Power Steering Pump / Vacuum pump Conversion

[Tractorman]

 

@mace, I have performed the power steering pump and vacuum pump conversion that you brought to this site.  I hope you are still perusing the site and will see this.

 

The time and effort spent on this project (and the APPS relocate) has been very worthwhile.  Much engine space has been freed up and the power steering reservoir is right where it should be for easy fluid check / fill.  The reservoir is like the brake master cylinder reservoir – you can see the fluid level through the reservoir.

 

An unexpected benefit is that this direct mount power steering pump outperforms any previous power steering pump that has been on this truck.  There is no more stopping of the steering wheel when the power steering is under high demand, such as when maneuvering in tight spaces, steering from stop to stop with little forward or backward movement of the truck.

 

I started the project by finding a location for the new power steering reservoir, which was going to be right where the APPS assembly used to be.  Then I built a mounting bracket for the reservoir (shown below).  The first part of the bracket assembly is designed to let the weight of the oil and reservoir rest in the V slot.

 

 

 

 

In the above photo, note the welded nut where the tab on the top of the reservoir is screwed into the bracket. 

In the photos below, more brackets are added to fasten the unit to the engine. 

 

 

 

Below is the new location for the reservoir in the engine compartment - lots of space available for mounting with the removal of the APPS and APPS mounting assembly.

 

 

           

I don't have any photos of the actual pump mount, but the mounting is straight forward, especially with the addition of studs instead of bolts.  Much easier installation the old vacuum pump / power steering pump combination was.  I didn't use a gasket - just the grey Permatex RTV gasket maker.  The one thing that Mace did that I should have done (which he clearly mentioned) is to have the pump suction fitting turned down on a lathe from 22 mm to 19 mm to match the 19 mm connection on the reservoir.  Because I didn't do that, I have not-so-neat connections from the pump suction to the reservoir (another reason to not take a photo down there). 

 

@Mace, thank you again for making this possible.

 

That’s all, folks!

John

 

 

 

 

 

Edited Friday at 04:56 AM by Tractorman

[Mace]

I’m glad it worked out. What a difference

 

Ive had to replace my electric pump recently already as mine died. I replaced it with a Dorman one. See how long that lasts…

Edited 17 hours ago by Mace

[Tractorman]

I purchased the Standard Motor Products vacuum pump - not sure about the quality.  While performing these modifications, I also replaced my original vacuum operated exhaust brake (PacBrake)  with an in-line PacBrake PRXB for better performance at low engine rpm.  It uses an air cylinder, so the only vacuum load I have now is HVAC and the CAD unit on the front axle.

 

The old vacuum operated exhaust brake served me well - 70,000 miles on my old '99 truck and an additional 393,000 miles on my current '02 truck.  It will begin a new life on a site member's 2002 truck next summer. 

 

Is the Dorman vacuum pump any quieter?  What brand was you original vacuum pump.

 

-  John

[Mace]

I used the SMP from Rockauto originally. It was slow or so I thought. My vacuum switch recently died at the same time so I replaced them both and my EB is quicker now. 1-2 second delay turning it on and maybe 2 delay switching it off.

 

Noise is the same I find.