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power steering pump replacement

M

MadDog

Veteran CEG'er
Joined
Jul 27, 2012
Messages
618
Location
Augusta, GA
My PS pump is slowly (at the moment…) dying. I can tell from the leaking fluid down the side of the engine block. While I am ordering parts to build a replacement main return line, I am doing some research into replacing the pump.

1) is it generally better to go new than reman ? I am assuming I would go with the Motorcraft part. I don't want a noisy PS pump.
2) Whats the deal with the main union line and the teflon inserts ? The factory manual claims you need a special tool, but I am having a hard time visualizing why.

Sorry if this is a dumb question - a while back I found some threads on this subject, but since the new BB upgrade, I have had a hard time relocating some of these threads.

thanks,

Mad Dog
 
from the forum description ... "Springs, struts, sway bars, bushings, steering, etc."

power steering is part of steering .... either way the thread did not belong in general troubleshooting.
 
I have not heard about many power steering pumps failing. personally I would go with an OEM replacement.

As for the leak, could it be from a fitting and not the pump itself?
 
I can see fluid has dripped down the side of the engine block. The entire pump area is kind of dirty. I will take a picture. I am planning on replacing the main return line first, but from what I can see, the pump looks to be leaking.

thanks,

Mad Dog
 
No Title

None of these pictures do real justice, but this is a difficult spot to get a good picture of. The first pic is of the high pressure union, and while its a little out of focus, the entire area seems to be caked with grit, presumably sticking to leaking fluid.
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The sec on pic shows the passengers-engine side, with fluid that has sheeted down the side, past the pulleys. It has gotten down onto the subframe.
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Over Thanksgiving week, the car sat, unused, and when I looked in the area after that week, there was an obvious sheen of fresh fluid. The reservoir also dropped about 1cm.

thanks,

Mad Dog
 

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Its hard to tell from the photos. But it seems like the line is leaking. And it will tend to leak down onto the pump and then down the front cover.

The pump could very well be leaking itself, but pump failures have been pretty much non-existent.
 
Leaks at the pump aren't uncommon, usually it's the high pressure fittings, there are two, one connects the little piece of bent steel tubing to the pump outlet, the second connects the long pressure line down to the steering rack. The pump-to-short tube fitting is pretty reliable because it's clamped and doesn't move, the fitting for the long line moves and will leak more often.

I replaced a pump for a leaking shaft seal, it was quite obvious once I had the pulley off. I used a Motorcraft re-manufactured pump.

Here's a post about my experiences dealing with the replacement high pressure fitting nuts:
http://contour.org/ceg-vb/forum/gen...ering-fluid-please-help?p=1465329#post1465329

The fitting nuts are F5RZ-3R608-B, sometimes the dealerships have them in stock.

If it's leaking fluid while the car is sitting, I would also look at the hose that runs from the reservoir to the pump inlet. This hose gets hard as a rock with age and they don't seal well where they're clamped, especially if you disturb them. I did a how-to in the maintenance section on replacing this hose, the Ford part is no longer available.
http://contour.org/ceg-vb/forum/how...ing-the-power-steering-reservoir-to-pump-hose

Leaks from the reservoir area tend to run down the firewall and end up on the ground about the passenger side rear subframe puck.

Have to agree, using the search function since the BB upgrade is an exercise in futility most times. Suspect it may not have been fully indexed yet.
 
Thanks for the links to your experiences. I was planning to replace the return hose first, using the good how-to, but I just got word my vendor has a minimum purchase length of 200 feet. Now I have to keep looking for this Elvis of piping, the mystical Parker 836.

thanks,

Tom
 
RICHMOND SUPPLY COMPANY
601 LANEY WALKER BLVD EXT
AUGUSTA GA 30901 UNITED STATES
Telephone: (706) 724-7792

Just got off the phone with them, they have 200 foot of Parker 836 -12 hose in stock, they sell by the foot, $5.55/foot.
 
Go figure, I called those guys 2 weeks ago and they didn't have any in stock. Thanks for checking. Do you live near Augusta ?

Mad Dog
 
MadDog said:
Go figure, I called those guys 2 weeks ago and they didn't have any in stock. Thanks for checking. Do you live near Augusta ?

Mad Dog
Click to expand...

Nope, Colorado Springs, CO. I looked at your profile, found them through Parker's distributor lookup and gave them a call.
 
They didn't have any 836 at the time (and they are closed today), but they had 821. If I can't find Push-lok 836, I think you mentioned there were other functional equivalents ? I need fuel-grade material rated for high temps, but is the return line really high pressure ?

thanks,

Mad Dog
 
And so the saga continues….. I called RSC and they don't have it in stock, and they can order it, but only by the spool (200 ft+). What else is functionally equivalent to the 836 ? In the how-to "Earls or Aeroquip" is mentioned. Do you know which aeroquip is the same as Parker 836 ? I am guessing its one of the specialty truck hoses (2651-8 ?).

​I think Dom on FCO said something about using hoses from a Ford Escape with slight modification. Anyone try that ?

thanks,

Mad Dog
 
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