Suspension Power steering pump issues

manicmechanic007 · Jun 28, 2022

Let me tell you all how to do this
The first turn lock to lock needs to take about one minute (the pre '78 Saginaw pumps teach you this)
Be patient. After the first lock to lock, I start doing it a bit different
I put it at one lock and let the wheel free, then wait until all the bubbles in the fluid are gone
Put it at the other lock and do the same
Try that a few times and it's easy
Takes about 20 minutes total

sav22rem22 · Jun 28, 2022

I got some pictures of the fluid today. This fluid only has about maybe 1 hour at most of driving on it. Probably closer to 45 minutes.

Im almost positive that the shiny bits are metal and I haven’t checked if they’re magnetic yet or not but I will soon. I just wanted to get everyone else’s opinion on the fluid before I contact LMR and deal with all of that headache. I drove the car for about 10 minutes and the pump is extremely whiny now. I’m assuming I’ll need to go ahead and get another pump if that is metal in the fluid? Like I mentioned earlier there is no bubbling in the fluid when turning the wheel and I made sure to have it off the ground. I’m having trouble figuring out what the original culprit is. Both the pump and rack were brand new from LMR and I’m wondering if the first pump dying took out the rack or if the rack is what took out the first pump. Either way since it’s a 99-04 rack I’ll need to get the tie rods that came on it back from the guy and put those back on before returning it.

General karthief · Jun 28, 2022

I would try flushing it, take the return line off and stick it in a 3 or 5 gallon bucket or equivalent, have 3-4 quart bottles of trans fluid ready, start the car and while the fluid pumps into the bucket pour fluid into the pump keeping it full, it pumps fairly fast so pay attention, run 2-3 quarts of fresh fluid through it and see if it clears up.

Mustang5L5 · Jun 28, 2022

I’d suspect that pump.

I’m sure LMR will take care of you, but this is sort of the scenario where it makes sense to go to local parts store for these sorts of parts. A lot of these general replacement items like racks and power steering pumps are repackaged parts store pumps. Why deal with shipping back and forth when you get get the same thing from Advanced Auto. At least then, you can just take the pump off, return it and grab a new one same day.

You might even want to just return the pump outright and grab one from the local auto parts store.

manicmechanic007 · Jun 28, 2022

The fluid actually looks pretty good to me
It has a red tint to it at least
Go ahead and flush it
After flushing it and purging all the air out, If it still has lack of assist then replace the pump
The pressure gauge Ford tests will cost more than replacing all the parts
We did in in school and have not done it since
If you end up with a new rack as well by the time you are done
It will sure be flushed good by then
The control valve in the rack is a common cause of low or no assist
Those will sometimes have no assist cold and start having lack luster assist as the fluid warms up

sav22rem22 · Jun 30, 2022

General karthief said:
I would try flushing it, take the return line off and stick it in a 3 or 5 gallon bucket or equivalent, have 3-4 quart bottles of trans fluid ready, start the car and while the fluid pumps into the bucket pour fluid into the pump keeping it full, it pumps fairly fast so pay attention, run 2-3 quarts of fresh fluid through it and see if it clears up.

Should I I take the return off of the reservoir or down by the cooler tube? I’m going to try and flush it out like you all said and see if the metal stays away. Really don’t want to deal with having the car down for two weeks waiting on a new rack from LMR

sav22rem22 · Jun 30, 2022

Mustang5L5 said:
I’d suspect that pump.

I’m sure LMR will take care of you, but this is sort of the scenario where it makes sense to go to local parts store for these sorts of parts. A lot of these general replacement items like racks and power steering pumps are repackaged parts store pumps. Why deal with shipping back and forth when you get get the same thing from Advanced Auto. At least then, you can just take the pump off, return it and grab a new one same day.

You might even want to just return the pump outright and grab one from the local auto parts store.

I definitely agree. Only reason I bought the rack from LMR is because they do at least guarantee that the rack you’re buying is a V8 variant of the 99-04. If the pump ends up going out I’ll definitely be buying a parts store one. Does it really matter which store they’re bought from? I’ve got o reilleys, advance auto, and auto zone all right next to me basically.

sav22rem22 · Jun 30, 2022

manicmechanic007 said:
The fluid actually looks pretty good to me
It has a red tint to it at least
Go ahead and flush it
After flushing it and purging all the air out, If it still has lack of assist then replace the pump
The pressure gauge Ford tests will cost more than replacing all the parts
We did in in school and have not done it since
If you end up with a new rack as well by the time you are done
It will sure be flushed good by then
The control valve in the rack is a common cause of low or no assist
Those will sometimes have no assist cold and start having lack luster assist as the fluid warms up

Yeah it does still look good I’m just wondering where that metal came from and if it’s too late. Going to try and flush it today though and will report back

General karthief · Jun 30, 2022

sav22rem22 said:
Should I I take the return off of the reservoir or down by the cooler tube? I’m going to try and flush it out like you all said and see if the metal stays away. Really don’t want to deal with having the car down for two weeks waiting on a new rack from LMR

remove the return line from the reservoir, I stuck a rubber vacuum plug on the reservoir nipple to keep the mess down, remember, that pump will empty fairly quick so pay attention.

sav22rem22 · Jun 30, 2022

General karthief said:
remove the return line from the reservoir, I stuck a rubber vacuum plug on the reservoir nipple to keep the mess down, remember, that pump will empty fairly quick so pay attention.

I had some vacuum caps lying around but can’t find them. Going to grab some from an auto parts store. Since my fluid isn’t exactly too bad looking when should I stop flushing? I’m going to grab some more as well while I’m out but I don’t want to waste too much

sav22rem22 · Jun 30, 2022

Also another thing I’ve noticed is that my steering is very slow to return to center. It hasn’t been aligned yet but the alignment is pretty close

limp · Jun 30, 2022

sav22rem22 said:
I had some vacuum caps lying around but can’t find them. Going to grab some from an auto parts store. Since my fluid isn’t exactly too bad looking when should I stop flushing? I’m going to grab some more as well while I’m out but I don’t want to waste too much

When the fluid looks clean, I would flush another quart or so through it.... You don't want to do it again do you??
Buy your fluid by the gallon.........

General karthief · Jun 30, 2022

Flush one and a half quarts at least.
The not returning to center is likely a alignment issue.

sav22rem22 · Jun 30, 2022

Alright I just got done flushing. I put about 1.5 quarts through it. I honestly couldn’t tell if it was still contaminated or not since it’s so new it doesn’t even look used besides the metallic flakes. Here are the results,
I’ve still got 3 quarts of mercon left in case you all think I need to go even more but I’m not too sure based on what happened after I started it back up. The above picture is what came from the flush. Some debri was already in the drain pan but you can see the flakes in the bottom. They are not magnetic. I ran a magnet over it several times and nothing stuck and nothing moved towards it.
I did a pretty decent job of not letting air get in so there was barely any bleeding to be done but once it started to run for a second this is the result

View: https://youtube.com/shorts/8mPcx2ukTFk?feature=share

In the video you can hear it whining and you can see even more metal than before flowing around in there. It’s overfilled a little for a better visual. I decided to take it for a quick drive and same as before it’s really slow to return to center although that could be an alignment issue. The assist seems okay and there isn’t much shuddering but the pump is definitely loud especially when at a stand still and trying to turn. After my drive back home it stopped whining almost entirely when sitting still but still whines when you turn the wheel. I think I have enough fluid for another bleed another day but I’m honestly not sure how much good it will do.
Edit: video looks pretty bad but it’s YouTube’s processing. In a bit it should be in 4k and not so grainy

manicmechanic007 · Jun 30, 2022

Save the money on vacuum caps too and just use a piece of 3/8 hose with a bolt in it
You could use an old spark plug boot with a bolt stuck in it

General karthief · Jun 30, 2022

Get it aligned and drive it a while, your gonna have some whine turning while sitting still.
You can get a PS pump filter too, wouldn't hurt.

General karthief · Jun 30, 2022

manicmechanic007 said:
Save the money on vacuum caps too and just use a piece of 3/8 hose with a bolt in it
You could use an old spark plug boot with a bolt stuck in it

Just stick a hose on the nipple that is higher than the fluid level, there is no pressure there, just for splash

sav22rem22 · Jul 13, 2022

Well I’ve taken everyone’s advice into consideration and Im going to just drive it until something happens and when it does I’m going to get the 90-93 pump with the yellow reservoir from a parts store and probably same with the rack depending on how things go with LMR. So far so good though it’s definitely a super noisy pump and there’s most definitely metal. I’ll probably get a filter for it

Suspension Power steering pump issues

manicmechanic007

sav22rem22

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

manicmechanic007

sav22rem22

sav22rem22

sav22rem22

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

sav22rem22

sav22rem22

limp

wrap a little cheese around it and its a done

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

sav22rem22

manicmechanic007

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

sav22rem22

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