please let me know if you did this yourself
or how much its going to cost me to get it fixed.
mine seems to have sprung a leak and is making a whining noise.

im just looking for some rough figures. i never had to replace a steering pump b4.
i dont know if its something i can replace myself.

 

sure.. you can do it with hand tools.. it's messy and it's a pain, just because it's crammed up in there pretty good.. but it's not difficult at all.

before you replace the pump, check your hoses first. the high pressure hose has a tendency to leak after a few years. they're about $50 and easy to replace as well.

 

praise the lord.
thank you.

i was looking at the price online for a new pump and i dont want to go there. i figured if the thing is still steering that the pump is ok. I first thought it was the throwout bearing or something in the trans. I then realized it was the steering pump whining.... DOH.

thanks again, i just wanted a vote of confidence....someone to tell me i can do it myself. and maybe a common issue that i should explore.

THE MAXIMA LIVES ON...

 

It cost me $836 after labor and tax for the power steering pump and high pressure hose. I didn't know what was wrong with it though. The pump blew up on the highway and fluid was everywhere. I couldn't steer hardly and there was very loud knocking. If you hear bearings wining it will go out very shortly.

 

yup yup.. easy stuff. the hose is (again) messy, but easy. you'll need some pretty large sockets, but otherwise it's not a problem.

 

If you do replace it yourself be careful tightening the bolts to the pump. The bolt holes are tapped thru cast dog ears and it's easy to break or strip.

Also be careful of the O2 sensor wire if it's running on the outside of the pump. It was on mine and I couldn't pull the pump out until I disconnected it up top.

You may as well replace the belt too while you are at it. Don't forget the copper high pressure banjo fitting washers as they aren not reusable.

My local Nissan dealer wanted $850 for pump and labor. I bought the pump myself for $190 and installed in an evenging.

When my pump went bad it shook the whole engine and sounded like a broken crank. Never experienced that from a PS pump before.

 

i hear a whinning noise from the wheels and my steering wheel is getting heavier than b4. Is that the powersteering pump? thanks

 

likely the pump, but the pupm usually doesn't fail on it's own.. often it's because there's a leak in one of the hoses and it loses fluid, causing the pump to fail.