Moaning from steering

My S80 has developed a steering fault. When I steer from static, there is a slight vibration but more of a moaning. This is the greatest when I steer to the left, with just a little to the right. I visited my local non-dealer garage and they suggested the steering pump since it had a leak. The unit was reconditioned and refitted, but the noise is still there. The fluid has all been replaced as part of the work. My mechanic is currently at a loss and before I let a dealer strip my wallet bare I thought I would ask if anyone else has encountered the same fault. B2B.

This might be rubbish, because I'm not an expert on these, but on other cars I've owned there was a pressure relief valve which opened on full lock. When these started sticking , they gave a groaning sound.

I think ive had this too, it sounds like a groan/deep whine noise comming from what feels like either the steering column or the steering rack?

Thanks for the replies. JGrant1285 - I think you maybe right. Did you find out the cause? tykey - definitely worth exploring.

S80.... no ive never bothered to look into it, it doesnt do it all the time, just occasionally, i might have a look though. Let me know if you find anythign out

Keep an eye on the power steering fluid levels. If the noise/vibration gets any worse then you may have an issue. The same thing happened on my S80 last year, it began barely noticeably but then got very bad very quickly. I had to use the car because of an emergency and it went through a litre of fluid on a 25 mile journey :thumbs_up: the day before the stealer could see it. In the end a new pump and gubbins was fitted and I was considerably lighter in the wallet.

steering groan 

Could be caused by failed seal in steering rack - knew of this on a v70 with same symptoms, also had pump replaced first, new pump was quiet for a week, then noise came back. Try getting your mechanic to look inside the steering rack gaiters for any fluid leaking past the seals on the power rams - this can be a giveaway. Otherwise it is possible that fluid is leaking past a seal in the rack causing it to pressurise when trying to steer. The additional load on the pump causes it to groan, and the groan quite often disappears when the steering is turned lock to lock a few times which displaces the fluid from the wrong side of the seal and reduces the load on the pump. Assume tyre pressures are OK? Low tyre pressure can also cause pump to labour.

Thanks to everyone who has replied. The noise is too persistent to ignore. When pulling out of a car parking space the noise is almost too much to bear, particularly after startup. I think its getting worse but that might be my paranoia ;-) I might try the lock-to-lock idea. The tyre pressures was one of the first things I looked at.

I might be way of the mark here? but i had this with one of my BMW`s it turned out to be the steering rack bush .