Afternoon, I am not a mechanic and not aware of the potential fault related to my 2014 S-Max.
Having taken to a couple of garages following themes that are captured on this forum, the steering is heavy when slow moving (failed MOT) as a result of power steering loss.

Have been advised to replace pump and maybe the rack, although there are no fault codes to determine this. Position am in now;

1) Do I take to Ford if no fault codes and spend £160 on them to advise that there is no fault codes again (2 garages I took it to, did this foc and were genuinely helpful)
2) I was advised to replace the pump, although have seen on line the following statement "Ford Galaxy Mk3 and Ford Smax models often have power steering problems. It can start with a loss of assistance on either one side or both sides. this is a manufacturing fault with the steering rack, it can lead to the piston inside of the rack starting to disintegrate and lose internal pressure. This can lead to the reservoir filter becoming blocked and this, in turn, starves the pump of fluid and can lead to pump noise or failure."
3) If 2 not successful, then replace the rack
4) Have seen this statement after someone "turned out to be the angle sensor module in the steering wheel" is this an issue that anyone has come across before, that could be likely?

The garages I took this to said it was a 'suck it and see' approach, although this does not sound promising with upto £2k to spend on 'suck it and see'.

Any views on next steps would be extremely greatfully received.

 

 

Do you have any warning lights on the instrument cluster, for example the EML ?

Morning, no warning lights and have had the diagnostics plugged in and no fault codes either.

Visited Ford yesterday for a discussion and they merely recommend replacing the rack and the pump - although they did not see the car and this was 'their best view'.

Fault information on cars with hydraulic power steering is very limited compared to electric. I do tend to think this is going to require a bit of guessing. I'd probably fit a new pump and new fluid first and see if that sorts the issue. If not then you will have to replace the rack.

It's going to have to be process of elimination I'm afraid.

First ensure the steering angle sensor is working

Then  change the PAS pump

Then, finally the rack

You may be able to get the rack reconditioned

I'd be surprised if a 2014 model was still using full hydraulic PAS.  I would expect electro-hydraulic at least.  Which engine does it have?

Morning, thanks for responses to date.

2.0TDI and electric pump from what I understand.

Thanks.  Yes, that should be the electro-hydraulic system.

There is a module and a few sensors in the pump assy, so it should flag fault codes if there are any electrical issues with it.  They may only be picked up using Ford level diagnostics though.  I would recommend a fault code check using Forscan first.

The next cheapest & easiest test you can do is checking the steering angle sensor via live diagnostics.  Very simple sensor, it should be 0 with the wheel at the top, and +/-90 degress with the the wheel quarter turned for example.

Assuming that's fine, I'd look at the fluid in the reservoir.  See if it's the wrong colour or if there's obvious contamination in it.  If the fluid looks ok, I'd probably try a replacement pump first.  Only cost around £60 for a good used part on ebay and easy to change.

If it still doesn't work, then you're only really left with the rack.  But as that's a major job, I'd try the other things first.

I had similar problem with mine changed the pump which is easy job unfortunately didn't solve issue and had to change rack aswell big job. Was told common fault with a part in the rack if left knackers pump aswell which I'm guessing is what happened with mine.

I got reconditioned pump,rack from wps can find them on Google also have a ebay shop pump was 295 the rack 250

Mines a 2006 2.0tdci not sure how difficult 2014 would be. Would definitely recommend doing pump yourself to save on labour cost

I have a 2010 Ford S-Max 2.0 Titanium petrol.

It started with a whining noise and eventually became glitchy while turning, with the steering sometimes becoming extremely stiff. I've replaced the pump with a genuine Ford one, reconditioned the steering rack, and tried bleeding the air, but the issue persists still a whining noise when turning.

I’ve watched some videos and plan to replace the O-rings on the pump, but I’m not sure what else to try. Any suggestions?