Power Steering Pump bad after flush?

[Zach B]

Hey all, hoping I can get some advice or an answer from somebody who has had this problem or knows a lot more than I do. Last night, I decided to flush my power steering system because my steering never has been great and I’m also sure it’s never been done (truck has 320k miles). Before flushing, I did the DIY hot rod pump mod because after reading and seeing how much people liked it I figured I’d give it a try. I drilled the holes to the proper size and location on my Bridgeport and made sure they were exactly centered. I cleaned the relief valve and reinstalled it as well. Next, I did the flushing procedure as described in the Haynes manual, removed both return lines and routed them to a bucket, had a helper turn the wheel while I added fluid. I wasn’t expecting it at first, but when the truck was started I had fluid blowing out the return line from the hydroboost before the wheel was even turned, so the pump ran dry for a second or so cause I couldn’t catch up with the bottle of fluid in my hand. Nothing came out of the return from the gearbox. I decided it’d be best to try flushing with the truck off because I went through so much fluid before I even turned the wheels. Did the procedure with the truck off until clean fluid came out of the gearbox return hose. Reinstalled both return lines, topped it off and bled the system until all bubbles were gone and I just saw clean fluid. I could see the fluid moving in the reservoir so I knew the pump was working.

 

Sorry for the long part about the work I did, wanted to make sure everyone knew what I did, now to the part I need help with. I set the truck down off the jackstands and backed out of the garage and man, that power steering worked great! Turned easier than it ever has before at an idle while not moving. Brakes felt better too just in the driveway. I was pretty excited and thought I finally did something good for the ol girl. So I took it for a drive to my buddy’s house 5 minutes up the road and pulling out of the driveway it all worked great, but by the time I got to his house I had no power steering or brakes at all. Driving down the road the steering felt real easy but I did notice I had a lot of feedback into the wheel from bumps I’d hit, which I never had before. Whenever I’d slow down to turn is when I noticed my steering and brakes were basically not there. I checked the fluid level, it was fine and tried bleeding it again and got no air bubbles for the 20 minutes we turned the wheel back and forth on the stands. With the truck back on the ground, the wheel still won’t turn all, but looking inside the reservoir with the cap off the fluid level does drop some when my buddy tried to turn the wheel, but would come right back up when he’d let go of the wheel and let it return to wherever it returned to. 
 

So does anyone have an idea of what may be going on who knows these systems more than I do? I find it odd that it did work, but then quit in the short 5 minute drive to my buddy’s house. My guess would be my pump is shot, as that fluid that came out was very black and the inside of my pump reservoir had a dirty looking thin film coating the entire inside. Is it possible I killed it when it ran dry for a second trying to flush it, or did I mess up the DIY hot rod pump mod? I wouldn’t think I messed up the pump mod, because if I had it wouldn’t have worked at all to begin with right? 
 

I hope one of you who’s either been through this or know more about these systems can give me an idea of where to look or what I need to be buying. My guess would be the pump, but before going out and buying one I’d like to hear anyone else’s ideas first as I’m not in a position to throw tons of money at it currently. 

[Andyba20]

Are you sure you don’t have an obstruction somewhere? What kind of fluid did you refill with? My pump went at 290K, I replaced with a brand new Napa unit. 

[IBMobile]

Do you still get fluid flow from any return line?  The pressure relief valve (flow piston) may be stuck open; pull the pressure relief valve that you "hot rod pump mod" on and see if the valve is stuck open dumping the fluid into the reservoir and not building pressure.

 

[Zach B]

On 9/9/2023 at 3:40 PM, IBMobile said:

Do you still get fluid flow from any return line?  The pressure relief valve (flow piston) may be stuck open; pull the pressure relief valve that you "hot rod pump mod" on and see if the valve is stuck open dumping the fluid into the reservoir and not building pressure.

 

Well, you found my problem for me. I tried bleeding the system some more with no luck. It was odd, my steering would work intermittently and the fluid level dropped quite a bit once, so I assumed it was air in the system. After bleeding it went back to not working, my hydro boost cut out occasionally but steering was not working at all. I did pop both return lines off and had very good fluid flow from both (my truck has a nice coat of it underneath now). Also, I am 100% positive I have no leaks in the system as I keep the engine compartment and underside of the truck degreased and every now and then steam clean it, just so I can identify leaks.

 

Pulled the fitting back out like you said, and the PRV was stuck in, it seems like it’s bottomed out. Only problem is, I can’t get it out. I pulled the vacuum pump off and put the whole unit on the bench. I tried a strong 25lb magnet that would fit in the hole and have had no luck, that thing will not move. Any idea as to why this happened? Would it be error on reassembly when I first did the hot rod pump mod, or is it just a fluke thing? Another question I have, is it possible the hot rod mod caused this?  Reason I’m asking is I went ahead and got a new pump today, it by no means is a nice one (Advanced Auto Parts Cardone Unit with Lifetime Warranty) due to the fact I could get it for $68 from all my rewards points. I know it’s not a quality unit, and it kinda hurts me to put it on but being in a tight spot it will do. I would like to do the hot rod pump mod to this one as well, but now I’m hesitant because of my previous experience. I have an extra main fitting that I did the hot rod mod on from a pump I found at my buddy’s house, so I would not have to modify the fitting that came on the Cardone Unit. Thoughts on putting this fitting in for the hot rod pump, or just leave it alone and buy a hot rod pump when I can afford it?
 

 

On 9/9/2023 at 2:31 PM, Andyba20 said:

Are you sure you don’t have an obstruction somewhere? What kind of fluid did you refill with? My pump went at 290K, I replaced with a brand new Napa unit. 

I am pretty positive I didn’t have an obstruction anywhere, I kept everything clean as possible and like I stated in my reply above to IB, I found the pressure relief valve was bottomed out and stuck. It’s still a possibility though, just not a likely one in my eyes especially now. 
 

Also, I refilled with Prestone fluid that said it met the MS5931 spec on the back of the bottle. I know it’s not the greatest stuff and I’d have liked synthetic, but I just wanted to change that fluid because of how dirty and old it was, but now here we are lol

[IBMobile]

You might have made a small burr on the housing when you drilled the valve causing it to stick/bind.  Have you taken the case/reservoir off of the pump to try and access the valve.  Below is a video on Saginaw pumps you may find useful. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TIXOCrYPNQ

[Zach B]

7 minutes ago, IBMobile said:

You might have made a small burr on the housing when you drilled the valve causing it to stick/bind.  Have you taken the case/reservoir off of the pump to try and access the valve.  Below is a video on Saginaw pumps you may find useful. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TIXOCrYPNQ

Who knows, I thought I was pretty careful with it and I chamfered holes I drilled to prevent any burrs but it’s still possible.

 

I have not removed the case and taken a look the pump, I was not familiar with these at all so I wasn’t going to attempt. I’ll take a look at that video though. I already have the new pump bolted to the vacuum pump, just debating wether to use the drilled fitting I have or keep the stock one. What would you do based on your experience?

[IBMobile]

Stay with the stock to start with and check out the relief valve on the old pump to see what went wrong.

[Mopar1973Man]

If you do the power steering flush correctly it right it should not have any way to plug up or damage the power steering pump. My current method which works well and has zero issues is jacking up the front axle just to get the front tires barely off the ground. Now remove the steering box return and cap the nipple on the pump. Now the steering box return hose needs to be directed to a waste container. Now rock the steering from left to right with the ENGINE OFF. This will allow you to pump the reservoir out and as you do just keep adding fluid to prevent air being sucked into the system. Continue till the return line has clean fluid running out. There is no way to introduce debris to the pump if the return is heading to a waste container. Now rehook up the return line to top off the system with fluid. 

 

Matter of fact I did this same process on a Chevy Suburban in Nampa ID and cleared out the red-colored fluid I'm not sure if it was ATF or some other product like Lucas additive which is red. I flushed the system the same way and took like 30 minutes from start to finish. It performed way better and only now had to chase a bad hose that was leaking at the crimp of the hose. 

[Zach B]

Thanks for explaining the procedure for a flush. Somewhere, I don't remember where, I remember it saying you want to remove both return lines and start the vehicle. Obviously I found out quickly this is not the way to do it when it sucked all my fluid down. I ended up doing the procedure exactly as you described and it worked much, much better. 

 

I ended up not taking the old pump apart to see why the pressure relief valve stuck, I really didn't feel like messing with it when I had a new pump sitting on the bench. I put the new one on with the stock fitting, not the drilled one, and it works great. Turns on a dime and the brakes feel better. Must have just been a combination of the old fluid and a worn out pump making it so hard to turn. I still have the drilled "hot rod" fitting in case I want it, but I'm more than happy with the way it turns now so I don't anticipate myself swapping them out. 

 

Only complaint with the new pump is it makes a little bit of noise, not much, and sometimes I can feel a slight vibration in the brake pedal whenever I can hear the pump noise. Going to assume that's just what I get when buying a $65 reman pump from Advanced Auto to get me out of a pinch. Next one will be of higher quality, I promise.

[Mopar1973Man]

Check for fluid foaming. Typically air in the fluid makes the noise and pulsation in like the brake and/or steering.

[Zach B]

I have checked for fluid foaming and bubbles a couple times now and havent been able to see any. Ive repeated the bleeding procedure a couple times thinking there may be air in the system somewhere. Each time, I had a helper turn the wheel for me and I watched the fluid in the reservoir and I can see that I have fluid flow, but I'm not getting any bubbles or foam in the fluid. Maybe I'll try bleeding it again, but I think it should be good as the fluid level hasn't changed at all since I put the pump on and bled it the first time. Since then, I've put about 600 miles on it.

[Mopar1973Man]

If the fluid isn't foaming then it another problem. Could be a damaged power valve in th3 steering box. It could be a pump issue where the regulator is sticking open dumping pressure needlessly.

[Zach B]

Dang, not what I wanted to hear. 
 

I wouldn’t think it’s a regulator in the pump dumping pressure because the steering is great, if it was dumping pressure I’d think my steering would suffer from low pressure.

 

Is there any way to get to the valves in the gear box to inspect/clean if necessary, or possibly replace? Or would I just need to go with a new steering box.

 

I have considered adjusting the steering box, haven’t gotten that far yet though. I’d have to look up the correct procedure for a proper adjustment 

[Mopar1973Man]

Well if your running stock tires or smaller then you could opted for quick ratio steering box through Blue Top Steering. Don't attempt to use a quick ratio with larger than stock tires it will damage the steering box.

 

You could get a rebuild kit for your steering box and rebuild it yourself. Not hard to do but if there is any damaged parts your going to need to contact Blue Top for said damaged parts.

[Zach B]

Well I won’t be getting a quick ratio because I’m running 33x12.50 tires, I’ll never go any bigger though. 
 

Thanks for all the help with my steering system, I think I’ll just hold off on rebuilding the gearbox until it becomes a problem. I may still try to look up the correct way to adjust it, couldn’t hurt right? Like I said, it doesn’t make noise or vibrate all the time, just periodically so I’m not super worried yet. 

 

It’s just one thing after another with these trucks, but we continue to own them and care for them lol. Someday, I’ll get to the point where I’ve taken care of every issue and she’s just like a new truck again!

 

 

[Mopar1973Man]

On 9/18/2023 at 8:48 PM, Zach B said:

I may still try to look up the correct way to adjust it, couldn’t hurt right?

 

Sector adjustment I run the Allen stud to bottom then count 1.5 to 2.0 turns back out. If it will not turn you have to lightly tap on the output shaft with a rubber hammer to allow the Allen stud to lift the shaft weight. That way you are really close to right you can go just a touch tighter but not much. You want just a little free play from left to right. 

[Zach B]

Thank you. I’ll adjust it and hopefully it makes a difference.

[Mopar1973Man]

Just make sure you get the slack back. Like I said if you adjust it to the bottom the Allen screw is not going to lift the output shaft with the pitman arm etc. So this why you use a rubber hammer or dead blow to kind of lift that shaft back up a bit to set yor slack. Once you get the 2 turns up from bottom give that a try it should be close.

[Zach B]

Okay, I’m a little confused so just to confirm I’m reading everything right about the adjustment: 

First loosen Jamnut on Allen screw. Then, run Allen screw in all the way then back out 1.5-2 turns. After the adjustment I am to hit on the output shaft of the gearbox where the pitman arm mounts with a soft hammer in the direction of the gearbox, correct? 

Only part I’m a little unsure about is the hitting with the hammer. So I’m to hit the shaft with the hammer if the Allen screw won’t move and that will help. But either way I am to hit it after I adjust the screw to where I want it, correct? 

Also, should adjustment be made with front tires off the ground to take load off of steering components or does it not matter

Edited September 27, 2023 by Zach B

[Tractorman]

1 hour ago, Zach B said:

Also, should adjustment be made with front tires off the ground to take load off of steering components or does it not matter

 

The front tires can be on the ground.  What does matter is that the tires must be pointed straight ahead with the steering wheel centered.  This is the position where the steering gear lash clearance is the tightest.  This is important.

 

I will let @Mopar1973Mananswer your first question.

 

- John