How can I stop my engine from revving at startup (2nd Power Steering Pump).

[98_Q45]

Pissed today after learning my power steering pump replaced a couple years ago (albeit aftermarket) seems to have a bad bearing and is making noise. And I’ve been told excessive rpm before the engine is warmed tends to mess with the bearing on the steering pump and compressor. I already know at this point it could seize at any moment, like it did the last time. So I’m not going to take it far until I fix it. And I was just about to do a road trip (believe it or not, V8s are highway preferred and it shows on the gas mileage…not a city like some believe lol).

Anyhow, I’m thinking this could be due to #1 weather has gotten colder and when that happens, my engine tends to rev longer at startup. I’ve adjusted idle back down to compensate for stalling with the a/c on over the summer. Checked to ensure air filter components are tight as well. It idles fine 650 +/- any other time…it’s just the cold start in cold weather is hard on it. Thats why I prefer using it in the warmer summer months.

And it’s especially bad if I start it up, and then turn it off before the engine is fully warmed. And then turn it back on. It’ll rev at 1,700-2,000 for a few seconds before kicking back down to normal. Almost like it’s trying to purge the cold fuel or something.

I have a different north star engine, and it only revs in the 1,200 range on cold starts. Of course the idle is also computerized controlled, so it doesn’t require adjustments.

[Q451990]

I can't imagine you could stop it without defeating idle control valve, and probably a fast idle cam on the throttle body. Then you'd have a car that won't run when it's first started. More pain than gain in that plan.

[Ludeaem]

Ive done this in other cars where you bypass the coolant passing though the throttle body and that prevented high idle cold starts. Would be an easy thing to try that

[Ludeaem]

Also, what fluid are you running in your PS system? Have you tried synthetic? Thats what I run. Granted i still have 'jutter' when its cold and i turn the wheel and I have an aftermarket pump too.

[fontana dan]

I usually start the car with the AC off so it doesnt engage the clutch on that high idle. But power steering? I wouldn't think that would be a problem. Haven't had any problems with the aftermarket power steering pump (BBB Industries I believe it is) but been completely dissatisfied with aftermarket AC compressors. Waiting for this 2nd one to go out, it keeps getting louder and louder. Vibrates too. I really hate that compressor but don't really know of an alternative.
My Q prefers warm weather too.

[Ludeaem]

I usually start the car with the AC off so it doesnt engage the clutch on that high idle. But power steering? I wouldn't think that would be a problem. Haven't had any problems with the aftermarket power steering pump (BBB Industries I believe it is) but been completely dissatisfied with aftermarket AC compressors. Waiting for this 2nd one to go out, it keeps getting louder and louder. Vibrates too. I really hate that compressor but don't really know of an alternative.
My Q prefers warm weather too.

Do you have a lot of bearing noise when its engaged like me?

[fontana dan]

I usually start the car with the AC off so it doesnt engage the clutch on that high idle. But power steering? I wouldn't think that would be a problem. Haven't had any problems with the aftermarket power steering pump (BBB Industries I believe it is) but been completely dissatisfied with aftermarket AC compressors. Waiting for this 2nd one to go out, it keeps getting louder and louder. Vibrates too. I really hate that compressor but don't really know of an alternative.
My Q prefers warm weather too.

Do you have a lot of bearing noise when its engaged like me?

Yes it makes a sort of whirring or knocking noise when it is engaged. Doesn't sound like the bearing in the clutch, more like something internal.
What pisses me off even more is that I turned in the original Calsonic unit for a core refund when it simply needed a clutch bearing and a lip seal!! That was when I first purchased the car and didn't realize what a s*** pot aftermarket is compared to the original Nissan parts which seem to hold up almost indefinitely.

[98_Q45]

Ive done this in other cars where you bypass the coolant passing though the throttle body and that prevented high idle cold starts. Would be an easy thing to try that

Thanks for the tip. I haven’t been on the forum lately since I ended up just parking it and going out of town in my other vehicle.

If I by pass the coolant going thru the throttle body, where would it reroute it to? Also would that cause any issues with keeping the throttle body cool? I don’t understand why there is a coolant hose thru there to begin with, but I’ve had to take it off previously when taking the intake off.

I’m running synthetic I think. But it’s probably a mixture in there since this is the 3rd pump (the original one was bad even I brought the car, but that was more of a weird internal grumbling sound. Then I think the next one was a used one, because it only lasted a couple years, then I put a new one.

I’m seeing some on eBay that I hadn’t seen before, and it comes with the pulley and connections. Maybe a more complete repair will avoid future issues.

[98_Q45]

Do you have a lot of bearing noise when its engaged like me?

Yes it makes a sort of whirring or knocking noise when it is engaged. Doesn't sound like the bearing in the clutch, more like something internal.
What pisses me off even more is that I turned in the original Calsonic unit for a core refund when it simply needed a clutch bearing and a lip seal!! That was when I first purchased the car and didn't realize what a s*** pot aftermarket is compared to the original Nissan parts which seem to hold up almost indefinitely.

Having experience with compressors myself, including the aftermarket one that I have which is leaking compressor oil from the front seal (and to be fair, it still gets cold and has held up well: a rockauto brand, but I had a expansion valve blockage years ago that caused the head pressures to get too high and I think that caused the seal to fail later): it can definitely be a toss up. I’m thinking of going with a rebuilt unit, that’s new on the ebay market I’ve seen for good price. But this reminds me what a gamble it could be.

Your system could be low on oil, idk if you added any when you changed it previously? You could gamble on a recharge and then use ones of the 12 oz brands of r134 that come with at least 2 ounces of oil. Auto zone sells one that comes with 8 ounces of oil, 4 ounces r134a. But might have to evacuate it first to ensure you have enough space to not overfill it. But I know that’s not cheap, at $99 and up most places.

Don’t know if you’d been any better replacing just a seal on an older compressor. There are some dealers that will change seals on newer ones under factory warranty, but I can’t think of many shops that would be open to take one apart. So it’s always like, new compressor instead lol. They’re like reman alternators: easier to replace the whole thing.

I’ve thought about doing that on my aftermarket one, to save money. But that’s only if I can be done without taking it off the car. Still a risk of something not being put together properly.

[98_Q45]

Just following back up to this:

I don’t know if there actually was anything wrong with my power steering pump. Between tightening the belt and driving it/hosing it down, seems to be holding up with no startup squeaks even after a long distance ride. Unfortunately I already brought a new one from eBay. But even with removing the a/c compressor belt (it was leaking oil so figured might as well not run it for the winter), there was some cold start squeak coming from the power steering belt. No horrible squealing like I’ve heard on some cars, but like a steady low pitch that is noticeable that sounds like when a bearing is about to seize.

That said, I looked up “fast idle cam” in the FSM, along with parameters that may require the engine to rev high initially. I was able to get the idle down on my Maxima real smooth after playing with the fast idle and regular idle screws. There’s a “thermal element” on the throttle body that can be faulty or stick. Just a little valve that slows down the idle as the engine warms up to temperature. Didn’t confirm anything wrong with this on the Q, but I did spray some seafoam deep creep on the element, just in case it was sticking. So far it seems to have helped get a bit smoother cold start up, versus just hanging out at 2,000 rpm for a few seconds.