Hi guys

and girls of of course!

just came back from holidays and now my LS seems to have developed the nasty habit of whining a lot when i'm doing a lot of steering at low speeds.
I'm fearing this might be the power steering pump, could someone please tell me this isnt the case, and that it's something really cheap to easy to fix instead?

thanks!

have you toped it up.. the fluids might be low

sometimes they whine when air gets in the system!

Check the belt too

Hey Bro!

Was just askng about you...

Glad to see you are back

I got rid of the whineing in a previous car by divorcing her, hope it lightens the moment for you

Deffo try the fluid, if that's ok get someone to turn the wheel lock to lock whilst u got your head under the bonnet and see if it's coming from the pump.

We've all done that at some time or other mate.

Its great, cured the whining in the house, at dinner times, at parties!

Can't beleive its not in any of the haynes manuals...

Hey guys, thanks for that!

i'll certainly have a look at the power steering fluid-level tonite, and the belt
unfortunately my missus doesnt whine all that much yet, otherwise i could just chuck her out!

hey Loz, got yourself some NoS eh
cool man! you know how much bhp it's got now when you've got it switched on?

Fixed the problem!
thanks to your helpfull comments; I checked the fluid level, it was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down, so i put some more in, and my LS is as quiet as it was before again!

wish I could fix everything this cheaply and easily!

Sorry to fly into your ointment, but you should ask where all that fluid went or else you could be in for some more troubles. Any pools on the driveway or visible leaks from the pump itself? I've heard that a leaky pump on an LS could ruin your alternator.

Micelis, As James said you need to find out where the fluid went - I had exactly the same problem, in the end I had to have the pump reconditoned as this is a common problem with the LS400.

As you look at the pump from under the bonnet, about 2" to the right there is a small "stem" that sticks up, if you get a piece of tissue, "twist it" and feel around the top of the stem, if it is wet your pump needs fixing (it is very difficult to spot with the eye) - Also check the tray at the bottom of the engine behind the rad - this is a common place where the fluid runs after goin through you alternator.

If you ignore this (like I did ) it will ruin your alternator as well, total cost to me to fix both was £800 - If you catch it in time and just have the pump reconditioned it will cost you about £200 http://www.powersteeringservices.co.uk/ did mine for me - (a new pump is £390 + VAT).

Don't make the same mistake as me - you will kick yourself, it may seem like a small problem but it can become very costly

well that's a bit of a bummer, but cheers for the warning!
i'll take a look asap to see what's going on!

I was wondering where all the fluid had gone actually, but i dont recall seeing any puddles underneath the car...