Hey Scotty, I've got a 2000 Ford Ranger with 120000 miles on it, and the steering wheel shudders and shakes whenever I turn the wheel and at any speed even stopped. The power steering pump whines like crazy and it recently started leaking slowly. I cant find the leak and I've taken it to two different shops and neither of them were able to diagnose my issue. I've already flushed my fluid and put new fluid in with ps conditioner, and that has temporarily helped with the shudder but it has come back and the truck doesn't feel safe to drive. I'm thinking of replacing the pump but I can only find remanufactured ones. Should I risk going with a remanufactured one, or where would I go to find a brand new pump? And I also don't know if that will solve my issue. Any advice would be great. Thanks
First check the power steering fluid level. If it checks out, then you need to diagnose the pump as well as the rack and pinion.
My '99 Ranger has 265k and all of the steering components are still original. I may be a lucky one, though, as some guys were yanking a steering rack at the junkyard for a similar aged Ranger as yours a couple months ago. My pump groans a bit when turning the wheel and not moving, but that's it. Turning the wheels while not moving strains the pump most, and it will make noise, especially if it's old. It also wears down your tires. Have you turned the wheel with the engine off at all? Ranger power steering systems don't like that and will burp fluid.
Try putting a piece of cardboard under the front end and check it for drips. That will point you in the direction of a leak. Also check around the cap of your reservoir, there's a tiny pressure relief hole in the top, and when the pump starts failing, it will "burp" fluid out of the tiny hole and build up greasy residue around the driver's side of the engine bay, and on the cap. Moving the wheel when off forces fluid out of the same hole.
If you have the factory lifted Ranger, the rack is fairly easy to inspect, as it's mounted on the back of the crossmember that the lower front suspension mounts to.
Good luck!
