PS Whine when cold
 

Alright, I'm sure that everyone that owns one of these CTD's like mine has the same issue if they live in cold climates. When it gets down to 25 deg F or lower, my trucks PS and power brake booster pump whines until warmed up whick takes about 10-15 miles of driving and it doesn't sound like it is doing the pump any good in the process.

Question: Can I just suck out what is in there and replace it with a synthetic ATF? Or is there some special sythetic PS fluid a guy should use? I thought maybe an Amzoil or a Mobil 1 syn ATF.

Any thoughts or cautions?

I have the same problem...still looking for an answer myself.

I had the same problem. It turned out that the power steering fluid was the cause. The dealer changed the fluid and the problem was gone. I thought my PS pump was taking a dumper.

Tuesday it was 0 F here and I have not had any ps whine on my truck at startup. I'm running standard ps fluid as well. Do you let the truck warm up at all? Is it plugged in? You could try sucking the old fluid out and putting in synthetic, it should mix without an issue.:)

When mine was doing that I just sucked it out and replaced it with syn. It might take a couple times to get enough of it replaced to make the difference. I think the resevoir only holds about 50% of the fluid in the system.

I was just thinking about this this morning with my truck. This is my 5th one and it's the 1st time I hear the noise.

I will drain and try synthetic

I run royal purple PS fluid (synthetic of course) in mine and it still whines when its cold, as does another guys I work with...his 12V whines just as bad.
Dont worry about it, its normal...just warm your truck up on the cold mornings...before you leave...work the wheel back and forth for a little while to get the fluid going....and then drive....common complaint

5 degrees here this morning and mine whines louder than the 24V. Just one of those things we learn to live with.

Mine was doing that last winter. The fluid level was down a little... When I filled it the noise was a lot less.

I was told about this stuff called Lube-Gard for this problem and I tried it. My truck hasn't growled since.
It is sold through Napa in 4oz bottles.
I used a turkey baster and siphoned out enough old fluid and replaced it with this. It may take a short time to actually circulate but once it did my steering has been fine.

http://www.lubegard.com/automotive/p...rotectant.html

If memory serves, the groan is caused by water in the power steering system, but that *could* be totally off base as its been at least a year since I've looked into it at all. I'm sure a complete change over to synthetic would make a world of difference anyways.

I also have used with great results, Lube guard purchased at Napa for around $6.00. Take out the 4 ounces with a turkey baster. stock659

Syn ATF??
 

So has anyone used Synthetic ATF with any success???

I went to Autozone, and all they had was a Valvoline synthetic blend. Looking for a fully synthetic power steering fluid I passed on it and will try somewhere else.

Yes, synthetic is the usual cure for this problem.