User 41221

I took the time to write up the procedure for rebuilding the power steering pump with a Rennbay.com kit (Travis ROCKS!). I figured I would shoot this over to Travis so he can post it on his site, along with some pictures I took of the last one I rebuilt, but would like to have you guys scrutinize it first, so that its accurate and useful when he posts it.

Get your red pens out and edit as you will! Text is below....



Power steering pump rebuild

Make sure you have a clean, well lit workbench to do the rebuild on. When working with cleaning solvents, make sure the area is well ventilated. Prior to starting, open up your seal kit and make sure you have the impeller housing seal (bluish colored seal), the large o-ring and the irregular shaped seal and the irregular shaped retainer. Those are the only parts you will need, everything else can be discarded.

Always follow proper safety procedures when working on your car. Use jack stands when working under a raised vehicle, and make sure you wear safety glasses. Know the proper use for each tool and make sure your tools are in good condition. I can’t stress this enough.

Step 1: Remove pump from vehicle. (If anyone needs instructions for this, let me know and I will add them).

Step 2: Place power steering pump in a catch pan, as fluid will spill out of it.

Step 3: Remove the power steering pump pulley (three 10mm bolts that were securely fastened at the factory with loctite). An air ratchet will come in handy here, if you have one.

Step 4: Remove the three remaining bolts that hold the power steering pump housing together (the fourth bolt was removed when you took the pump off the car). Please make note of the orientation of the mounting bracket that is attached to the pump.

Step 5: Separate the power steering pump housing and discard the o-ring that fits between the two halves.

Step 6: On the impeller housing (that’s the front part of the housing that the pulley mounts to), there is an impeller backing plate with an irregularly shaped gasket. The gasket consists of two pieces, the rubber seal and a guide wire, both of the same shape. Using a pick, carefully remove this gasket and discard.

Step 7: The piece that you just removed the gasket from comes off by pulling on it. No tools should be necessary to remove this, just give it a good tug. Orient the impeller housing so that you are pulling upward, as the impeller itself is a rotating disc with small blades that slide back and forth in an oblong shaped housing, the blades can fall out if you aren’t careful.

Step 8: Clean the impeller backing plate as necessary and insert the new irregular shaped gasket, and set aside for reassembly later.

Step 9: Remove the spring clip that holds the impeller shaft. This will be the hardest part of the entire rebuild procedure. I use the “small screwdriver and a pick” method, with okay results. I have to believe Snap-on makes a tool that would make this easier, but I haven’t looked into it yet. Be careful not to bend or deform the spring clip too much, as you will need to reuse it when you reassemble the pump.

Step 10: Remove the impeller, and be careful to keep track of the 10 impeller blades, as they are not attached to anything and will fall out of the impeller easily. I usually soak the impeller and blades in parts cleaner and reinsert the blades upon reassembly. If your pump looks fairly clean inside, you can skip cleaning it.

Step 11: Remove the impeller shaft, by pulling it out of the front of the housing, and clean it as necessary. A quick dip in parts cleaner and a wipe down with a clean, lint free rag should be sufficient. Inspect the impeller shaft for obvious wear, it should be smooth with no grooves worn it the shaft.

Step 12: Remove the impeller shaft seal at the nose of the shaft housing. Again, I am sure Snap-on makes the proper tool for removing this seal, I make do with a decent set of needle nose pliers, as the seal is going in the trash once its removed.

Step 13: Insert the new impeller shaft seal. I lube it with a bit of power steering fluid, get it started in the housing, and then tap it in using a socket that’s just a bit smaller than the outside diameter of the seal. Make sure it goes in straight, and it should fully seat itself when the seal is recessed in the housing by about 1 to 2mm.

Step 14: Reassemble the impeller housing by inserting the impeller shaft (a dab of power steering fluid on the inside of the seal is recommended), place the impeller wheel (my preference is to do this with the blades out of the impeller wheel to keep from having them fall out) on the end of the shaft and then reinstall the snap ring. The snap ring may fit a bit more loosely than before if you are reusing it, but it will be held in place by the impeller backing plate, so it should be no cause for concern.

Step 15: Reinsert the blades into the impeller wheel. Be careful to make sure that the rounded edge is the part that sticks out of the impeller wheel when it rotates. The sharp edge of the blade should be even with the face of the impeller, as opposed to the edge of the impeller wheel (if I can find a better way to phrase this, I will come back and edit it!)

Step 16: Reinsert the impeller backing plate. Take care to orient the plate properly over the two aligning studs and then press it together (no tools necessary, you should be able to fit it by hand).

Step 17: Remove the spider clip that holds the piston and spring inside the back half of the pump housing (a small screwdriver works fine for this), and then remove the piston and spring. Pay attention to the orientation of the piston when removing it. Remove the set screw on the outside of the rear housing, and then thoroughly clean the assembly. Reinstall the components that you removed. Depending on the condition of your pump, you may omit this step if your pump is clean inside for your liking.

Step 18: Place the big o-ring in the groove on the front housing and reassemble the pump housing. Make sure you orient the mounting bracket properly. Tighten the bolts to 33Nm.

Step 19: Reattach the power steering pump pulley, using red locktite on the threads of the bolts. Tighten to 20Nm.

Step 20: Reinstall the power steering pump on your car, refill the reservoir and check for leaks.

Throw away all the extra parts that were left over from the seal kit. You should have the smaller of the two big o-rings, two ¾” o-rings, two 3/8” o-rings and a split ring (two pieces) left over.

User 41221

I can't believe I did *that* good a job writing this up that noone has any corrections/comments...

Anyone?

Travis - sflraver

I will throw one in....

Power steering fluid???? We use ATF... duhhh..

User 41221

Well, okay... to be truly accurate, I usually use the old fluid that spilled out from the pump, since I am too lazy to walk to the chemical cabinet and grab a bottle of ATF... lol When I refill the reservoir, I use fresh ATF.

Good enough?

Regards,

Travis - sflraver

I know Scott, Just busting your ***** a bit. I love the write-up and cant see a thing wrong with it.

I can see the by line now... 'Power steering pump rebuild procedure ~ by the KCWS "Grand Puba" himself, Scott Harrison'

It should make a grand addition to the ever growing tutorials section and it is much appreciated.

User 41221

If you want, just cut and paste the text from here if you want to throw it up on your site, I will try and shrink down the pictures and email them to you, along with a modified text that references the pics.

Oh, and hey... watch who you are calling a "Puba". I was afraid you would call me "Krispy Wires" Harrison instead... lol

Regards,

PorscheDoc

Yes, scott has now officially become the KCWS "Catch your car on fire" expert. He is very experienced in this subject

User 41221

KCWS = "Krispy Car & Wire Society" lol

Travis - sflraver

You don't need all those wires anyway... Its a track car right? Think of it as weight savings. It wasn't an accident it was a mod.

HY M8NC

I hope the Grand Puba did a good job, this pump is the one I just put on my car. No leaks, no groans. And personally, I think the race car is just messing with him-

And I second the "Travis ROCKS" statement.

User 41221

Hey Ben, if its anything like the '83 "flamer", run the car about twenty minutes, turn it off for about an hour and then restart it. It should spontaneously combust shortly thereafter... lol

Glad its working for you!

Regards,

HY M8NC

In case you are reading this, and you don't get the inside joke...Scott is a very competent wrench, but is trying to clean up somebody elses mess. The wiring in the race car he bought is held together with gum and luck- and he's having to re-wire the entire car. He figured out the wiring was shot through a series of small "incidents"...

Rock

wait why do you put ATF instead of power steering fluid?

User 41221

ATF is the recommended fluid. Products labeled as "power steering fluid" tend to foam and cause cavitation (air pockets) in the lines. You don't want PSF in there.

Regards,