gregeast

I'm going to rebuild my power steering pump this weekend using the kit from Rennbay (thanks Travis!) and just wondered if anyone had any tips/tricks they'd like to share about how to drain the fluid without creating the "Red Sea" on my garage floor?

I am planning on using a transfer pump to suck out as much of the fluid from the reservoir as I can but that's not going to take care of the fluid still in the hoses...

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

turbo944

I didn't spill much, I have a HUGE oil drain pan (10 quart and big and wide from WalMart) and was replacing the reservoir as well as most everything else, so there was no plan to reuse the fluid, so I just disconnected the line down from the reservoir and let it drain into it from there. Same for the high pressure line. Raise the end of that one so it doesn't keep running out too much and put down some newspaper/cardboard to catch what falls.

It will drip some out of the pump and the hoses...no way around it!

The hardest part for me was removing the front sleeve/spacer around the pivot bolt so I could remove the pump from the bracket. Sprayed it good with a penetrant and then used a screwdriver and hammer to drive it forward and out. The rear one I left in for removal.

Have fun!!!!!

Grandpa#3

If you are going to rebuild the pump you should also replace the reservoir as it has a screen inside that acts as a filter. The screen can not be removed for cleaning. Drain out as much fluid as possible to be replaced with fresh ATF. When the job is completed remember to turn the wheel all the way to the right and then left several times to work out any voids in the system.

Cheers,
Larry

turbo944

+1 on that....for $20 you can't beat getting a new filter/reservoir to protect your rebuilt pump and the rest of the system.

LuigiVampa

Just remember the bracket holding the power steering pump is made out of balsa wood and play-do. It breaks if you breath on it. I found out the hard way.

F18Rep

Simple sawdust is damn handy to have for throwing down on spilt coolant/oil/etc....Bruce

PS... hope you've got something better than my hack-fix for the leaking PS reservoir hose.

gregeast

Thanks for all the tips gents, much appreciated. I tackled this yesterday afternoon and it went well.

1. Drained the fluid from the reservoir with a cheap transfer pump from Harbor Freight
2. Cracked the banjo bolt on the high pressure side and let it drain into a catch pan
3. While it was draining I got started on disconnecting the pump from the car. Tip to anyone reading this in the future, there is a sleeve on the bolt that holds the pump on the side towards the rear of the car. Once you remove the nut on that side you can slide the sleeve out off the shaft and the mount is notched so that you can pull the pump out. Hard to describe in words, fairly obvious once you're looking at it.
4. Pulled the pump out and resealed it using the $20 kit from Rennbay (Thanks Travis!) 5. Reinstalled the pump and fit the updated low pressure hose and fitting (Thanks Rennbay!)
6. I didn't replace the PS reservoir because I had already done that the year before but it would definitely be a good idea if it's never been replaced.

All in all not bad, took just under 2 hours at a very leisurely pace and I managed not to create my own personal Crimson Tide in the process. As my man Edd China says "Job done!"

PS No, I don't own stock in Rennbay but I sure do like doing business with Travis

turbo944

Nice work and yes, I thoroughly enjoy doing business with Rennbay!

My front sleeve was the problem in getting it off the bracket and my bracket was actually made of metal...banged around on it and had no issues with cracks or breaks...maybe I was lucky! Got my pains later with the broken speed sensor and other things...