brettcameron

Hi guys,

I just replaced my old leaky rack and pinion with a remanufactured unit, and now I have virtually no power steering at low rpms. If I rev the engine up to about 2,000 RPM, the power steering works, but at idle speed, it does not.

Could it be an issue with the rack and pinion? It seems to me this issue would be caused by the pump, but the pump was just replaced about a month ago (again with a remanufactured unit).

I bled the system by turning the wheel lock to lock (I must have turned it 1,000 times), so I don't think it's an air bubble. The fluid level is fine and the pump isn't making any noises, but I have noticed that the fluid inside the reservoir doesn't seem to be moving/flowing as fast as it did before I replaced the rack.

So what do you guys think? Faulty rack? Bad pump? Something else?

Rob10CamaroSS

Only issue I've ever been personally involved in was caused by lack of fluid delivery due to the lines being to small. I helped a friend convert from Std Power Steering to Rack and Pinion, although all our angles and mounting was dead on we had the same problem. Wouldn't work at idle but worked fine once you got moving. After being frustrated he sent it to a shop, they installed larger lines and it's worked perfect ever since...

I guess that wouldn't be your problem since you already had a good working system before but I would suspect it's due to lack of fluid delivery unless you got a bad replacement ?

steering_experts1

Based on your description, it sounds like the pressure relief valve is stuck in the pump. This is generally caused by debris in the system.

Junior
Turn One

brettcameron

So would I be able to just take out the valve and clean it?

steering_experts1

Technically, yes, you should be able to extract the valve and clean it to remove any debris. Be very careful with the valve and the valve bore. They are very sensitive, and if damaged, it will stick again. If the valve cannot be extracted cleanly, you will need to get a new pump, which we maybe able to provide depending on what you are running.

brettcameron

Ok I’ll try to clean it out later today. Btw I’m working on a 3.4L V6 1995 Camaro

brettcameron

So the pressure relief valve was stuck. I had to use a screwdriver to carefully press down on it to get it to pop out. The bottom of the bore looks rusted to me. There are reddish-brown spots on it. I took a couple of pics, but I was having a hard time getting the camera to focus down the hole.




I'm wondering if there's anything I can really do to get this out, or if I should just get a new pump since this one is still under warranty. I just don't want to wait for it to be shipped back and another one to arrive.

steering_experts1

I would suggest just swapping it out, especially since it is under warranty.