[daniel_depetro]

A couple weeks ago my power steering quit working. We had a cold spell and it was -40 degrees out for about a week strait. I moved my truck out of the driveway so the plow guy could do the entire driveway and I couldn’t turn the steering wheel. Not wanting to bend anything or break the column I just pulled it back in place and it has been sitting since. I could barely, and I mean both hands putting serious muscle behind it to get the steering wheel to turn either direction from the “neutral” position. I figured just moisture/water in the system and it froze. I have owned power steering cars where the power steering didn’t work and you had to fight the fluid to turn, this is much, much worse. I after about 45 seconds each way I was able to muscle it one direction and then back in the other direction. Once you got it moving it would be difficult (like it would be on a car with failed power steering pump) but not impossible like when first started. If you let it sit for a few minutes it again would “freeze up”. I let it idle for about 30 minutes to see if it would thaw. It didn’t work. Then I put it in the garage but to no avail. I bought new tires this past Thursday so this morning I took the truck into town to pick them up, mount, balance, and install them on the truck. This morning it was still “froze stiff”.

I finished doing my tires and took my truck to my dads shop to look at the power steering system. He looked at it and said maybe it was the shaft. He went and got a pry bar and sure enough the pulley moved in and out about 1.5-inches!
No biggie, but I didn’t feel like doing it. My dad convinced me to just get it and fix it so the truck doesn’t sit for another month waiting to be fixed. I called Advance Auto Parts and they had a Cardone remanufactured lifetime warranty power steering pump with reservoir. I bought it and thankfully it was a pretty simple swap. I filled it up, started the truck, topped it off and pulled it out of the shop for a quick test drive.
Once I pulled it out of the garage I did some tire testing which was just stopping in the middle of the slick hill in front of the garage door and driving up it. I tried it a couple times and once in reverse. I can't believe the difference these tires make. I also put the driver side into a snow bank at a stop and then drove through it for about 50 feet and the truck didn't struggle or spin at all while it pushed through it. Once I get the limited slip installed it'll be capable of more than I'll put it through.
After about three minutes of my new found traction & power steering bliss I pulled around to the front of the shop. While taking the sharp turn entering the parking lot I heard a 2-second squeal and lost my power steering again! It was 9:00pm was a little frustrated, tired, and hungry. I decided to call it a night and hopefully they have another power steering pump in stock so I can change it out tomorrow. I also hope it was simply a defective pump.
Thinking back at how stiff it is without the pump makes me think maybe something else is wrong.

Any ideas?

 

[cmh2007]

A couple weeks ago my power steering quit working. We had a cold spell and it was -40 degrees out for about a week strait. I moved my truck out of the driveway so the plow guy could do the entire driveway and I couldn’t turn the steering wheel. Not wanting to bend anything or break the column I just pulled it back in place and it has been sitting since. I could barely, and I mean both hands putting serious muscle behind it to get the steering wheel to turn either direction from the “neutral” position. I figured just moisture/water in the system and it froze. I have owned power steering cars where the power steering didn’t work and you had to fight the fluid to turn, this is much, much worse. I after about 45 seconds each way I was able to muscle it one direction and then back in the other direction. Once you got it moving it would be difficult (like it would be on a car with failed power steering pump) but not impossible like when first started. If you let it sit for a few minutes it again would “freeze up”. I let it idle for about 30 minutes to see if it would thaw. It didn’t work. Then I put it in the garage but to no avail. I bought new tires this past Thursday so this morning I took the truck into town to pick them up, mount, balance, and install them on the truck. This morning it was still “froze stiff”.

I finished doing my tires and took my truck to my dads shop to look at the power steering system. He looked at it and said maybe it was the shaft. He went and got a pry bar and sure enough the pulley moved in and out about 1.5-inches!
No biggie, but I didn’t feel like doing it. My dad convinced me to just get it and fix it so the truck doesn’t sit for another month waiting to be fixed. I called Advance Auto Parts and they had a Cardone remanufactured lifetime warranty power steering pump with reservoir. I bought it and thankfully it was a pretty simple swap. I filled it up, started the truck, topped it off and pulled it out of the shop for a quick test drive.
Once I pulled it out of the garage I did some tire testing which was just stopping in the middle of the slick hill in front of the garage door and driving up it. I tried it a couple times and once in reverse. I can't believe the difference these tires make. I also put the driver side into a snow bank at a stop and then drove through it for about 50 feet and the truck didn't struggle or spin at all while it pushed through it. Once I get the limited slip installed it'll be capable of more than I'll put it through.
After about three minutes of my new found traction & power steering bliss I pulled around to the front of the shop. While taking the sharp turn entering the parking lot I heard a 2-second squeal and lost my power steering again! It was 9:00pm was a little frustrated, tired, and hungry. I decided to call it a night and hopefully they have another power steering pump in stock so I can change it out tomorrow. I also hope it was simply a defective pump.
Thinking back at how stiff it is without the pump makes me think maybe something else is wrong.

Any ideas?

do you have a bad pully or a bad steering box in the bottom, and is the pump full? that squeel may be the pump running dry

 

[daniel_depetro]

I filled it up, started the truck, topped it off and pulled it out of the shop for a quick test drive.

The pulley is fine, which is why I re-used it.
The pump reservoir is still full.
My father thinks it maybe something in/with the steering box unit too.

 

[audiomechanic]

When the squealing started, did you notice your engine bog down like a sudden large load was placed on it?

If you have to replace your pump again, flushing you power steering box and checking the tension on the thrust bearing/washer might not be a bad idea.

 

[daniel_depetro]

It didn't seem like a load had suddenly been applied.

It was a faint squeal, not like a loud squealing loose belt.

I obviously have to change it again as new new pump is junk now.
I just want to get the real issue resolved so I don't keep burning through pumps.

When I pulled the new pump out of the box I spun the shaft (spun easily/smoothly) and pulled on the shaft (in & out). It did have a little play, however my father said that should be there.

flushing you power steering box and checking the tension on the thrust bearing/washer might not be a bad idea.

I will definately clean everything out this time and somehow blow out the lines.

Is that thrust bearing/washer on the power steering box or on the pump?

 

[audiomechanic]

It didn't seem like a load had suddenly been applied.

It was a faint squeal, not like a loud squealing loose belt.

I obviously have to change it again as new new pump is junk now.
I just want to get the real issue resolved so I don't keep burning through pumps.

Definitely sounds like your pump ate it. My pump made a similar sounds when it died.

When I pulled the new pump out of the box I spun the shaft (spun easily/smoothly) and pulled on the shaft (in & out). It did have a little play, however my father said that should be there.

Not sure on that one. I can't remember if my pump had any play front to back.

I will definately clean everything out this time and somehow blow out the lines.

They way I flushed the lines and box is:
-jack up front end of truck so front wheels are off the ground
-disconnect the low pressure hose from the power steering pump and run it to a bucket or container.
-open the reservior on the pump and fill it with fluid.
-with the truck OFF, rotate the steering wheel all the way left then all the way right over and over. Stop about ever 3 full rotations and check the reservior to make sure there's still fluid. It will drop, but don't let it run dry. Top off the fluid and keep going until you've run about a full bottle of fluid through the system.
-reconnect the hose to the pump, top off the reservior, screw on the cap, drop the truck and go drive it. Listen for funny noises, feel for stiffness in the wheel, etc.

That worked great on my truck.

Is that thrust bearing/washer on the power steering box or on the pump?

It's on the box itself. Check for a thread titled "Drive Way Fix for Steering Sector Play" in this same forum for how to adjust it.

:gr_patrio

 

[audiomechanic]

Forgot to mention in my previous post, when you disconnect the low pressure hose to flush the system, put a plug on the nipple on the back of the pump so fluid doesn't just flow out of it from the reservior.

 

[daniel_depetro]

I'll check into that.

 

[daniel_depetro]

The other day I pulled off the first remanufactured unit (lifetime warranty) brought it back to Advance Auto Parts and got another "new" one. I installed the second pump and it works flawlessly.
I guess the first pump must have been poorly rebuilt, put together incorrectly, or they just forgot/missed something.

The good news is it only took about 30 minutes from pulling the truck into the garage to pulling it out of the garage.
I didn't do anything different and did everything in the exact same order than I did the first time.

 

[Ram1878]

I just attempted to replace my pump this weekend because it's been squeaking and I couldn't figure out any way to remove the lines from the pump. There's no access to them. How did you do it? I couldn't get a wrench in from above or below. There's just too much stuff in the way. I was able to loosen the pump and just dumped out the old fluid and replaced it with fresh but had no way of accessing the lines.

 

[cmh2007]

its hard to get to, but it can be done...you have to do it from the bottom, with a short wreench

 

[daniel_depetro]

I just did it from the top with a standard length Snap-On Flank-Drive PLUS wrench (5/8" if I remember correctly).

I just reached right in there put the wrench on it and loosened it. :dunno:

 

[daniel_depetro]

Like this: (I just went out and took these; the wrench slips right in place; it is a 5/8")

Mine was easy to get onto and remove.
Don't forget to remove the "studs" from the old pump and install them in your replacement pump.
Also I found running a bolt into the (4) mounting holes on the front prior to installation allows for easier threading later. Hopefully this will keep anyone from starting a bolt in crooked (cross-threading) and damaging their new unit.
Other than the two studs the only thing you'll need to keep is your cap.

:teacher:

 

[Ram1878]

Thanks for the pics. I wonder if being 4wd is why I can't access it. I noticed yours are both 2wd. I'm a small guy and there was no way my arm could get up from the bottom either. I guess the mechanic will do it.

 

[moparman2k2]

I've never had luck with advance parts they must be the cheapest of the cheapest parts. and on a side note the people in that store are not knowledgeable at all. but hey you could always go to riverside:crazy:

 

[daniel_depetro]

I've had very good luck with Advance Auto Parts. Most of the aftermarket parts all come from the same distributors whever you get them from. All aftermarket new/reman stuff is the cheapest of the cheap nowdays.

They treat the shop very well and really take care of us. I know most of the people that work there and sold the two managers their cars.

Of course for best results on a custom application you really should know what you want before you enter.

 

[Ram1878]

Well, never mind. The mechanic looked at it and said its fine. He figured it was the belt making noise because of condensation in the morning. He put some stuff on the belt and its been as quiet as a church mouse ever since. Cost me $0.

 

[daniel_depetro]

So it was just your belt squealing? :YO:

 

[Ram1878]

Apparently. I figured the belt was still good but the noise was definitely coming from the pump. When I shot some wd40 on the pulley hub the noise stopped. So I figured after two years of noise, it was time to replace. Guess I was wrong. Oh well, sometimes its good to be wrong.