Squeaky power steering....

The power steering on my wife’s 2002 Ford Escape XLT 4x4 (v6 engine) is squeaking. It is not a belt squeal, it is not a groan, it is a squeak. I checked the fluid level and it is not low. Looking for next steps?

ETA: 82K miles.

Does it make the noise only if the car is moving, or even if it is standing still? High speed, low speed? What makes you think it’s the steering instead of something else? My first thought is CV joint.

The next step is to identify exactly where the squeak is coming from and under what conditions does it squeak (e.g. turning the steering wheel).

It occurs only when steering (ie turning the wheel), and only at low speeds, when the power steering is more likely under a load. By low speeds I mean driveway and parking lot speeds. Simply driving 10 - 15mph in our residential burb elimintates the noise. The noise is difficult to identify, exactly, but it almost sounds like it is coming directly from the steering wheel itself.

The noise also appears less prevalent after I have been driving for a while. Drive to the store, park, and on restart, the sound is not there. If the car has been sitting for a couple of hours, it is back.

Do you get the noise with the vehicle not moving – just turning the wheel while sitting still with the engine running?

Can you get it with the engine not running?

If you only get noise with the vehicle actually moving down the road, it’s going to be very difficult to pinpoint it, due to the logistics of trying to locate a sound source in a moving vehicle.

If you can get the noise with the vehicle stationary, have one person turn the wheel to cause the noise while another finds where the noise is coming from. Check inside the cab, under the hood, near the road wheels – noises can travel through components in odd ways, so try to be thorough in zeroing in on the source.

Have the power steering fluid changed. The power steering pump makes that squeeky noise that sounds like its in the steering colum. I believe most Fords have a friction modifier added to the fluid for this reason. It usally takes awhile but it should get quiet once the clean fluid gets in there and lubricates the system. I have this happen to my car so now I just change it out every 30K.