Last winter was hell in Minnesota. One day, I was in about 4 feet of snow, turned on the 4wd and when I tried driving and steering, my power steering stopped working and the brakes were barely working. I replaced the power steering pump and everything has been fine ever since.

Today, I had to pull an enclosed car hauling trailer through a soft field. I started to get stuck, so I turned on the 4wd, began driving and steering... heard a quick squeal and poof--- no more power steering and squishy brakes. I had turned the steering wheel all the way to the right and was holding it there when it went out.

Does anyone know... 1.) Is there any correlation between me using 4wd and the pump going out?

2.) Why are the pumps burning up so easily? The truck only has about 80,000 miles on it and is in excellent shape.

The pump I bought at O'Reilly has a lifetime warranty-- so I'll get a new one, but it's kind of a pain to change, especially if this is going to be an every couple month ordeal.

Any ideas would be appreciated!