I have a p/s whine that is present sometimes and not present other times. My fluid is low and it doesn't seem to need any extra effort than normal at any time. Even when the whine is present. This is an 02 Grand Caravan Sport with the 3.3L flex fuel engine. The fluid doesn't look milky or smell burned or anything and I've pulled it onto a rack and there doesn't appear to be any leaks. I'm leaning towards a valve or something malfunctioning in the rack and pinon assembly. Any thoughts??

 

I would first fill it and see if the whine goes away. If you are low but the whine only happens occasionally, you may be borderline on the fluid level. See if that works before anything else.

 

sorry for the mixup...I left off the "n't" in my original post. It was supposed to say "my fluid isN'T low..."