stilesautos

Hello I need some help please... Long Story.. Ok i bought the 00 SS Camaro with a known power steering leak and the guy had been driving it without fluid for a while i guess.. Found it was leaking in the boot in the rack.. Replaced the rack.. Got it home flushed the coolant.. Next time out pump starts making a noise and is boiling over right away.. Found that the ps cooler was leaking water into the fluid. Guess maybe the flush unplugged a hole in the cooler. Well bypassed the cooler and flushed the ps system by unhooking the return line and running several quarts of fluid through the reservoir while turning the wheel.. also unhooked the lines and blew through them.. Now I can drive it for about a solid hour and start getting a whine and real hot boiling fluid.. Could there possibly still be water in the system or do i just have a overheating pump that was driven dry and pumped water for a bit.. Just wandering if i should try a pump now.. Only thing is that the pump makes no noise until its been driven for a while.. Any help is greatly appreciated.. thanks

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

Did you remove the factory cooler and run a straight rubber upper hose?

Anyway, if its bypassed thats good because those factory coolers are actually power steering fluid heaters, they do not cool the PS fluid.

If the guy before you ran it without fluid for awhile you probably have a damaged pump, they can't go long when they're just low on fluid before getting damaged.

LS1powered09

iTrader: (13)

looks like you need a new pump

stilesautos

yes I went ahead and ran just a straight radiator hose and chunked that dang "ps heater" as you call it.. U know I thought the same thing cus you can't hardly stand to touch that upper radiator hose after driving it.. Not exactly cooling. But anyway, so I believe I have all the moisture out of the system.. What I didnt flush out surely has boiled out.. So i'll try to put a pump on tomorrow and see what it does.. Thanks yall ill keep ya posted

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

Do this for an aftermarket PS fluid cooler. It'll help the pump last longer. Took me 30 minutes and the cooler was like $24.00 at Advance Auto. Easy to do.



For airflow:

stilesautos

ok ya i see what ya did.. May go ahead and pick one of them up with the pump.. Air cooled makes more sense.. Thanks

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

No matter how I drive, city stop and go traffic for 30 minutes, constant city driving for 30 minutes or highway.........I can always touch that cooler and its just warm to the touch.

That factory cooler is pathetic.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

"Cool" is relative. Since the factory cooler is cooling with the coolant coming out of the radiator, it will only cool down to the temperature of the antifreeze. (which is still hot and why the factory cooler gets hot)

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

The only time power steering fluid will ever get hot to the touch is when someone gets on a road race course for 45 minutes. There's no type of city or highway driving that will ever get that fluid anywhere near hot, it just gets warm, like maybe as hot a door glass would get in the summer time from the sun hitting it.

Coolant in our cooling systems is always at a temp that will cause 3rd degree burns. The power steering fluid that enters the alleged "power steering" cooler is just warm. After it leaves its burning hot. Feel the metal lines sometime that enters the rack, you'll burn yourself. Mine are never more warm then touching the paint on the hood of my car in the summer time.

Its a power steering fluid heater, plain and simple. GM just designed a piece of crap. They don't always get it right. Or they were trying to be cool and thinking people are gonna go road race their cars and then the 230 degree coolant would help cool the 300 degree power steering fluid.

All I know is: I have a very happy power steering pump.

.