Hard turning even after replacing power steering pump

[RangerSVT]

Yeah, the first time a pump is run low on fluid, it will be noisy until it completely dies...Thats the reason why you bleed the system with the engine off first...its a learning experience, but I don't knock you for it, we all have to learn sometime...
SVT

 

[tjs4x4]

Ya, I'm gonna try the linkage thing first and see if that's the problem. Like te other guy is saying, no sense in pulling off a pump if I don't know its bad yet. If it does turn out to be the pump I'm going to be mad lol. Course, that's the first time I have replaced apower steering unit on any of my vehicles....so lesson be learned if that's what it turns out to be.

 

[RangerSVT]

Yeah, at least now you have pretty much narrowed it down to what it could be, and you have a step by step diagnostic to properly find out what it is...let us know what it was when you get to it
SVT

 

[tjs4x4]

Oh I will. I thank u guys for helpin me out. Will keep ya'll updated

 

[RangerSVT]

Anytime Glad I could help a fellow TRS member....
SVT

 

[kimcrwbr1]

I wouldn`t recommend driving it you have no response time in an emergency did the old pump run low on fluid there is a way to bleed the air out using an old cap drill a hole in the cap and screw a vacuum nipple into it and pull a vacuum from the top of the resevoir using engine vacuum and slowly work the wheel from stop to stop keep an eye on the fluid level you can put a trap in between the manifold and the cap to catch any oil that gets pulled from the resevoir you dont want to be sucking oil into the engine. Any way just a neat trick to quiet a noisy pump also not sure how but it creates a negative pressure or vacuum and pulls the oil thru the pump instead of pushing it I just kept doing it till i got no more bubbles out of the system then topped it off. Give it a try and if not you will have the cap to bleed the new gearbox and pump anyway.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

You can put one in from the boneyard If you like turning a wrench as you are probably will have to do it again in the near future especially if the one you get has been sitting for a while. I prefer new as steering is just as important as brakes in my book it is worth the extra bucks for a safety item.

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

Just a thought that no one has mentioned yet...I just fixed a very similar problem like this at work last week.

Stiff to steer (was a dead pump), was better after replacing it but still did not return to center after turning.

Ended up being 2 absolutely frozen/seized front axle u joints.

I would check there, I have seen it a few times now on rangers/explorers.

 

[tjs4x4]

The pump I installed was brand spanking new. I've got several areas to check now before I decide to take off the old ps pump. Is there a way to check u joints manually? I've had this truck into the tire shop many times now, and not once has it been mentioned that the u joints could b bad. Of course, I didn't ask for them to b checked, but u would think that being a tire/brake/suspension shop that they'd check stuff like that anyways......
I'm gonna get under the truck sunday when I get home from work and so I'm making a list of things I should check.

What about ball joints? Tie rods? Cv boots? Could any of that have a play in what's going on?

 

[adsm08]

Ball joints and Tie rods could be causing it if they are binding, CV boots won't have a bearing on your ability to turn. A bad CV joint might, but your truck doesn't have the CV shaft front end, so that doesn't figure into our diagnosing here.

 

[adsm08]

Yeah, the first time a pump is run low on fluid, it will be noisy until it completely dies...
SVT

I wouldn't say that. Mine gets noisy because I have a leak, I top it off, it quiets down, goes a week, gets low again, cycle repeats.

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

Jack the truck up, turn the tire to the left or right and lock the hub. Spin the tire by hand, if it wants to force the steering to turn when you rotate the tire the U joint is seized. Do this for both front corners.

 

[tjs4x4]

Ok will do.


Got home from work tonight, battery is DEAD! BRAND NEW BATTERY, dead. Had to place on the charger. I am getting more and more frustrated as the weekend gets here. Now I have to drive my mustang in this crappy Idaho weather until I can figure out why my battery is now being drained.

Can a bad ps pump/pulley cause drain on the battery? I've also noticed that my temp gauge isn't rising like it usually does....can something besides the ps pump pulley be binding the accessories enough to cause battery drain? I know a bad pulley can do that, but I have replaced my belt tensioner, the alternator was new just a couple months ago. I was able to freely rotate the a/c pulley, the alternator pulley. The ps pump pulley does not rotate freely.

 

[adsm08]

Ok, sounds like parasitic draw. Get it started, test your voltage at the battery. If you are getting anything less than 12.5 you have a charging problem. If you are getting more than 13.75 you might have fried the battery with over charging.

Since you say the P/S pulley is hard to rotate by hand then it's possible that the pump is your steering issue though.

 

[tjs4x4]

This is a brand new battery as of yesterday, only got to drive the truck home half an hour, then one hour total to and from work today. What could cause that to happen seriously? The alternator that is in it, is only a couple months old.