power steering pump....

[imdawrlus]

ok well i've been having a problem with my power steering....at an idle *sometimes* the steering gets very stiff as if there is no power steering at all....sometimes when it does this it make a little bit of noies...its a standard so if i raise the rpm's to above idle it works perfect....its also pi$$ing out power steering fluid from somewhere around the pump...i cant tell exactly where but its not from the pressure hose because i replaced that and it made no difference...its not coming out of the steering box but somewhere on the pump...it has clean fluid with a little bit of seafoam to try to clean it.....the level is good....do i need a new pump?

[imdawrlus]

noones ever had a similar problem??

[Sparky2263]

Yes, but you pretty much answered your own question. It's a bad pump.

[imdawrlus]

haha i thought so....it the autozone one any good?

[Sparky2263]

eh, all the rebuilts are about the same. Roll the dice, hope it comes out good.

[imdawrlus]

i still have the same problem....i've had the same problem since i installed the new pump.....the only thing that changed is that it dosent lose as much fluid now...its still leaking, but i cant find where.....can the gear box cause a problem like this??

[Sparky2263]

The gearbox can easily leak out of the input shaft (steering shaft) or the pitman shaft.

Sure it's not the pressure hose?

Clean it up real good and have someone turn the wheel all the way 'til the pump starts groaning. You should be able to spot the leak if it's that bad.

[imdawrlus]

the pressure hose is new and it looks good.....one thing i forgot to mention is that when it does it the rpm's drop from 800 or so to 500 ish.....

[imdawrlus]

Sparky Helpp!!!

[Sparky2263]

Okay, lets keep this simple. Only 4 possibilities for a leak. Pump, gearbox, pressure hose, return hose. Clean all the fluid from the area 'til it's dry as the desert. Crank it up and have someone turn the steering wheel all the way to the stops (doesn't matter which way). The pump will start groaning and the rpms will drop as it's putting out max. pressure. You should easily be able to spot the leak.

Brake-Clean works great 'cause it dries fast or you can use engine degreaser and spray it off with water and let the water dry. Just get it clean and dry.

[bgs]

I'd say the gearbox is the prob, but a clean up of the area is the best thing.
Then you can put it up on jack stands and get under whlie someone turns
it lock to lock while idling. The leak should show pretty quick.

But I've also installed "rebuilt" pumps and sure nough they started leaking
at the front seal almost as soon as I got em bled..Giant PITA.

[imdawrlus]

i've been doing some work on my brake lines and i've noticed that its really not leaking anymore......all the grease is dried up.....but it does still lock up and not work.....

1. how can the gearbox be the problem?

2. is there anything i can do becides replace it?

3. how do you bleed the system??

[imdawrlus]

Help!!!!!!

[Sparky2263]

The steering gearbox locks up? Or do you just lose power assist intermittently?


The more specific you are the easier it is to help.

[imdawrlus]

i lose power assist.....i have a tach installed and when it happens the rpms drop down to 500 rmps.......it only happens at idle when i'm turning the wheel.....when i'm driving it and the trucks moving its fine.......the fluid is extreemly clean...i have changed it 2 or 3 times by removing the return hose and letting it drain out......

[imdawrlus]

sparky!!!!

[Sparky2263]

I hate to say it, but I think you got a crappy pump.

[imdawrlus]

but why does the new one do the same thing as the old one?? how do i bleed the system?

[imdawrlus]

SPARKY!!!!! i finaly broke down and got a THIRD pump.....went to autozone and got another one of the same pump that is on there now......the only thing that changes with this "new" pump is that it makes groaning noises at random times and it STILL locks up!!!! every time i buy an autozone part i lose more and more respect for them.....

i installed the new pump....started it up and it had NO power assist....so i rev it up real high and i hear a quick groaning noise and all of a sudden it kicked in.....it worked......it still locked up a little bit like the last one.........so i took it for a drive down the road......came back and it worked fine.....except for one thing.......

when i would turn the wheel to the right then quickly back to the left, it would lose power assist for a split second.....same thing for the left side......

i really want to try a napa pump.....does anyone know if i get my 60$ core back from autozone??



one other thing i noticed.....i have stp fluid in it and its kind of milky....almost like theres bubbles in it....that might be contributing to the problem.....

[Sparky2263]

Are you re-using your old control valve (fitting the pressure hose screws into)?

2 things are possible (though not probable). You have an internal restriction in the pressure hose, kinda like when a brake hose goes bad. Or, a bad spool valve in the steering gear.

I can count on one hand how many times I've run into that over the past 20 or so years. It happens though.

[imdawrlus]

i beleve the pump comes with a control valve...all i had to do was screw the pressure hose into the back of the pump.....the pressure hose is only 3 or 4 months old....

do you think i'm choseing a bad brand pump??

could the fluid be part of the problem??

do i get my core back from autozone if i decide to go with the napa pump??

[Sparky2263]

Yes.

No.

I damn sure would.