for a replacement unit, tho.
Thank you sir, that’s the answer I was looking for. You have just confirmed my feelings about the p/s problem. Now I can get the people off my back about doing it their way. Thanks again, and thank you all for responding and expressing your knowledge about my p/s problem.
I suppose the questions in order would be:
-Has the car always done this on cold mornings, or is it something new?
-Does it only do this on extremely cold mornings, where the temp is close to single-digits?
If this is something new happening, I’d get it checked out. It may just be slightly low on fluid, and when the fluid expands, the noise goes away. If it only happens on extremely cold mornings, it may be normal for your car. My owners manual even says to expect this on very cold starts. It may not be the most pleasing noise, but the P.S. has lasted 230,000 miles doing this every winter, so I don’t worry too much. If it doesn’t go away when the car starts to warm up, then I’d worry.
only1wy7,
After you get the power steering working properly again, post the end result back here, ok?