Whining noise

[jonesk9]

Hi, I found the forum and it looks like there's some knowledgable people contributing here. It's not like the other boards where every reply is take it to the dealer. If I wanted to take my vehicle to the dealer I wouldn't be looking here. Anyway, I hope I can help around here too.

I am having a weird problem that is starting to get frustrating. I'm hoping someone here can give me some advice or some more ideas. I'll explain it all from the start.

- A couple months ago I was about 100km from home when I started to hear a whining sound while the vehicle was running.

- I checked the p/s fluid at a gas station and it was low so I added regular p/s fluid and I drove it the 100km home with no improvement in the noise.

- The next day I figured out that I should have used MB fluid or the right kind of ATF. I figured it was making the noise still because I used the wrong fluid, so I emptied the system and filled/bled with Dextron ATF with no improvement.

- I figured that I must've ruined the pump at this point so I drained all the ATF, replaced the pump, and filled with the MB fluid all to no avail.

- At this point I decided to replace the rubber o-ring between the pump and reservoir. Again with no improvement.

- It was like I couldn't get all the air out of the system, so I decided to replace the steering rack. I figured it had a blown seal or something so it wasn't pushing the air out.

Well I finished that job this past weekend and I couldn't believe that there was no improvement in the noise after I took it for a short drive last night. I've only driven it 3-4 times about 1km each time as I'm afraid to ruin another pump. I want to start driving this vehicle to work again though. I've ordered a new reservoir and it should arrive tomorrow, so I'm going to try that next.

The system is not that complicated and after I install the new reservoir I will have replaced everything but the hoses. I inspected the hoses when I replacing the rack and they seem ok. I also checked that the return line was not collapsing while the vehicle is running.

However, after reading a few posts I am beginning to wonder if I am looking too closely at the p/s system.

Do you think I have to drive it for awhile to purge the air? I have drained it completely three times after all. If so, how far do think I'll have to go to see an improvement?

Also, if the serpentine belt tensioner was messing up would it put extra strain on the pump causing it to whine? It gets louder when you turn left or right.

I am totally open to any other comments, ideas, or suggestions (aside from taking it to the dealer).