power steering question?

[va_tlc]

heres what we have guys, we filled up the pump and cracked open the lines where it goes into the steering box, and its just not working at all we jacked up the front end to take the weight off and turn the wheel just fine we kept plenty of fluid in the pump still no power steering so today we had another pump here and we put it on same thing no power steering, anyone have any idea if theres any way to tell if we happen tp have gotten 2 bad pumps or could it be the steering box gone bad, the whole frame sat outside for sometime before i bought it. any help? thanks

[Aarons72s]

Here is a bump fro you.

[Longhorn Man]

how long did you run the engine? How much did you turn the wheel?

At work, when we were doing P/30 rebiuilds, we'd hook everything up, and with the front end in the air, we'd fill it up, and crank the wheel back and forth 3 times with the engine off. Top it off, and move on to something else. Re-check it in a 1/2 hr, top off id needed, and then fire the engine. Crank the wheel from lock to lock, pausing for about 2 seconds on with lock, and then center it and recheck. 99% of the time, this took all the air out, and no more topping off was needed.

[va_tlc]

thanks longhornman. yea we did that alot actually drove it down the lane hopin to get it freed up,no luck like u said we kept toppin it off, we couldnt even get it to squeal when pushed against the stops like i said were not sure if eaither pump was good or not, would you next try a difrent steering box? thanks for any help and thanks for the ttt

[WorkinLonghorn]

I was wondering what the fluid looks like while you are operating the p.s. Is it milky or foaming or do you hear any growling noise? Do you see fluid returning to the reservoir? I doubt that two in a row would be bad.Without a pressure gauge I would have to guess that the steering gear is bad.

[va_tlc]

yes it was milking to start with we took the line off and ran the truck until we got clear red fluid. didnt hear any kinda noise at all, not as much as a squeak or squeal. what steering gear are you referin to? the steering box? or the pump? both pumps we had have been sitting who knows how long. we may just pull the one from a running truck and try that this weekend i guess. thanks for the replys

[WorkinLonghorn]

what steering gear are you referin to? the steering box?

Yes.The GM service manual doesn't use the term "box". I suppose if you got clear fluid return then the odds are your bleed was successful and your box has a stuck control valve or a bad seal etc.