It's an 89 with a 92 ka24de. What would cause the fluid to boil? I thought for a while it was the driver side valves making noise until today, when i was working with the P.S. system. The noise is definately coming from the reservoir. Would it matter that I used the old reservoir from the single cam when i switched to the dual. I know that newer 240's with the dual cam have plastic reservoirs and wasn't sure if that would have something to do with it. Any ideas?

A reservoir doesn't make noise. There's nothing mechanical in it. The PS pump is probably what you are hearing, and maybe you don't have enough PS fluid in there or you have a pinched line causing excessive pressure making it look like it's boiling. Check the hard lines and if they are OK, check the PS fluid level. If both check out ok, then it's your PS pump.

I could have been more specific in the original post. I meant the fluid IN the reservoir was making the noise. It sounds like if you were to boil water on a stove and put a lid on the pot, the deep burbling sound it makes when the water boils is very similar to the sound coming from the reservoir. Also when I cut the car off then i hear a hissing noise as if something was releasing pressure from that area. I've looked at the hard lines and they seem fine. I had been leaking fluid bit my bit for awhile until i filled it up this weekend, but it made the noise when I filled it the last time. ( I fixed the leak this weekend too.)

It's your PS pump, no doubt. That noise is called cavitation. If the fluid is topped off properly, no kinks or pinches in the lines going to and from the steering rack, then it can't be anything other than the pump itself.

180sxfaktory wrote:It's your PS pump, no doubt. That noise is called cavitation. If the fluid is topped off properly, no kinks or pinches in the lines going to and from the steering rack, then it can't be anything other than the pump itself.

I had exact problem. PS pump if going out will make winding noise. My fluid was literally boiling in the reservoir which i noticed cuz it was making the burbling noise so i checked and sure enough when i took cap off it boiled out and was steaming and burned the fluck out of me. But my whole car was over heating. Maybe his is just makin the noise and not actually boiling.

Ok thanks guys. My car isn't overheating but would this cause any other major problems untill I can get it fixed? Or will it just be an annoyance?

The oil can both boil and bubble, the most common thing is low oil level and air blended with the oil. Gives a pink oil and actually looks like it´s boiling but still pretty cold if you touch it.

The other thing is boiling oil, happened to me a few times track driving. Had oil coming up on the wind shield one time, the track owner were furious... Easy to solve by mounting an oil cooler or just a extended curved pipe to cool it off.According to a BTCC driver I talked to it start to boil because of the vibrations and stess on the oil running through narrow ports, a lot of corners on a track and the PS is working hard.

it was foaming not boiling.if the p.s. gets air in the lines it will foam.Take the cap off the res and keep turning fully left and right about 5 or 10 times and top the res. back off. If it still does it you need to check the lines and the pump.

Do not put PS fluid in the PS reservoir. You are supposed to put ATF, it is what the FSM calls for.

If the problem is annoying and you are afraid the rest of your engine will suffer, just remove the PS belt and go non-power steering if all of the recommendations given do not remedy the problem and get a remanufactured PS pump. The OEM PS system is routed a certain way for a reason. Those extended hard lines that snake down and across the front of the subframe are designed as a cheap oil cooler. At least the 180SX and the 200SX are designed that way. Dunno about the configuration for KA.