I need the popes of power steering.

I’m replacing the power steering pump on my ‘73 Delta 88. I have replaced pumps in the past, and I don’t recall offhand the exact procedure I used to bleed the system after the new pump is in place. I want to do it right, of course, and I’m curious how people do it.

Of course, I can read the ‘73 chassis service manual and just do what it says there. But it seems less than other methods I’ve seen and read.

The manual says:

1. With wheels turned all the way to the left, add fluid to the cold mark on dipstick.

2. Start engine, run at fast idle, and recheck fluid level. Add if necessary.

3. Bleed system by turning wheels from side to side, without hitting the stops. Maintain fluid level just above internal pump casting.

4. Return wheels to center position and run engine for another two or three minutes, then shut off engine.

5. Road test to make sure steering functions normally and makes no noise.

6. Recheck fluid level.


Questions:

In turning wheels from side to side, should they be off the ground? It would seem so, but the manual doesn’t say.

In going from step 4 to step 5, what’s the point of turning the engine off if you’re just going to immediately start it again to road test the car?


The new pump itself has a QR code to scan for instructions on bleeding the system, and that code takes you to a video showing how to do it with a vacuum pump. I don’t have a vacuum pump system for this and don’t really want to buy one.


All of the youtube videos I’ve seen say that you jack up the front wheels, make sure the fluid level is full, and the turn the steering wheel from lock to lock multiple times (as many as 50) with the engine OFF. They say that running the engine and thus the pump before bleeding the system can damage the pump, which makes sense to me. After all the air is out, you THEN start the engine and turn the wheel back and forth to make sure that there is no noise and that the steering functions properly. Obviously, in following the instructions in the manual where you start the engine before doing any wheel turning, there’s going to be air in the system when it starts up. That doesn’t harm anything? I'm guessing not since the manual says to do it this way, but hey.


I looked in the ‘67 chassis manual I have on hand just to see what it has to say, and the procedure there is as simple as could be. Just fill the reservoir and turn the pump pulley counterclockwise by hand until the air stops bubbling out. No need to start the engine. No turning the wheels back and forth. No mention if counterclockwise is determined by looking at the engine from the front of the car or from sitting in the car. I don’t plan to try this, anyway.


Thanks.

 

I did mine while the front end was still up in the air (wheels off the ground). Started engine and turned wheel back and forth without hitting the locks, then drove it around the neighborhood.

 

Did you do any wheel turning before you started the engine?

 

Assuming the pump is new/empty, what I have done in the past-YMMV.

Lift front of car to get front end off the ground. Hook up the pressure side hose to gear and pump.

Cap/plug return line on pump. Hook up gear side of return line and although not required, I did a double brass stepped nipple on a clear tube and ran it below to an oil drain pan.

Fill new PS fluid into pump until a tad better than "full" to start. DON'T start engine. Then rotate steering slowly back and forth and fluid should flow out the return line into the catch pan. Ensure to keep the pump full enough to prevent air intrusion.

Once the fluid runs clear, pinch off the return line to stop flow (I have these little plastic hose crimpers to do that), and uncap the return pipe on the pump and slide the hose onto the return pipe. (need to be quick with uncapping and placing hose)

Install and tighten clamp on the return line and top off the fluid to the "full cold" mark on the dipstick. Clean up any fluid dribbles, start engine and check for leaks.

It's not like I've had to change out pumps often, but this is the procedure I've used for years with good success.

It's also good to remind myself as I'm going to rebuild my own PS pump pretty soon on the '85. I don't trust the remans. Was lucky enough to get all the GM parts to do it.

 

Very interesting. Thanks. I've printed out your list.

 

I really do not remember, but my suspicion is I did not. I also don't pre-prime the engine after an oil change, I just fire it up.

 

So you pretty much did it the way the manual says. Can't go wrong doing that, one would assume. Thanks.

 

I've always done it like the manual. With the engine off, turning the wheel end to end accomplishes nothing since there is no fluid flow.

 

I've usually turned the wheels slowly side-to-side without hitting the stops, car running and the wheels of the ground.

Either way if the pump isn't whining and the fluid doesn't look aerated you nailed it

 

I wouldn't disagree. However, in the videos, they say that turning the wheels with the engine off still exercises the steering mechanism against the fluid and pushes air out. They do show air bubbling out while they're doing this, which would make it kind of hard to argue with.

 

That's the hope!

 

I think it moves the air back and forth, not out with the system closed.

 

Here is another option that works great if you are interested.

You could always use a vacuum pump on the return hose to bleed the system.
1. Add a section of hose to the return nibble of the pump to raise it above the fill opening.
2. Connect the vacuum pump to the return hose from the steering box.
3. Using the vacuum pump to pull the fluid through the system until all the air is out.
4. After you finish, removed the short section of hose that you added to the back of the pump and connect the return hose to the pump.

This has worked great for me with minimal cleanup when dealing with alot of new things that need to be broken in. 10 minute job.

 

Exactly. No air is purged from the system. Instead, any air trapped/contained w/in the system &/or fluid migrates to the top of the PS reservoir as a function of clocking the steering wheel several hundred times.

EDIT: Air does one thing really well. It always (rises) moves vertically in any fluid.

 

The system is not closed. You do it with the engine off and the cap off of the reservoir.

 

Yes, to the top of the reservoir, which is the highest point in the system, and out into the atmosphere.

 

Exactly

 

If it makes it past the loops in the hoses.

 

I replaced a broken serpentine belt on my 2003 Ford Super Duty F250 two years ago. I also replaced the PS pump, AC compressor, compensator, dryer, assorted pulleys, idle arm, etc. That PS systems employs a Hydroboost Blow By device. I seriously had to go lock-to-lock over 50 times before the air was evacuated when I put everything back together. It felt likes I was in the gym working butterflies for a couple hours.

 

This is why you both turn the wheels back and forth before starting the engine and then again after starting the engine. There are local high points in the hoses that prevent the trapped air from escaping by gravity alone. The fluid and air pockets have to be pushed around, and they get pushed around by working the steering mechanism both with the engine on and the engine off.

My main question in all of this has not been whether or not the air needs to be gotten out. My main question has been, is it possible to damage the power steering pump if you start the engine BEFORE you have done any wheel turning/bleeding? The manual, which should be the bible on this, says no, apparently, because the bleeding steps there don't call for it. But every video I've seen says that you CAN do damage if the pump is run before air is removed. I guess the bottom line is that bleeding before starting the engine, which is apparently not necessary, can't hurt.

 

Agree that bleeding before starting can't hurt; but, I've never seen nor heard of either sequence/method cause a problem.

 

While I also use the factory method, there's noting magic about this. You have to run the pump and move the piston in the steering box to get all the air out. If you don't do it beforehand, the system will eventually work all the air out as you drive - though it usually makes groaning noises in the process. We've spent more time talking about this than it takes to do it.

 

A saginaw steering gear does act like a pump by itself when turning the wheel. It will pull fluid into itself and push fluid out. Even when it's full of air it will push the air out and suck fluid in from the pump. It's not a whole lot, just a few tablespoons per lock-to-lock, which is why it's usually said to make a lot of turns. Most of the pumping action happens close to the lock. For a new system this is a good start to get at least some fluid moving around so there's not a ton of air and the fluid level is somewhat close to correct. Most racks also work like this.
The pump is a vane pump and it can get damaged pretty quickly if it runs dry. If a brand new system is hooked up, reservoir filled and engine started - all the fluid will be pushed into the gear and the reservoir will be dry. And vane pumps don't move fluid until they hit a pretty fast rate, probably over several hundred RPM at least.
Yeah, air won't get pushed out of every nook and cranny using this method, but it will get most. Then start the engine and turn the wheel lock to lock a few times to get fluid to the far ends of the spool valve.

 

Perhaps, but that's probably true of most threads. I know the job should take a few minutes, but I haven't done it yet because I'm between cataract eye surgeries that I was talking about in another thread. Right now, one eye is done and the other will be done in about a week. So my vision is a bit weird at the moment with one eye corrected without eyeglasses but the other one still needing correction. So I'm currently wearing a pair of frames with the lens in one side punched out. Makes looking at everything a little weird. I'll get back to it when the vision is normal again. The vision is ok, though, for sitting at a computer and spouting off about everything.

 

Thanks. All very good to know.

 

Just pop out the lens of corrective glasses for your "good" eye side and problem solved. Now, go bleed that steering system!

 

It already is popped out. But that means, with the glasses on, double-vision sometimes unless I look directly at something with my eyes straight ahead. If I move my eyes at all without moving my head, the double-vision kicks in with the double vision getting worse the more the eyes are moved off center. You don't realize how much you move your eyes without moving your head until this sort of thing starts happening.

If I take the glasses off, the good eye can see everything just fine and the double vision goes away, but the eye still needing correction now sees things blurry, so everything has somewhat of a fuzzy edge around it. It'll be more comfortable working on mechanical things when the eyes are good again.

In the meantime, my older daughter just gave birth a week ago today to our fifth grandchild, and they live just about 10 minutes from us, so we've been keeping busy in other ways!

 

Yup, optometrists will usually put non-corrective lens in the good eye to help with that oddity.
Congrats on #5! I've got 2 and that's plenty to keep us busy!

 

I shouldn't need this. I'm in the no-mans-land between one eye operation and the other, which are scheduled two weeks apart. Once the second eye is done, both eyes should not need correction of any kind anymore except possibly for reading glasses. The second operation is on June 6, and that can't get here fast enough!

Thanks. Not only is he #5, but he's the third since last September. Grandchild #3 was born September 15 of last year, #4 was born this past January 8, and #5 was born, as I said, last Friday, May 24. One was born to each of our three children. All three are boys, and all have names that begin with C (Christian, Callen, Connor). So we call them the "C-Suite."

 

I discovered that when I got a pair of glasses with progressive lenses. You have to keep your eyes forward and move your head side-to-side to have close up things in focus. It does not work when trying to read a large schematic or layout - I need to see everything in focus while tracing a signal line. I had to revert to a pair of reading glasses so I could see everything with just moving my eyes. I also discovered progressive lenses are no good when I have a rack of instruments above head level. Again, reading glasses to the rescue.

 

To follow up on this, after letting cataract surgery heal and then getting through a 10-day visit from our son, daughter-in-law, and new grandson, I finally had a chance to get back to the power steering job, and it's done.

As far as bleeding the system, I took the belt and suspenders approach. I first turned the front wheels back and forth with the system full of new fluid and the engine off. BOY, did air come out. After about maybe 20 back-and-forths of the steering wheel, the air bubbles and gurgling pretty much stopped, so t then started the engine and did the same thing. More air comes out. Not as many back-and-forths before the air pretty much stopped coming out. The manual say that PS fluid with air in it will be tan/light brown in color, and it still is to a certain extent. I had to stop for the day to do other things, so I've left the car on the jack stands with the cap loosely on the pump reservoir, and I'm letting it sit to let more of the bubbles make their way out. We have company tomorrow, so probably day after tomorrow I'll actually get it on the road for a test drive.

In case you've never seen a newly installed PS pump (with new hoses). I take pictures of EVERYthing.

 

You can use a vacuum pump with a cone adapter to REALLY pull the air out of the fluid, but that's not necessary. This system isn't all that sensitive to micro-bubbles in the fluid. A hydroboost can be a little bit more interesting (noisier and mushy pedal if the fluid is bubbly).
Don't sweat the color. There are many different PS fluid colors so it depends on what fluids have been used and how much old fluid was still in the system.
Get it out and enjoy it!

 

That's the plan! Thanks. We just need to get some of this rain out of here.