Power Steering Whine Issue????

My bear hunting rig has no 275,000 miles on a 2002 Taco with a 2.7L 4x4. When I bought it at 250,000 the power steering pump whine was severe and present. I flushed the fluid and cleaned the screen in the reservoir and the whine quieted by around 30-40% for a few weeks. After this last bear season I bought a used pump off from a truck with 37,000 miles and installed it using my original reservoir and I cleaned the screen and flushed the fluid again. The whine almost completely went away after this. Approximately 2,000 miles later the pump is now whining back to nearly the original amount before the first fluid flush. I am not loosing any fluid, the fluid appears new but still has some discoloration from original dirty fluid. I see no leaks of fluid or air. I am wondering if there could be some restriction in the rack and if it is worth flushing again. I would like to not have to put a rack in it. Any help would be awesome as this is getting old. Thanks much.

 

How does the actual steering feel? Any grinding or looseness not attributed to tie rods? Do you have the right belt on it? Too tight and you could be pulling the bearing and wrecking pumps otherwise you could have roasted your rack and are pushing contaminates through and killing the pumps. That's quite a few miles for OEM parts so it's possible.

If you want to kill more time and money you can buy a new pump from Napa with a warranty and throw it in and see if it cures the issue. Saving money with used parts isn't always the best strategy.

 

I hear you on the used parts bud. The steering feels normal just noisy. All tie rods are tight. The belt is not overtightened. This dark discoloration must be coming from the rack my guess but I am not sure. My knowledge on steering racks is limited. What in a rack would start burning fluid up? I would think it to be a pump issue. You might be right about the used pump. It could have a bad seal I suppose that dried up from sitting on a shelf but my gut tells me that this pump is not the issue.