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Replaced power steering pump, but now it leaks

C

Con2er

CEG'er
Joined
Feb 27, 2004
Messages
262
Location
Surprise AZ
So my power steering pump was making quite the racket. I ordered an AC Delco and when I went to install it the seals were in adequate. I tried some teflon tape and that didn't work. I would have gone to Ford, but they were closed. The next day I got seals from Ford and reinstalled. It still leaked out where the high pressure line connects to the pump. I used a large crescent wrench to tighten it and I cranked it pretty hard. I thought maybe too hard, because it still leaked. So today I reattached the line and used a smaller wrench and didn't tighten it as much. It is still leaking pretty bad.

So any tips? Should I crank it down harder? When I removed it I thought I was going to break my screw driver in half. My other thought was to order a new high pressure elbow. Any help is appreciated.

This is an SVT btw.
 
^ exactly what he said. You can cut the nut off and snap a new one on the line.
 
Thanks for the responses guys. I suspected this issue, but wasn't sure. I probably should have searched better. They sell these as a whole unit from a few different places. I ended up buying one from Oreilly's because I could get it the next day, but the fit was terrible. Slightly too short and not bent quite right. So I had them order another one to see if it's the same. Sounds like I might just need to get the nut from Ford and go that route. How do you snap the new one on?
 
Just follow the directions in the posting I linked, read it carefully, look at the pictures, make sure you don't cut into the tube end in the area where the O-ring seals, clean up the tube end with some very fine polishing cloth, lubricate the tube end with some PS fluid and push on the new fitting nut, the nut's internal snap ring will grab into the grove on the end of the tube.

When you're done fixing this issue, you may find that the PS fluid is getting aerated and the pump is still noisy because the suction line from the PS reservoir to the pump leaking. These lines get hard as rock when they get old, and there are no replacements. Here's a how-to for replacing the pump suction line:
http://contour.org/ceg-vb/forum/how...ing-the-power-steering-reservoir-to-pump-hose
 
So this replacement has zero quality control it seems.

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This is the first one I got. The second was worse believe it or not. I went to Ford to order the fitting. They said they should get it between now and Tuesday. The parts guy said he did these back in the day. Not on this line, but at the rack I guess. Anyway he said he would knock the old fitting off. He said put the line in a vice then take a 9/16 open end and put it on top of the fitting and tap on that to knock off the fitting. The size of this line and the bends make it seem difficult. Would have been a lot easier if the replacement fit. There are a few more options from Rock Auto if I screw this one up so there's that at least. If I do end up cutting it off I like the way you did it.
 

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So with a little help. I with "help" cut/pounded the fitting off and ruined the line in the process. So I ordered an Edelman replacement and it was as poorly made as the above part. I decided to force the fit and now the other fitting is failing. I decided I'm going to buy a dremel and cut it off all by myself very carefully. I guess this is just the price of maintaining a 20 year old car.
 
Well, 'knocking it off' was never suggested because I think we have tried it all with no success. Only way we know of without a lot of work or damage is to slice the old nut from top to bottom 97% through and take a flat blade screw driver in the slot you cut and twist until the nut pops open a little, then try to remove.
 
If you look at the pictures I linked up in Post #2, the retaining ring is square cross section and the retaining groove in the tubing is also pretty hard-edged, this would make trying to impact-off one of these fitting nuts pretty likely to damage the tubing end. If the retaining ring was round cross section, impacting it off just might work, but retention of the fitting during normal operation might be compromised.

That the Ford dealer sells these fitting nuts makes me think they might have a removal method that doesn't involve using a cutoff wheel, but I've never inquired. The shop manual makes no mention of removing these fitting nuts anywhere in the power steering service section, but does mention that new PS pressure hoses might be delivered with the fitting nuts uninstalled.
 
FWIW, When I swapped in my first 3L, I bought one of these from Advance (I think? cant remember exactly), and it worked first try. I didn't know these were such a problem, until after seeing this thread. The one I ended up with was colored blue, and was not the carquest part. Looking at the Advance website, it appears only the carquest part is available, with a terrible review. :(

I'll look through my maintenance log, and see if I can find the part#/receipt.
 
hylix said:
FWIW, When I swapped in my first 3L, I bought one of these from Advance (I think? cant remember exactly), and it worked first try. I didn't know these were such a problem, until after seeing this thread. The one I ended up with was colored blue, and was not the carquest part. Looking at the Advance website, it appears only the carquest part is available, with a terrible review. :(

I'll look through my maintenance log, and see if I can find the part#/receipt.
Click to expand...


I got the Edelman part in and it was pretty much the same as the others. I wasn't able to use the clamp and secure it to the mount however, I was able to get some slack in the power steering line that attaches to it and get it to line up as best I could. After I got it installed the fitting at the pump stopped leaking, but the one on the main line started leaking. Luckily I still had the fitting I previously ordered so I cut the old one off very carefully with my brand new Dremel I bought for this purpose, although it will get a lot of use in the future. Installed the new fitting and no leak. The power steering line sits about 1 1/2 inches higher now, but it's not touching the hood so I'm ok with it.

Thanks again everyone for the help. This job was a nightmare, but I learned a lot and saved about $400.
 
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