Frank Wiesmann

Hello,

I have noticed a sort of whining/sawing hydraulic type noise (sorry for the bad description) when I turn the steering wheel all the way to one side with the engine cold, for example when I maneuver out of the garage in the morning after a cold start. When the engine is warm the noise is gone. What could this be? Is it normal or a minor/major problem? Thanks for your help!
Have a great week.

kort677

don't turn the wheel all the way to end, you are putting too mcuh pressure on the power steering pump

ima55r2

and you could damage the system.

jim256

All PS systems have a high pressure bleed at full lock, and they make varying levels of sound. The colder PS fluid may increase the sound level through the pump. I don't think morning maneuvers will hurt anything, but there'd be almost no reason to keep the full lock there and hold it.

DWP

Older cars with glazed belts will sometimes have the belt slip on the power steering pulley at full lock, producing a squealing sound. That could be temperature-related, if the belt is stiffer when it's cold. It's hard to imagine the serpentine belt on a W211 slipping like that, though. I counted seven pulleys that it passed over, but I may have missed one or two.

Frank Wiesmann

I know that they make some noise, but I perceived it to be quite loud. I can clearly hear it inside the car.

jim256

I'd take it to the dealer to listen. I've had many that were audible inside the car but once I did have a Volvo with a high pressure leak, so the fluid level was low and it made much more noise. Have you checked the fluid level?

Frank Wiesmann

No, I haven't. But I also have not seen any drops in the garage or noticed a change in steering feel. How do I check the fluid level?

LorinserCClass

I noticed that too, its so annoying but goes away after car is 'warm'.

jim256

Frank: Unfortunately I think the PS pump is underneath the engine cover, on the forward section of the engine, and probably easy to get to once you get the cover off--which is not always easy. That's where the pump was on my C320, anyway. On the Volvo which had low fluid, I had no drops in the garage, either--I was only losing it at high pressure in a very fine mist. It caught me by surprise when all at once the pump made a racket all the time.

Char03

I had a similar noise, it appeared to be louder when engine was cold but never went away. The day I drove into the dealer for service, advisor immediately heard it and said it could be that the power steering fluid was too low. Ended up being that I needed a new AC compressor. So now I have a new one.

ctemkin

Another possibility is what just happened to me. I was getting odd, straining sounds from the steering, which initially were most noticeable when the engine was cold but which got louder and more constant as time went on. I took the car in yesterday, and the diagnosis was that there was a slow leak in the rack and pinion steering. They have to replace the whole thing.

cdiken

That is called normal, at all times. It just wouldn't bother me. Hydrualics make squirm noise when fully loaded to stall condition. (Full-Lock turn = Full Loaded).

Frank Wiesmann

I had the car in the shop today. The steering was noisy and harder when the engine was cold because a seal ring was leaking and thus, the steering was low on fluid. The service advisor told me there was a service bulletin (P-B-46.20/10) on this problem and so all sealing rings were replaced and the fluid was topped off. The fix took half a day and the car is running fine again.

benzboy

Remember the old joke about the guy that goes to the doctor and says,"Doc it hurts when I do this." So the Doc says, "Don't do this." Well, DON'T DO THIS!!!

ctouhey

Wish I had seen this earlier...mine is in the shop today. They just called and confirmed the pump problem - should be ready tomorrow.

konigstiger

Can you believe this TSB dates back to FEB 03?

Dstarman21

ps2cho

Dstarman21

ps2cho