Shakadula Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Anyone have thoughts on rebuilding vs buy new/remanufactured PS pump. I should state that while i maintain my car, I have never rebuilt a PS pump. If it is anything like a transmission I don't want to touch it. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Where is it leaking? The front seal behind the pulley? The return line fitting at the rear of the reservoir? The pressure line fitting at the rear of the reservoir? If you get a reman pump, you'll need to transfer the pulley, usually, which can require a pulley installer "tool". Some just press on, some have bolts which screw into the end of the pump shaft. Some with a keyway, others not. Key thing is to match the one you have on the car. The actual pump, itself, is inside of the reservoir, which presses onto the pump body and has a thin o-ring to seal it. SO . . . it's probably a little better to get a quality reman pump (Napa or similar). This way, you can keep your core, transferring the pulley and possibly the pressure check valve on the rear of the pump, paying the core charge. In the OEM level of things, the check valve and related orifice fitting are what determines much of how much pressure the pump builds (level of "assist"). A reman pump will use a "median value/size" pressure fitting so you might need to swap that, too, so the steering will have the same "ease" as with the original pump. It might be that you'll need to send your pump in for a rebuild, rather than getting an exchange unit. Lares Corp is one such rebuilder. From my experiences, IF the fluid in the pump is "reddish", I'd recommend you get a quart of GM Power Steering Fluid and swap out the existing fluid for the GM-spec fluid. Reason is that if the steering system has too much atf in it, it'll seep fluid. When I've done such a change, the seeps stop (even from the hoses!). The rubber in the system was not spec'd to tolerate large amounts of automatic transmission fluid. In the past, many felt it was acceptable to add small amounts of atf to the power steering system, which was fine for a "top off". IF the system had a real leak, adding more to "top off" resulted in a system with more atf than psf. Fixing the leak and flushing the system of the contaminated fluid, adding the correct GM psf would put things back as they should be. Rubber and O-rings are spec'd for particular fluids to seal, so they aren't nearly as generic as many suspect. NTX5467 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chasander Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 well it cost about $11.00 for a rebuild kit at autozone. (NO Bearing). What do you have to lose? Make sure you use impact wrench to get nut off. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakadula Posted July 23, 2016 Author Share Posted July 23, 2016 Okay it is not really the pump but the gear housing. No leaks in the hoses. Sorry. Didn't think about the difference between the pump and the gearbox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 (edited) There might be a source for a seal & gasket kit for the gearbox . . . somewhere. Possibly some individual seals for the input (steering column) side of the box and also a seal and shaft bushing on the pitman shaft (output) side of things. I know the seal and gasket kit for the newer GM800 steering gear has a whole bunch of seals (inside and outside of the gearbox), O-rings, and a flat gasket or two. Enough to disassemble the gearbox, replace those things, and put it all back together again. You might need to spray things down with some brake cleaner and see specifically where the fluid trail originates. Anything else, other than a fluid flush/change, would probably need the gear removed from the car. Maybe some fresh fluid might help? NTX5467 Edited July 23, 2016 by NTX5467 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakadula Posted July 24, 2016 Author Share Posted July 24, 2016 Thanks NTX. I did take out the old fluid and replaced it as well as added a lucas stop leak. I am not a fan of any kind of stop leak product but I needed another year out of this but it ain't gonna happen. I will take a shot at a rebuild this winter when the car is on jack stands. I have a boatload of work to do on this car. Brakes don't work well. New wheel cylinders and rubber brake lines and they still don't work right. I have antifreeze in my oil. Got a new timing cover to fix that issue. My engine vacuum is 12 but steady. I guess I have a leak somewhere. And something is funky with my differential gears. Slipping I think. So thanks for your help on the power steering issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chasander Posted July 25, 2016 Share Posted July 25, 2016 advanceauto or rockauto for rebuilt gear box Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakadula Posted August 16, 2016 Author Share Posted August 16, 2016 Differential gears are okay. Bad axle bearings. In the process of replacing those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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