High Idle & Steering Moan
 

The power steering pump on my 96 SE went bad about 150 miles ago, and ever since it got replaced at the mechanic's it's made alot of moaning/whirring noise when turning the steering wheel... the alternator dips down and the lights dim quite a bit when cranking the wheel in park. The more its turned, the louder the moaning/whirring noise.

Also, when I start my car, it will idle at 2500-3000rpm in park. I tap the gas, and it doesn't go down. It starts at 1500rpm and starts climbing upwards. I'll turn off the car, start it back up, and it will idle normally (at about 1000-1200rpm).

Any help/advice would be hugely appreciated.

I'd check to see if it has too much power steering fluid. I also think I have read on these forums before that bad tensioners can cause moaning/whining pumps.

I don't know about the messed up idle but I think a good place to start is checking the sensors, and maybe cleaning them, on the intake like the Mass Air flow sensor and throttle position sensor. That's probably not it if you restart the engine and it returns to normal though, that just seems odd.

The moaning.. Check fluid level as mentioned. Too little/much can cause a issues.

On the idle. Look for vacuum leaks. If you don't find any, you may want to try checking the TPS voltage.

The power steering fluid was overfilled... bought a turkey baster and sucked about 5-7 ounces of fluid until the fluid level was right below the "hot" line when the engine was hot. The noise is considerably reduced, by perhaps 1/3 to 1/2, but it's still noisy. Would a worn serpentine belt have any effect on this? The belt did fly off the power steering pulley when the pump went, and I didn't get it replaced as it looked OK.

Would the mechanic have had to do anything with the vacuum line when replacing the power steering pump? And is the tensioner pulley an expensive repair?

Try a bottle of Lucas Powersteering stop leak. My pump was real loud. But after I started using Lucas, you can not even hear it. The one bottle will fill the whole resivour, so you have to suck the old fluid out. The Lucas is as thick as molasses and works wonders. Try it.

High Idle.... try checking your IAT sensor as well as other suggestions posted above. Mine was unplugged from the socket and raised my RPM's to about 2k( an oversight while cleaning my TB last year)

Where is the IAT sensor located on the 96 Bonneville?

And thanks for the advice everybody, I'm going to try the Lucas next. :)

Found this thread, he has a nearly identical problem with idle.

http://www.bonnevilleclub.com/forum/...=fast+idle+rpm

EGR Valve... how likely is it that?