power steering pump blues

[hedz]

i got 3 bad power steering pumps in a row out of the box from autozone that were a1 cardone brand for my f250. every single one was bad out of the box. finally went to napa, got a a1cardone with a different serial - worked great.


fast forward... my f100 power steering pump finally bit the dust. went to napa, got a a/c delco reman which was all they carried. bad out of the box.

they want $200 for a brand new one. i see a brand new cardone pump from rockauto for 100.

anyway what did yall do with your power steering pump?

should i just bite the bullet and buy a saginaw conversion kit? this one looks way too expensive

http://benchworksteering.com/products/f ... -pump-kit/

maybe i should just tear out my power steering and get some brass plugs and cap off my steering box, then modify my original bracket to accept a saginaw pump. they are so much cheaper

[ultraranger]

Maybe it has to do with the way the PS pumps are being installed and not that all these pumps are bad out of the box. --I'm guessing these are Thompson 'pencil neck' PS pumps with the stamped steel reservoir housings?

Any newly installed PS pump/PS system components needs to be primed before the engine is cranked.

When you put the PS pump on, don't fill it with fluid and then fire the engine up.

Install the pump, wheels pointing straight ahead, fill the reservoir with fluid. Take a variable speed drill (angle drill works the best) with a hex bit engaged into the tip of the pump shaft and SLOWLY start turning the drill for a few revolutions, check fluid level, top off if needed.

Turn wheels all the way to the left, slowly spin PS pump with the drill, check fluid level, top off if needed.

Turn wheels all the way to the right, repeat process.

Turn wheels back straight ahead. Check fluid level. If ok, spin PS pump slowly then, gradually increase speed for a couple of minutes. Check fluid level.

Turn the front wheels from left to right (lock-to-lock) for 8 to 10 cycles.

If the fluid level didn't drop, NOW you're ready to put the belt on and then fire the engine up.

Engine idle speed is much higher than the slow priming speed of a variable speed drill. Air in a PS system, or in a new pump, can easily burn the pump up before it can purge all the air out of the system.

Angle drill motor and 3/8" hex bit I used to prime the Ford C-2 PS pump and the Saginaw PS gear box I installed in my '69 F100.

[jimmy828]

Maybe it has to do with the way the PS pumps are being installed and not that all these pumps are bad out of the box. --I'm guessing these are Thompson 'pencil neck' PS pumps with the stamped steel reservoir housings?

Any newly installed PS pump/PS system components needs to be primed before the engine is cranked.

When you put the PS pump on, don't fill it with fluid and then fire the engine up.

Install the pump, wheels pointing straight ahead, fill the reservoir with fluid. Take a variable speed drill (angle drill works the best) with a hex bit engaged into the tip of the pump shaft and SLOWLY start turning the drill for a few revolutions, check fluid level, top off if needed.

Turn wheels all the way to the left, slowly spin PS pump with the drill, check fluid level, top off if needed.

Turn wheels all the way to the right, repeat process.

Turn wheels back straight ahead. Check fluid level. If ok, spin PS pump slowly then, gradually increase speed for a couple of minutes. Check fluid level.

Turn the front wheels from left to right (lock-to-lock) for 8 to 10 cycles.

If the fluid level didn't drop, NOW you're ready to put the belt on and then fire the engine up.

Engine idle speed is much higher than the slow priming speed of a variable speed drill. Air in a PS system, or in a new pump, can easily burn the pump up before it can purge all the air out of the system.

Angle drill motor and 3/8" hex bit I used to prime the Ford C-2 PS pump and the Saginaw PS gear box I installed in my '69 F100.

Some good info right there . Will have to bookmark.

[hedz]

Maybe it has to do with the way the PS pumps are being installed and not that all these pumps are bad out of the box. --I'm guessing these are Thompson 'pencil neck' PS pumps with the stamped steel reservoir housings?

Any newly installed PS pump/PS system components needs to be primed before the engine is cranked.

When you put the PS pump on, don't fill it with fluid and then fire the engine up.

Install the pump, wheels pointing straight ahead, fill the reservoir with fluid. Take a variable speed drill (angle drill works the best) with a hex bit engaged into the tip of the pump shaft and SLOWLY start turning the drill for a few revolutions, check fluid level, top off if needed.

Turn wheels all the way to the left, slowly spin PS pump with the drill, check fluid level, top off if needed.

Turn wheels all the way to the right, repeat process.

Turn wheels back straight ahead. Check fluid level. If ok, spin PS pump slowly then, gradually increase speed for a couple of minutes. Check fluid level.

Turn the front wheels from left to right (lock-to-lock) for 8 to 10 cycles.

If the fluid level didn't drop, NOW you're ready to put the belt on and then fire the engine up.

Engine idle speed is much higher than the slow priming speed of a variable speed drill. Air in a PS system, or in a new pump, can easily burn the pump up before it can purge all the air out of the system.

Angle drill motor and 3/8" hex bit I used to prime the Ford C-2 PS pump and the Saginaw PS gear box I installed in my '69 F100.

i bled and primed my ps box just fine. ideally vacuum bleeding the pump would be the way to go and vacuum bleeding the steering box. the inside of this pump is toast. bearing and housing are good. those a1 cardones from autozone were as follows: cracked housing, bad bushing, cracked housing. i didn't even install the 2nd one. got home pulled it out of the box grabbed the snout and it had play like a bad water pump. instantly returned it. and that was for a 91 f250. they have plastic housings to boot.

what i was getting at as i am having real bad luck with the remans. and i have had bad luck with autozone, napa, oreillys, and advanced. white brothers rarely has what i need. wish there were carquests around here.

this is not unheard of. my friends have the same difficulty. especially with master cylinders, wheel cylinders, torque converters, alternators, cv axles, ball joints.... wish i could go back in time and seal up some quality parts in a time capsule for crap like this.

i'm going to return this one to southern distributors where i bought it and i don't think i'm going to buy a new 200 dollar unit from napa.

someone on this forum took a ps bracket for a ford FE in their truck and welded up the holes, modified the bracket and attached a saginaw. i can't remember who did it and i really wish i had a pic right now because that seems like the way to go

[ultraranger]

The Ford C-2 pump (plastic reservoir housing) I have is a remanufactured unit I got through O'Reilly's. I haven't had any problems out of it and it was quite from the first time I fired the engine up.

My MC is a more 'modern' version --aluminum cylindrical body with a plastic reservoir. I bought it brand new through NAPA. I don't use rebuilt brake MCs.

Unfortunately, when much of the manufacturing went over seas, the quality that used to exist in manufacturing here didn't carry over, there.

Hope you get this sorted out. Having to replace the same part over and over gets old quick.

[hedz]

i repalced the reman a/c delco power steering pump that was bad today with another reman ac delco pump. This time i used lucas power steering additive rather than lubeguard. i have to say i was surprised at how thick the liquid was for the lucas. much thicker than the lubeguard which pours like water. i think the lucas is a better product.

i'm not having any problems out of the 2nd reman ac delco pump. the truck steers great! the steering has never been this good.