Well, I've read about the frustration comes with a project car and today was my turn. Got into the power steering pump on my '71 Cutlass and things didn't go as planned. The pump has a soft metal sleeve that the shaft rides on and is tough to remove and replace. The old one had slight scoring, but the new one ended up much worse after I nearly hacked it to death trying to install it. Has any one else tried to do this or should I just spring for a new pump. I'm wondering if there's a certain tool or special tip to finish the job right.

 

you can go to all the effort to rebuild the pump yourself and hope it works. If it does, fine. If it doesn't, you're SOL, your time and money wasted. For 35-45 bucks you can get a reman pump with a warranty

 

I agree. Just go to your local parts house and buy a new or remanufactured one. That is the easiest way to go.

 

I thought I might learn a thing or two about power steering pumps and I was correct.

Lesson #1. Power steering pumps are a pain in the a$$ to rebuild.

Lesson #2. Don't be cheap and buy a pump the next time.

I feel much smarter now!

 

Yes, the tool is called a bushing driver (and the sleeve is called a bushing). The driver protects the bushing during installation to prevent the damage you now have.

 

Thanks Joe, I don't recall seeing any tool like that at the parts store. But that doesn't mean they're not out there. Is it a speciality tool from Mac or Snap-on? (I ended up going the rebuild/exchange route at NAPA)