No power steering unless rev engine
Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 270
Likes: 30
From: Detroit
No power steering unless rev engine Stock LS1 power steering pump with aftermarket Al reservoir. . New/reman gen 3 power steering box 2.5 turn.
When the car is idling, I have no power assist. If I rev the engine to ~2000 RPM, I have assist.
Any thought where to start?
When the car is idling, I have no power assist. If I rev the engine to ~2000 RPM, I have assist.
Any thought where to start?
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 1,469
Likes: 267
From: Bossier City, Louisiana
Is the belt tight? Hose kinked? Filled with fluid to the fill line on the dipstick tube? It absolutely would not be the first time a remanufactured power steering pump was bad fresh out of the box.
Rick
Rick
Trending Topics
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
Gas Monkey Built a 6-Wheel Ferrari Testarossa With a Corvette LT4 Engine
Verdad Gallardo
7 Most Reliable High-Performance Engines GM Has Ever Built
Verdad Gallardo
Amazing '71 Camaro Restomod Is Modern Muscle Car Under the Skin
Verdad Gallardo
6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them
Pouria Savadkouei
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes
Verdad Gallardo The pump, I recently learned the bore inside our pumps wears and will begin to lose pressure. If the pumps aren't tested after they rebuild them, they will be sellling you a bad pump again
you can see pics of all in the PS rebuild sticky on top
With pressure only at high RPM, I like Jwooky's suggestion to check the belts first. If they are good and have tension, then my next guess would be a stuck-open pressure relief valve. (in the pump) This could be allowing pressure to bleed off continually.
The solution is the same as a worn pump - time for a rebuild.
The solution is the same as a worn pump - time for a rebuild.
My pump had 106,000 on it. Had no issues, just had the motor out of the car so figured why not send it to turn one for a performance rebuild. They rebuilt it, tested it after rebuild, and told me I had pressure loss due to a worn out bore. I didn't even notice any issues, but the stock pump operates at a pretty high pressure so could take a decent amount of pressure loss until you felt something.
The pump is not known to fail this quickly, but the fluid is... If that stuff gums up and the pressure relief valve doesn't shut all the way, you will see pressure bleed off at the low RPMs - particularly where you need all the pressure you can get.
Your pump may be perfectly fine, but if that relief valve (located in the pump body) is open, you might as well be driving a car with manual steering.
Your pump may be perfectly fine, but if that relief valve (located in the pump body) is open, you might as well be driving a car with manual steering.
Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 270
Likes: 30
From: Detroit
The pump is not known to fail this quickly, but the fluid is... If that stuff gums up and the pressure relief valve doesn't shut all the way, you will see pressure bleed off at the low RPMs - particularly where you need all the pressure you can get.
Your pump may be perfectly fine, but if that relief valve (located in the pump body) is open, you might as well be driving a car with manual steering.
Your pump may be perfectly fine, but if that relief valve (located in the pump body) is open, you might as well be driving a car with manual steering.
+1. You could take the pump off, drain the fluid, inspect the valve, possibly replace it, replace the pump, replace the fluid, bleed the system, etc. but then you'd be left with a lot of effort, a big mess, and a pump with 1/2-3/4 of it's life gone.
For all that effort, I'd just remove the pump, send it off to Turn One, and have a quality rebuild back in-hand the following week to give you a good bit of certainty for the next 100K miles. (You can also do the pulley upgrade while you are at it.)
For all that effort, I'd just remove the pump, send it off to Turn One, and have a quality rebuild back in-hand the following week to give you a good bit of certainty for the next 100K miles. (You can also do the pulley upgrade while you are at it.)
+1. You could take the pump off, drain the fluid, inspect the valve, possibly replace it, replace the pump, replace the fluid, bleed the system, etc. but then you'd be left with a lot of effort, a big mess, and a pump with 1/2-3/4 of it's life gone.
For all that effort, I'd just remove the pump, send it off to Turn One, and have a quality rebuild back in-hand the following week to give you a good bit of certainty for the next 100K miles. (You can also do the pulley upgrade while you are at it.)
For all that effort, I'd just remove the pump, send it off to Turn One, and have a quality rebuild back in-hand the following week to give you a good bit of certainty for the next 100K miles. (You can also do the pulley upgrade while you are at it.)
The main bore, like since it's a pump inside there is a rotating gear like thing. Power steering fluid doesn't lubricate as well as engine oil so u still have 70,000 miles of not the greatest lubrication of a metal on metal contact. It's not bad lubrication just not as good as engine oil. A new high performance pump from turn one is 350 without pulley or reservoir. It's a little steep in my opinion but I still did it in hopes of freeing up 2 or 3 horsepower (I liked the idea behind the increased stiffness and pressure changes so I justify it by saying I'm spending 150 more than I think I should for 3 to, so 50 bucks per hp, not a terrible cost). But summit sells a new pump by tuff stuff, Its under 150. I would try that if u wanted to keep a stockish pump