Hi,

my power steering pump started making a really loud whirring noise last night and the steering got a bit heavier. I checked and found the power steering fluid was empty. I did a quick check on the web and found loads of people have had the same problem and that problem is with a connection between the hose from the fluid reservoir to the pump and needs to be replaced but is a fairly time consuming job (or so the garage told me) but can also result in the pump getting knackered as it would not have any fluid going through it so, worth having a look at your fluid levels and making sure you don't have a leak or at least keeping an eye on it if it is of a similar vintage.


Cheers, John

Cheers John,I have a Mk1 focus,I checked my fluids all ok

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The girlfriends KA is loosing power steering fluid from somewhere.

I'll check that hose when I get chance

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DIY | Donnas dream house

Hi,

it seems it is a pipe that splits, the pipe is between the hose and the pump. On the Focus, you have to take off the bumper and the radiator to get at it and replace which means a hefty bill.

The biggest surprise for me with this is that my local garage now have hourly labour rates of £55+vat, time to look for a new, time to look for another garage or learn to get my spanners dirty lol


Cheers, John

That seems expensive but Garages are like most other trades and have large overheads/staff to pay/insurance etc. etc.

I don't mind working on a well built vehicle but some of the cheaper makes are a right pain in the arse to work on and have faults that never happen on more expensive models.

You can often ring a garage and say "Hi, I am after a quote for replacing a sump that has rusted through" and before you can say the model the garage will say "is it a Fiat Punto ?"

When the girlfriend had a Punto I hated it with a passion, but you get what you pay for and Punto's are cheap!

If I can get a vehicle in my garage to shelter me from the rain I do not mind doing a bit, long gone are the days when I used to do it in the back street of my house in the p!ssing down rain

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DIY | Donnas dream house

the part you are referring about is the p/s oil cooler by the sound of it a common fault

hi john dunna if you got this sorted ? i had the same problem with my 2007 focus. i was driving from newcastle to darlington all of sudden this wizzing started and the steering went very heavy. had to stop to inspect it looked in the power steering fluid it was empty. coz all the fluid was splatted down the side of the car upon closer inspection it was the spit pipe that goes from the fluid bottle to the steering rack it had split. i ordered a new pipe @ £90 oem part and fixed it. it took 4hours cos its abit fiddley. but never took rad out or the bumper off.

Andy

Hi Andy,

that sounds exactly the same fault mines had, unfortunately I don't have the knowledge or tools fix a problem like that. The garage said the only way to get at it was to remove the bumper and radiator but was quite surprised at that, maybe it makes for a quicker fix for them to do it that way as they got the part in the morning and had it available for me by 11:30am.

Cheers, John