Ka power steering noisy - Advice appreciated!

[gratz2]

Hello!
Have just bought a 2000 Ka 1.3 for my daughter and it has very noisy power steering when cold. The noise gets better after a few mins but never disappears (loud enough to turn heads in the local tesco car park 8 miles from my house) and seems to increase with engine speed. My feeling is that the pump is on its way out, but I have been told that pump problems are unusual and it may actually be coming from the rack - All advice/suggestions (apart from scrapping the car - have you ever tried to get insurance for a 17 yr old?) welcome

 

[old-git]

Hi. Have you checked fluid levels? Are the streering rack gaters intact? What sort of noise is it? Rubber type squeak, metal on metal or something else?

 

[gratz2]

Hi. Have you checked fluid levels? Are the streering rack gaters intact? What sort of noise is it? Rubber type squeak, metal on metal or something else?

Topped up fluids, gaiters look ok, sounds like metal on metal (bit like a dry bearing sort of noise only louder)

 

[TruffleTrust]

I have a 1999 Ka with a perishing aux drive belt that is a bit noisy when steering hard, but it's not a sound you could hear across a car park.

I would suggest a look at the aux belt and maybe the tensioner bearing.