power steering pump issue and possible wot relay issue

[dinosore]

Long story short is was in the desert a couple weeks ago doing donuts and such just messing around and my power steering pump began whining and clunking when at full tilt in either direction. After letting the truck rest for a couple days the power steering pump stopped making the clunking noise but does whine even when its not at full tilt. It almost sounds like the engine is idling high when in the cab but rpms are at 1000 or less. After inspection of the engine bay it is definately the steering pump whining. Is it bad to drive with it making the high pitch whining noise constantly or should it be replaced asap?

My second issue is that the engine does sound like it varies in speed when idling. It is rhythmic. It idles normal for 2-3 seconds and then sounds like it increases in speed for a second then drops and repeats this cycle. My tachometer never varies when idling. While in the engine bay inspecting things I noticed that when the idle sounds like it increases I was hearing the "tick" of a relay going on and off. I tracked to the passenger side under the fuse box. There I found 3 relays connected and the one closet to the front of the vehicle is the one that "ticks". When I disconnect it the variation in idle stops. Via info on the net it sounds like it is the "WOT" relay, which I believe is for the a/c. THe a/c is not on when the variation happens and I don't know the purpose of the wot relay. What do I need to replace in order to correct this issue? Or can I just drive with the relay disconnected?

THanks all for the time to read and info on correcting these issues.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

At an idle is your defrost on? It may be cycling the a/c to remove moisture in the cab. Watch the a/c pump you will see the clutch cycling it is probably the clutch relay your looking at. As far as the power steering pump you never want to hold the wheel where it is hitting the stops in either direction it wears out both the pump and steering gear. Are you sure it is not just a glazed over or loose belt?

 

[adsm08]

It probably isn't bad to drive with the P/S pump whining. It is bad to hold the steering wheel at the lock for more than 2 seconds or so at a time. It can do some damage to the pump.

As for your idle speed and ticking noise, yeah, sounds like the AC is cycling. The AC will be on if the defroster is selected. This sounds like normal operation.

The WOT relay is exactly what it sounds like. It is a relay that cuts out the air conditioning when the throttle angle passes a certain point and hits "wide open". The purpose of the feature is that it's a safe bet that if you are giving it that much gas you probably need power more than you need cool air. Taking the relay out will disable the air conditioner.

 

[dinosore]

yes i did notice my ac was off but it took a couple budwiesers for me to see that it was slid to defrost once i moved it back to the left the rhytmic idle and relay both stopped.

I dont typically hold the wheels at lock for more then a few seconds on the occasional u-turn or donut. the belt is fine as far as i can tell. I don't know what you mean by glazed over. Ive tried to bleed the pump as well which lessened the noise but still noisy. I know rangers are known for whiny p/s pumps but mine wasn't until one dumb night of donuts in the desert.

 

[Andy D]

Not just Rangers, It is a general Ford thing, just like saggy leaf springs.