Hi friends

I hope you're all doing well.

So recently I had a nasty grinding noise coming from my engine bay. I noticed that the pulley on the power steering pump was a little loose, and it wiggled when grabbing onto it and moving side to side. Although I didn't have any trouble with the steering, I was forced to replace it because the noise was unbearable.

While attempting to take it off, I stripped the flare nut on the high pressure hose going to the pump (I'm going to have nightmares about that flare nut). So I ordered a new high pressure power steering hose from AutoZone.

Routing the new hose was a major PITA but I finally maneuvered it in and installed the new pump. I noticed when filling up my reservoir that the fluid in it was very thick, almost like chocolate milk?

When I started the engine, there was a nasty squeal coming from the belt. I must have accidentally spilled PS fluid the AC compressor pulley when removing it. Also, the steering was initially WAY too easy - the wheel turned like butter.

I moved the wheel from lock to lock multiple times, turned off the car and topped off the fluid. When I went to take it for a spin, the power steering seemed to not be working at all. At idle, and at low rpm's - it was basically inoperable. The steering became more normal as the rpm's got higher - then worse as the rpm's went lower.

I definitely plan on replacing the serpentine belt tomorrow, as I read a slipping belt can cause issues with steering. But what do you think is causing the steering to not work at low rpm's? Perhaps the new hose isn't routed correctly and isn't flowing right? I did have to fight with it for quite a while.

Any help would be greatly appreciated - thank you so much

 

Based on your description, it sounds as if the flow control valve is stuck. It may have gotten some debris in it when swapping out the pump, other something was left in the system from the previous pump failing.

​​​​​​If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us via PM or by one of the methods listed below.

Thanks,
​​​​​​​Junior

 

Junior - Thank you so much for the quick response.

That makes perfect sense - what would you recommend to fix this?

 

I would recommend getting a different pump. Once the valve sticks, the likelihood of it sticking again is very high. We do offer rebuilding services for these pump. We would be happy to take a look at the factory pump for you, or a different core.

Thanks,
Junior

 

There is a procedure for filling and bleeding the power steering system. Make sure you go through the procedure completely and correctly.

 

Thank you for the replies.

Junior - I have a lifetime warranty on the pump. I appreciate the offer though.

Gangly - I read there's a couple different ways to flush the system. With a turkey baster or disconnecting the reservoir. Which do you recommend?

 

From this, it sounds like you didn't bleed it properly. The ignition is supposed to be off when you turn the wheel lock to lock. I'd recommend following GM's bleeding procedure before driving it further, or you could damage your new pump.

 

I have had a new one bad out of the box before. It pissed me off something terrible. Before I had garage, I used my Dad's shop to do serious work on my car. I replaced a noisy ps pump, went to go home on the new one, and the new pump failed about 5 miles down the road.

Turned the car around, went back to the shop, and I had to put the old whiny pump(but it did work) back on the car.....grrrrrr. I was so mad, that I torqued the crap out of the bolts and stripped one of the holes in the accessory bracket that hold the pump. LoL, guess I showed it....doh! This was before I really knew how to work on these things and now know it's so easy to remove the fans to get the room needed to make this job simple.

Think I got home around 3am as home was 45mins from my Dad's shop. Then had to do it over again along with getting a new accessory bracket. I still have the old one. I need to heli coil that hole....have not done that in all these years.

As others have mentioned, make sure you do the bleed procedure correctly. If that does not work and your belt is not slipping, then you'll need to replace the pump with another one.

 

I also had 2 NIB PS pumps that were bad. Autozone remans. I can't find a "new" PS pump anywhere for my car.

Lee Mfg. in CA. or Turn One can rebuild pumps...supposedly better than bulk reman shops

regardless of pump used. Flush AND Bleed the whole PS system. 2 different steps

 

Turn the steering wheel all the way to the left, fill reservoir and then go stop-to-stop with the steering wheel 20 times. Check for air bubbles. For a much more detailed explanation, attached is an instructional specific to our vehicles.

 

Thank you all so much for your help.

I ended up flushing/bleeding the system and it fixed the problem.

Check out this old fluid!





Thanks again