power steering pump

[FCXBronco2]

well first of all i have an 84 bronco 2, i was pullin into work and the guys at work told me to turn my truck off because they saw something leaking so i turned it off and popped the hood and power steering fluid had shot the the pressure hole in the top of the resivoir cap i checked and i had seen that the guy before me had overfilled it but ive had it for 2 months and it just now did that so i dont know what to think i drove it home and nothing happened and its not leaking power steering fluid anywhere else now but i took some fluid out and its running fine what do you think happened?

 

[metalmacguyver]

I am not sure exactly what happens but I have had it happen when cranking my steering with the engine off. It is nothing to be concerned about.

 

[UrbanRedneckKid]

Sounds to me like your driving an older Ford.
Concider it "normal". It was most likely just an air bubble that purged, usually caused by a slow leak at the sector shaft seal on the steering box. Just check and top off(as needed) your PS fluid everytime you do an oil change.

And try to avoid turning the wheels with the engine off. The cap will actually blow off the reservior, and soak the entire drivers side of your engine bay with PS fluid.

 

[canyoncritter]

duct tape works wonders for keeping the cap on,for when the truck is off and you turn the wheels...it will still piss out the bleed hole in the cap,but its not as bad as the whole cap blowing off.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

i replaced the o-ring on my cap with a big fat one from napa. i have to use vice grips to remove and install the cap, but it no longer blows off if/when i turn the wheels with the engine off.

someday i would like to install a remote reservoir on this pump to eliminate the problem completely...

 

[Southern3.0]

Not to hijack a thread but why do these pumps blow the cap off or spray fluid when the engine is off?

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

because when you turn the wheels is squeezes all the fluid out of the steering box back into the pump res.

when the engine is running, the fluid is circulating through the system so it doesnt get displaced when the wheels turn.