98 a4 b5 2.8Q w/ 115K miles.

So I'm getting this weird sound for what appears to be coming from inside the steering wheel area. It only comes when I'm turning left at a standstill, or at slow speeds. The noise closely resembles that of rubbing a cloth/rubber material against a wet glass surface.

My initial impression was that I'm running low on PS fluid. The stick showed I was at min. mark. My fluid was also yellow in color. After a lot of reading, I decided to flush the system w/ the green audi/vw stuff. I cleared out air in the system by turning lock to lock with the front wheels raised. I have so far put 100+ miles on the new fluid but the noise is still there.

Do you think the noise is an indication of a failing pump? If so, shouldn't I be getting the same when turning right?

Thanks

 

a failing pump would make the steering wheel extremely heavy. i'm not understanding where the sound is coming from exactly. is it inside the car or outside?

 

From the inside of the steering wheel. I'm sorry I can't pinpoint where it's coming from exactly but it does appear to be coming from somewhere inside/around the steering wheel.