Any one know of any TSBs on a 2002 Dodge Ram 2500 (diesel) power steering system. Started her up this morning and the power steering pump instantly started whining. I figured it was because it was cold (15 F). But even after driving it for 10 minutes, it was still whining on slow turns. Fluid level is fine. Thanks in advance
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Jon

 

No TSB that I know of - the solution is to switch the PS fluid to synthetic (Valvoline PS fluid is good) . Or add some Lube Guard (not sure which bottle - Red bottle I "think")

 

It basically the fluid is cold and the pump is having a hrd time pumping the thick fluid. Like Dr. Evil said... Change to Synthetic Fluid...

Mine was doing the same thing this morning at +0.3*F... I gave it about 5-10 minutes of idle time to quiet down before running... No problems...

I clean up the garage and stuffed the beast in tonight to keep her warm...

 

Redline & Royal Purple are great synthetics.

Valvoline is a great PS fluid, but not synthetic.

Flushing the system with any good PS fluid and adding a bottle of Lubegard PS additive really helps the noise. I have to get to -20°F before it growls a bit. At -40°F, I whine louder than the PS pump.
Mine is a small white bottle.

 

I just wanted to make sure there wasnt a recall I should have executed, or something. I'll throw synthetic in her in the next day or so...thanks for the replies guys!

 

Hmm, I was sure Valvoline made a synthetic PS fluid....

 

I thought it was too until I read the label & product data sheet.
"SynPower ... Petroleum distillates with synthetic additives".

 

Valvoline Synpower in mine, stopped the cold start whine and groan for 3 years now. Readily available, and fairly priced. You can have the cold performance virtures of a full synthetic by using a "blend," without having to pay a premium price.

 

I used to recommend Synpower but Lube-Gard is so much easier and works excellent.
Purple bottle for me.
more info> http://www.lubegard.com/automotive/p...rotectant.html

 

We just had a really cold snap, -20C and the Valvoline stuff worked great. No more whine from the PS pump. I believe it's labelled as semi-synthetic. This was with only 1 bottle added to replace the old stuff I sucked out. I'll do it again next fall to get even more in.

Jim

 

valvoline synpower here,and use a turkey baster to remove old fluid then add new then run engine and turn steering back and forth and repeat sucking old and adding new untill you get 2 to 3 quarts in there...

 

Just pull the return hose off and put in a 1 gallon jug... You need to cap off the nipple on the P/S pump... Other than that fluid leaks out...

Start the engine and allow it to pump out... Turn the wheel lightly left to right. Shut off engine when empty (2-3 seconds)

Refill the P/S with fluid... Pump it out again...

Hook up the return hose again and re-fill...

It will take a few seconds for the system to re-prime... It will foam a bit... Let it sit for a awhile (over night is best) and recheck the fluid.

This is the way I've done it for the last few changes (every 30K miles) And it is clean when you check it in the morning... This method will use maybe 1 - 1.5 quarts of fluid...

This method removes all the junk in the system... It's flushed out!

 

Maybe...
There is a filter screen in the pump that could still be full of junk.
Pictures of it in my gallery.

 

Thanks for reminding me... I remember reading something about that...