Question : Power steering noise

[MIKEMAN]

The steering in my 95 Olds Cut Supreme (3.4) all of a sudden became stiff and choppy and some fluid was lost. I looked into the P/S resovoir only to discover many bubbles, or almost a foam of fluid. I could not find where the leak source is? The P/S pump is making a whining noise and it sounds a little bit like grinding. Could anyone let me know if they had this problem? and if in fact it was the P/S pump.
Thanks MM

[pocket-rocket]

The last time one of my Luminas did it (both eventually did it btw) it was the pressure line on the power steering system, which IIRC ran me around $30 at Advance. Set aside a couple hours to do it though since the top end on the DOHC is a hog and hard to maneuver around.

[55trucker]

The lack of fluid in the lines (or air now in there) will cause the whine that you hear. If you cannot see any source of a leak under the car ...refill the reservoir, work out the air by rotating the steering back & forth thru its its full range of motion (with the engine running and if stationary...preferably with little to no weight on the front wheels)and this will evacuate the air. If you (after filling the reservoir) see the leak now you have a bit more work to do. The return line (if this one has blown on you) can be a bit of a chore as it does snake around the engine frame up to the front to act as a cooler. The fittings on the rack are not the easiest to get to (but not totally impossible) and have been known to cause fits of frustration and cursing if they are seized into place.