URG- Car decided to belch PS fluid.
01-14-2008, 10:04 AM
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URG- Car decided to belch PS fluid. I guess this thread is more of a rant than anything else.
My fiancée and I ended up taking the 7 down to VA/DC for the Christmas holiday since our other cars need tires badly. We get down there without much incident but the day before I am supposed to come back up, I have a lot of problems starting the car. A friend of mine and I look at the car and see that power steering fluid is leaking out somewhere on the return side of the pump and is dripping down onto the alternator. I need to be at work the next day back up in Jersey so we spray the alternator down with some electrical cleaner and then air dry it with some compressed air. It runs again and I truck it up to NJ. The next morning I take Maria over to her uncle’s place so we can pick up her car and the 7 is behaving oddly again. It wants to die out at idle and is running like crap. So, I park it and take my Saturn to work. I come back from work and there is a puddle underneath the car. The 7 had puked up the rest of the power steering fluid.
I did a quick examination of the reservoir but it doesn’t look like there is a crack anywhere. Could the gasket between the pump and reservoir have gone out so quickly and on a massive scale? I really don’t want to go through getting another power steering pump and Im not really ready to convert to a manual rack.
My fiancée and I ended up taking the 7 down to VA/DC for the Christmas holiday since our other cars need tires badly. We get down there without much incident but the day before I am supposed to come back up, I have a lot of problems starting the car. A friend of mine and I look at the car and see that power steering fluid is leaking out somewhere on the return side of the pump and is dripping down onto the alternator. I need to be at work the next day back up in Jersey so we spray the alternator down with some electrical cleaner and then air dry it with some compressed air. It runs again and I truck it up to NJ. The next morning I take Maria over to her uncle’s place so we can pick up her car and the 7 is behaving oddly again. It wants to die out at idle and is running like crap. So, I park it and take my Saturn to work. I come back from work and there is a puddle underneath the car. The 7 had puked up the rest of the power steering fluid.
I did a quick examination of the reservoir but it doesn’t look like there is a crack anywhere. Could the gasket between the pump and reservoir have gone out so quickly and on a massive scale? I really don’t want to go through getting another power steering pump and Im not really ready to convert to a manual rack.
01-14-2008, 11:51 AM
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i had the same issue. i put a new return line on and i was good. it wasnt cracked or split just leaking. but i had no puddle of fluid just drip drip. i put a new pump on and the bitch still leaked. new line and all is well. i was having issues with the alt giving a good charge to.
01-14-2008, 12:05 PM
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so, if my return line is loose enough it will leak out? Didnt think of that.
Do you know if anyone has created a shield for the alternator? I cant imagine that this is the first time someone has had problems with fluid getting on it.
Do you know if anyone has created a shield for the alternator? I cant imagine that this is the first time someone has had problems with fluid getting on it.
01-14-2008, 12:31 PM
#4
Try replacing the lines first...this isn't an uncommon problem with the factory power steering pumps. They run really hot, and will puke fluid out the cap if run hard...
As for an alternator shield, I'm sure one could be made pretty easily, but you'd have to make certain you didn't cut off its air supply so it doesn't overheat either...
A more expensive route to go would be to get a Turn One power steering pump...they are modified to put out less pressure, helping it run cooler. A quick Google search will find you one of those...and if you go that route, it is cheapest to order it straight from them.
You could also try rounding up an F-body power steering cooler...those can be effective as well.
As for an alternator shield, I'm sure one could be made pretty easily, but you'd have to make certain you didn't cut off its air supply so it doesn't overheat either...
A more expensive route to go would be to get a Turn One power steering pump...they are modified to put out less pressure, helping it run cooler. A quick Google search will find you one of those...and if you go that route, it is cheapest to order it straight from them.
You could also try rounding up an F-body power steering cooler...those can be effective as well.
01-14-2008, 06:40 PM
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I actually have aeromotive high pressure (300 psi) on the reetun side and a modified spring in the pump to reduce output to around 900.
It sucks because it is dark when I get home from work so I can't look around to see exactly where it is coming from
It sucks because it is dark when I get home from work so I can't look around to see exactly where it is coming from
