Man... what a crap week I had this past week. That old cliche saying "When it rains, it pours." .... yeah, it's coming down in buckets right now. :*(

So my truck has been making this weird whining noise, I think that it's probably the power steering, but I also noticed last week that my air conditioning wasn't blowing cold air for a while, and then another day it was fluctuating. The noise seems fairly subdued compared to how loud i thought it sounded yesterday, but it's still the same constant noise. I probably should have revved the engine in the video, I just kind of get nervous about making the problem worse.

Thing is, my name is GelandewagenNub for a reason. I am so green when it comes to working on motor vehicles of any kind. I'm hoping you guys might be able to help me identify the problem going by the sound the truck is making.

Can a power steering malfunction affect the air conditioning or vice versa? I'm hoping I don't need to replace the whole power steering system and it's just the pump, if that IS what's wrong with it, and I'm definitely hoping I don't have to replace the ac compressor while i'm at it... both pretty fairly expensive repairs, even if I try to do them myself.

Anyway, I know it's tough to diagnose a problem just by going on sound and bad video, but any advice or insight would be huge, just so I can be sure of where I need to start.

Thank you!

-GwagenNub

 

One fellow on here experienced a seized AC compressor, which of course shredded his serpentine belt.

Get a stethoscope and poke it around here and there in the belt path.

Besides leakage, we don't hear much about power steering pumps here. They make noise when used - turning the steering wheel - when low on oil, but otherwise seem very high reliability.

You don't state the miles, but given the year, it seems likely you should do a bunch of preventive repairs. Alternator, water pump, radiator, coolant tank, hoses, AC compressor, fuel pump, etc.

 

Sorry about that. 114000 miles. Probably going to have a bunch of preventative maintenance coming up for sure. I just did the brakes a couple weeks ago. Opted for some nice zimmermann z coated rotors. I'm probably just going to have to take it to the mechanic, but if I can figure out how to fix it on my own, it would be major, as I just gave every penny I had to my name to a lawyer for this custody battle I'm going through.... truck literally starts making this noise the day after I paid him, and the day before I paid him I fell off a roof and broke my arm. Some girl rear ended me and took off on me when I got out to exchange information, so now I'm going to have to mess up my otherwise pretty pristine insurance record to cover the damage the hit and run left. I worked my *** off doing 6 jobs in 2 days alone, slept in my truck for 4 hours, and on the last job my pressure washer broke so I had to buy a new one, because I had too much work lined up that week to take the time to work on it. Just couldn't have been much worse timing than now. Still owe the damn lawyer another $7k. If I have to pay $3k to fix my truck right now it's going to kill me.

 

I was just trying to take another video, because I was noticing some smoke coming from the upper left hand side just below the fuse box next to the red battery terminal, and I dropped my phone and my head lamp down into the truck lmao. Damn broken arm making this a lot more difficult that it should be.

 

That list of preventative repairs is pretty long, might as well buy a new truck if I'm going to spend all that money. Things only worth 7k if I'm lucky now that this ***** rear ended me.

 

By the sound of it, something is binding and will soon fail completely.

Try removing the serpentine belt (easy diy) and inspect it for wear. You might want to have a new belt handy just in case you need to replace it.

Once removed, spin each pulley manually. That should help isolate the source - either by sound, or excess friction (resistance to being spun). Once you idnentify the source... well... that's a different diy.

 

I'm 100% sure it's my power steering. Just got underneath the truck to get my phone out and there's oil leaking down there, and i turned the truck on again after not having run it since the noise started and now the the steering wheel groans like crazy when you turn it. More than likely what happened was I hit a hard bump or something and either cracked the power steering or one of the lines came loose or sprung a leak or something. Now the mystery of whether or not that could effect my ac compressor temporarily, or do I have a problem with that as well, I wonder? I guess I'm going to have to use my company gas card to bring it to the shop I just don't have the wherewithall to do it myself right now with a broken arm.

 

Actually, I'll be damned, but it's looking like replacement power steering components are dirt cheap on ebay. Talking like half the price I was seeing elsewhere. Maybe I will give it a go on my own. Worst case scenario I'll already have the parts for the mech.

 

To be honest, bro, if you are not completely gung ho about doing all that work yourself, those repairs I listed will eat you alive.

114K is not a lot of mileage, though. You are looking at air suspension components and a starter in the near future.

If the thing has been rear ended, I'd be tempted to take the insurance money and look elsewhere. Get yourself a nice Toyota.

 

Also, check the power steering fluid level before you take any more drastic actions. The pumps tend to leak at their mount, which is a minor repair, literally just a cylindrical rubber ring.

 

Power steering fluid low, and/or your idler pulleys are bad.

 

I won't be getting any insurance money. It was a hit and run and from what I can tell just body work that needs doing. If any thing its going to COST me money. Such a bummer.

 

If the pump leaks doesn't air get into it and make it trash?

 

What Eric said…check ps level

I would also verify it’s an accessory or a pulley by detentioning the serpentine belt.run the engine for 30 secs or so and verify the bad noise is gone, and you know it’s an accessory.

removing the fan shroud gives you access to all the accessories for diagnosis and removal.

 

No, not unless it was run dry for an extended period. Also, the resevoir has a filter built into it. When that filter clogs even full of fluid, it will cavitate and cause noise. First step....what is the fluid level? Unscrew the cap and look at the measurement stick on the cap.

 

Buying any kind of janky eBay componentry for this car virtually guarantees you that you will be doing this job again very shortly.

 

Troof. I once bought a Chinesium valve block (for the air suspension). It literally did not work at all. What's more, the seller tried to give me the runaround. It's crazy but it's a jungle out there. There are many many clone items that are low quality or even pure fakery.

It is a pity, because we know that MB branded parts are typically nothing special; MB just slaps a three point star on the items and triples the price. The coil packs, for example, are made by Delphi iirc.

 

Yeah, i've run my ps pump noisy for a little while, topped it up, and it's right as rain.

 

Just because it's on ebay doesn't necessarily make it janky. It's actually a really good place to get good parts from junkers and wrecks depending on what you need. Point wasn't that I was planning on buying stuff on ebay anyway, it was that I can probably find better prices than my initial search turned up if the prices on ebay are that much lower.

 

I honestly couldn't care less about using aftermarket parts as long as they're known for being decent quality. I got this truck for 8700 and I beat the hell out of it using it for work so I don't necessarily want to sink a lot of money into it. my aftermarket brakes are way better than the oem ones imo.

 

Wow, you paid $8700 for some aftermarket brakes?

 

what? no. I paid $8700 for my truck

 

You’re saying two things here - you’re going to buy cheap parts on eBay and you’re going to buy used…

If it has moving parts in it neither are a good idea.
you’d be surprised at how reasonable some genuine MB parts are at the
delaerships parts counter. Or try some of the online outlets that sell OEM like quality for
a slight better price than the dealer.

but in no case am I putting Joyluckclub air springs, Bestqualityproduct shocks or Shenzinfactorynumberfive valve blocks on this car.

if you truly need a ps pump the OEM supplier was LUK iirc. But if the fluid just leaked out, any $3.50 o-ring will fix that problem.

 

i didnt say I was going to buy cheap parts on ebay, nor did I say I was going to buy used. All I did was a quick search for the oem part on ebay to see what people were selling it for on there.

 

Can you link me to any good videos that show me how to figure out what the issue is? If it is just an o-ring that would save my life, but I really don't know where to look to diagnose the issue.