87 power steering pump replacement didn't work

[bennylava]

Hi all. I Just replaced my power steering pump in my 87 Silverado 5.7L 2wd. My power steering had stopped working, and all the fluid was in the driveway. Couldn't find any leaks, so I removed the old pump to have a look at it. The old one was leaking around the big main seal. At least it seemed to be once I got it off of there. So I went ahead and put the new reman pump on there that I got from the local parts store.

Unfortunately it doesn't seem to work. This is after I spent about 45 minutes turning the wheel left to right, in an effort to bleed the system. I turned the wheel with the tires on the ground for about 20 minutes, and then I got tired. So I jacked up the front and kept at it. Still no power steering. And every time I'd turn the steering wheel, it would lose a bunch of the fluid out of the top. Fluid would just start pouring out of the filler neck, as if there was too much fluid in it or something. I finally got it to take some fluid and keep it, but I still have no power steering. Makes me wonder if some other problem was causing the old pump to spew out all its fluid too.

The steering gear box is new, it might have 1,000 miles on it. Plus that wasn't a problem before the pump quit working. Could it be that the system just has a lot of air in it? It seems like 45 minutes worth of turning the wheel would be more than enough to remedy that situation. Not sure what to do now.

[homemade87]

I think you have over worked it . Theres a good chance you have aerated the fluid as much as you have worked it . It may be best to let it rest for a day so the air will come out of the fluid and try again . Once the fluid is aerated working the steering will not get it all out .

I always find it best not to crank the motor and put it in the air and turn it lock to lock a few times . This usually gets the fluid thru the system with out the pump trying the pump air and fluid .

[bigdaddy4x4]

does your pump have 2 return lines? they can be crossed

[layinrocker65]

Three years ago my trucks PS stopped working too. No leaks or anything. Replaced the pump and still nothing. Fortunately and unfortunately a new box fixed it. Last year I upgraded to a CPP box, it was a great upgrade but pricey.

[sweetk30]

were you bleeding the system with engine off first until no air was coming up in the tank ?

first rule and major problem people do wrong is fill and fire up to bleed the system .

2nd always wheels off the ground is best from the start .

3rd fill the tank to just the tip of the dipstick for the first few times to have room for huge air bubble intake so you do not dump fluid.

4th when you are ready fire it up and shut off in 10 sec . check and refill fluid . then fire and let run . from there turn the wheels and keep checking fluid level and if good then you ready to go .

[bennylava]

Originally Posted by layinrocker65

Three years ago my trucks PS stopped working too. No leaks or anything. Replaced the pump and still nothing. Fortunately and unfortunately a new box fixed it. Last year I upgraded to a CPP box, it was a great upgrade but pricey.

I would find that odd since the box is practically new, and it was turning fine before the old pump started leaking. But then again, maybe the boxes don't really give you any signal when they die? And they just kill the pump? The old box was wore out, there was way too much play in the steering wheel. The new box fixed that and took out all the slack in the wheel.

Originally Posted by sweetk30

were you bleeding the system with engine off first until no air was coming up in the tank ?

Yeah first I just cranked on the wheel without firing it up. Did that for about the first 20 minutes, but the fluid was still just flowing back out. So then I finally decided maybe the engine needed to run and turn the pump. Still no dice. Then i thought maybe I just needed to turn it a lot more, so that is when I jacked it up and turned more and more. Both with the engine running, and without.

[homemade87]

Could be you have a collapsed hose at this point and not let fluid past . This could be the reason your pump died . Hoses are not that expensive and get old and leak . May be a good maintenance and idea to change anyway .

A bad hose could cause your systems .

[DoubleDubya]

It might be a bad reman pump like happened to me. I got the first one on and spent 2 days trying to bleed the system and get it to work. Took it off and got another reman pump from the auto parts store. Had that one bled and working in short order. I don't see how this happens but it does.

[bennylava]

Yeah I looked the 2 hoses over pretty good when I put the new pump on. They both seemed ok. They're both new from when I recently replaced the steering gear box. I guess I'll order the AC Delco brand pump from rockauto, and put that on. The one I got from autozone is just the $50 reman straight outta mexico. Of course they didn't have ac delco there when I asked. Went around to 3 parts stores looking for ac delco brand but none of them had it.