bradthebold

I have not had power steering since I messed with my car. I rebuild the steering pump and replaced the rack. (And replaced the reservoir, feed line, blew out return line trying to fix the issue). I'm pretty sure it's all because of this gasket. After rebuilding, I had no power. I pulled the pump and reseated that gasket and had some power for a couple blocks. I pulled and reseated it again, but had no power. I just pulled it again and it looks like this, worse than any previous time. The gasket is bunching up/getting squished into the passage holes. Is there some tip or advice to prevent ruining the new gasket I bought? I remember it was hard to get the first one to seat all the way down nicely.

And just to verify, it goes with the plastic side up , not the flat gasket side up?

bradthebold

https://rennlist.com/forums/944-and-...eal-issue.html

https://rennlist.com/forums/964-foru...l#post13269093

I found multiple other people that have had this issue, but no solutions. I'll try to call Travis tomorrow and see if he's heard of it.

bradthebold

So I talked to Travis and he thinks it was the feed line collapsing and the increased pressure is sucking the seal into the holes. I replaced my feed line after reseating it the second time, but still no luck. Looking at the reservoir, I get no fluid flow with the car on. Best guess is after getting sucked into the hole multiple times, it weakened/ruined the seal. So hopefully with a new feed line and new seal, it will work.

beamishnz

Possibly air in the system first time round. That will quickly cause issues. Do you have the bleeding procedure from the workshop manual? If not I will post it up for you.

bradthebold

I did not do this step: "To bleed the complete system after new steering components or lines have been fitted or after excessive hydraulic fluid losses have been remedied, start engine several times and turn off immediately as soon as it has started. "

But I did do this: "Turn steering wheel rapidly from lock to lock several times to allow air to escape from the cylinders. " Both in the air a bunch of times and then with the wheels on the ground.

bradthebold

Well, I replaced that internal pump gasket again and it worked fine for 200 miles and then I lost power steering parking today.

bradthebold

I pulled the pump and that gasket was squished out a little, not nearly as bad as before. I pushed it back into place and it worked fine on a test drive and then worked fine on the way to work this morning. When I started it to go home, it lost power again. I don't know what to do now. I replaced the feed line and reservoir that could cause pressure issues. Maybe all my messing with it and blowing out the return line clogged the filter in the new reservoir or could something else cause it?

Dave W.

Did you bleed the system with the engine off? You should simply turn the steering wheel from lock to lock repeatedly with the wheels off the ground. This will push fluid through the system and pump most of the air out. Then continue bleeding with the engine running, wheels off the ground. Always keep the reservoir approx half full.

bradthebold

Yeah, when it works, it works fine. I keep the reservoir full, go lock to lock off wheels in air, on wheels in air, then on the ground. I even started/stopped it a few times to let it slowly suck in fluid between filling it. When it died after 200 miles, I was parking and might have lugged it under idle RPM while turning tightly and maybe caused too much pressure to suck that gasket in again.

I haven't been able to get a hold of Travis again, but his site recommends to replace the reservoir anytime you drain fluid or replace a part. I've had the pump off 5 times since replacing the reservoir messing with things and blowing out the return line. So I got a new reservoir and another rebuild kit hoping the reservoir is contaminated enough to cause problems. I am guessing it has to be a supply side issue causing the gasket to get sucked in and the reservoir/filter is the only thing besides the hose I replaced. If it was an issue after the pump, it should reduce pressure and shouldn't suck the gasket in.

bradthebold

I have no idea what's wrong. I wasted $60 more on it replacing the gasket again and the reservoir and it immediately did not work. I don't want to pay $180 for a rebuilt pump for it to not work either.

It let out plenty of bubbles and sucked in a lot of fluid during bleeding and seemed fine until I set the car down.

bradthebold

I tried a bunch more bleeding and nothing, didn't work and no more bubbles. I pulled it again and the gasket was just bulged out a little on one side, enough to not work I guess. I reseated it, but I'll have to get more fluid. Hard lines look ok, nothing is leaking, I don't know what could be wrong.

gruhsy

Bad batch of seals possibly.

Dave W.

Are the two halves of the pump housing lined up correctly? It looks like the front half can be installed several ways, but there are internal passages that need to match each other. I wonder if excess fluid pressure is getting around to the outside of the seal?

courtesy of Pelican;
https://cdn4.pelicanparts.com/techar...mall/pic06.jpg

MAGK944

Dave W.

It might be better to just buy a good, used pump from a reliable source. There's several on ebay, and a few Rennlist vendors sell them when available.