Pontiac Repair: power steering, noise maker, noise makers

Question
Hello,
 Before I start with my question i want to thank you in advance. I use volunteer here myself. I am a technician for Subaru. Just looking for some advise. I just bought a used '00 Grand Am GT, 177k (all highway miles), 3.4L engine, AT, fully loaded. Just before I bought it I had to replace the power steering pressure line from the Pump to the Rack because it was leaking. I noticed it mostly because you could not turn the steering wheel while at Idle, and the pump was noisy. So now that I have replaced the line and filled the pump with P/S fluid (not ATF), bled the system for air (working the wheel from lock to lock at about 1500 RPM's) i got it to work for a coupe minutes, but it goes back to being noisy and really hard to turn at idle. This also equipped with variable assist. Could this possibly be a bed P/S pump? Is this common with these vehicles? Once again, thanks in advance.

Answer
Hi
Hey thank YOU for being a volunteer also.
They are VERY common noise makers, ESPECIALLY after running them low on fluid, which it sounds like maybe yours was?
I will tell you also though I just today noticed this in the service information, GM states to check where the noise is coming from by placing your Mechanics stethoscope on the pump, the lines and the rack to determine the noise maker.
Go figure all the tools avalible and your little 10.00 stethoscope is the tool of choice for determining a power steering noise!
I hope this helps you.
Again Thanks also for your time spent as a volunteer to help people.
I LOVE Subaru's I want a Brat in the WORST kind of way!!
Good Luck and please feel free to ask anything anytime.
Good Luck
Pawl