legacycentral bbs

At idle, my PS pump sounds like it's grinding up a storm. I'm almost positive it's the pump and not the alternator grinding. Anyways, I was wondering if it's just a product of age or if I'm low on fluid. I looked at the stick and it looks full at both positions (warm and cold). I haven't noticed any PS issues, in fact it works quite nicely, I just noticed how noisy it is.

I watched my mechanic dump AT fluid in a PS pump's reservoir(not my own) until the pump quieted up - is that a good idea or not?

ATF is what the power steering pump calls for

Flush the reservoir of stuff labeled power steering fluid. The Subaru pumps specify right on the cap to use a dextron ATF fluid. this may quiet your pump. I used the spiffy synthetic stuff in my $20 junkyard replacement pump and it's quiet as can be.

Nifty Hint: an old sprayer from degreaser or window cleaner etc. works great for sucking the old fluid out and provides it's own container for disposal.

No no, I think you guys are misunderstanding me (I can be confusing). I know the PS Pump takes ATF, that's not the issue. I know it's got ATF in there even. My problem is that it's a little noisy (it's like minor grinding, but not deathly grinding). So, once I saw a mechanic dump ATF into the pump reservoir until it quieted down (he didn't pay attention to the full marks). Should I do the same thing or are the full marks rather important and my pump is just showing its age?

The pump will eventually die. I had one that made a bunch of noise. If you take the belt off, it will probably be tough to turn the shaft, or will not be smooth.

You'll need to replace it.