Bleeding Power Steering Pump

My steering wheel is very hard to turn if im idling. If i give it some gas to get the rpms up so it spins the power steeing pump faster it feels fine. There isnt any whining noise coming from the pump it sounds nice and quiet. I recently lost power steering fluid out of my pump when my reservoir popped off and i lost alot of fluid to where the pump was whining but i refilled it with Type F and the whining stopped. Since then ive had this steering problem. Im sure it has air and was wondering the best way to get all the air out. Thanks

turn the steering wheel lock to lock. All the way to the right then all the way to the left. No more than 3 seconds on each lock though. Also, the power steering pump takes regular ATF.

I raised the front end turned the wheel all the way left then all the way right about 50 times, and holding it about 2 seconds at each end to get all the bubbles out. I might have seen a couple bubbles rise to the top of the resevoir but i still have the same problem with the difficult steering at idle. Can my problem be something else? Again the power steering pump is quiet while turning, no whining.

mine is hard to turn at idle too, been like that for a year and a half, clears up if I rev the engine, I'm assuming its my underdrive pullies. but who knows.

Correction

It appears my steering problem is there only when my SC warms up completely. I was thinking when the car first starts for the first 10 miles or so (being cold) the rpms where still high, and then the rpms would go down and cause the difficulty in steering. Today i was watching the rpms at idle and they were down to about 600 in gear like they should be and my steering felt fine. After the car warmed up enough to cause the fan to come on thats around where the steering problem begins. I am going to assume the fluid needs to be flushed being one time i put about 1/2 qt. of dexron in the power steering pump because my p.s. top popped off while i was on the freeway and i had no choice but to put that stuff in, otherwise i would of been real low on p.s. fluid for about 40 miles away from home and the pump was whining. So whats the best way to flush the p.s. fluid???

To purge the old fluid out of the system do these steps:

1. Plug return line and connect an extra piece of rubber hose to the steel line. Place rubber hose in drain pan. Have at least two quarts of Type F trans fluid ready. Get the car on jack stands with no weight on the front tires.

2. Fill pump reservoir up with fresh Type F trans fluid. Then pull fuel pump fuse out of distribution box and unplug power connector at coil pack. You don't want to start the engine or the power steering pump would run dry.

3. Crank engine while turning steering wheel lock to lock. After each turn of the wheel from lock to lock, stop cranking and fill reservoir back up with fluid.

4. After a few of step three the fluid should run red and look clean. You can then remove the plug from the rubber return hose and drain the reservoir again into pan. Remove extra hose from steel return portion and reconnect rubber return to steel line.

5. Fill pump reservoir to the proper level. Then reconnect fuel pump fuse and coil pack connector. Start engine with front wheel still off the ground. Now cycle the steering wheel from lock to lock to expel any trapped air in the system.

6. Lower vehicle and check pump reservoir for correct amount of fluid and check for leaks at return line fitting that you previously had off.

7. Go for test drive.


You may have to change the pump out if this wont help. Don't buy one from Autozone. I went through three before I got a good one.


Jerry

When I flush mine, I have the car idling and I run fluid continuously through the system using a bleeder bolt in the rack drain hole to limit the flow Some racks don't have a drain hole, tho. It's works ok as long as you keep the level up...

I need to flush my power steering too. Where is the drain hole exactly on the rack?

Thanks for the good info. Shockwave. I will try that a.s.a.p. Im still not sure though if the pump could be bad being it does not whine or leak at all.

Well loss of pressure or assist could mean that either the rack or the pump is faulty, that is not normal at all. GM had a lot of problems in the 80s with racks going bad and would have little to no assist when they were cold. You can flush for under $5, so why not give it a try.


Jerry

steering racks

is the steering rack used on the supercoupe the same as that on the lx model. i want to get the used ford unit and rebuild if neccessary but there are not any sc's in the yard