2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission New guy, Power Steering problem

[KBarr]

I have had my truck for a couple of months. Bought used from a friend who told me he had a 'sticking' in the power steering a couple of times. I felt it once on the way home. It is more and more frequent, but not predictable. I only notice it when moving slow since I rarely turn the steering wheel without rolling. I have almost had 2 accidents in cramped parking areas due to the problem! Hot, cold doesn't matter, but always at idle and in gear. It feels like the pump can't break the initial resistance to moving the gear. Since it only lasts for about 1-2 seconds, I can't tell if increasing the RPM's has any effect, but I suspect it might. I guess I can tell the wife I have to have a fast idle device for safety reasons, but I don't want to get that single raised eyebrow expression again.

I know that others are having this problem, but since nobody has commented lately I was hoping someone had found a cure. I have tried the Valvoline Synthetic blend PS fluid and even a bottle of Lucas', but no improvement. The old fluid was very dark and dirty looking. The truck has 50,000 miles.

On the positive side, I recently towed my travel trailer (23', 7500lbs loaded) over the TN/NC mountains on I40. Never even left 5th gear on the way E. Steeper on the way back, backed down to 4th to keep her cool. Boy did I blow away some PFords! I love this truck. My wife used to hate the travel days because I griped about the load (I used to try towing with a Ram1500 and 5. 2L), but now she enjoys my insane laughter over the diesel noise. And apparently cars mistake my rig for a slow moving vehicle, as several would pass me and then realize their speed and hit the brakes. I was usually doing between 75-78mph with the trailer. 10-13mpg; better than the 318cid empty! I gotta get an exhaust brake though.

Well, enough of my story. If anyone has any suggestions I will be glad to listen.

God bless you all.

 

[MJawsman]

I only have one guess. Check your steering shaft for binding. Dodge trucks are notorious for steering shaft trouble. If that's it, look at Flaming River or Borgeson for a replacement.

 

[Sasquash]

I had a similar problem with mine too. I noticed a leak between the power steering unit and the block. It was engine oil the stealer told me that even though the pump uses engine oil in the pump that the seal wasn't covered by Cummins warranty because it was a DC seal that failed. After the leak was repaired I haven't had another problem with hard steering.

Dan

 

[KBarr]

Well on the way home last night it occurred 6 or 7 times, once when I was not idling but accellerating in 2nd gear! I'm not convinced that I can turn the wheel at all when this occurs. I just about reach full panic torque on the steering when the assist kicks in an I oversteer (dramatically). I now worry about this thing locking up at highway speeds. I have to make a 3-state run tonight and am dreading it.

MJawsman - What do I look for, specifically, to detect a bind in the steering shaft? Am I looking for worn areas or a bent shaft or loose joints? I haven't found anything yet.

Dan Parker - Was the oil leak bad enough to drip? I don't have any oil leaks that I know of, but with that vapor bottle arrangement it would be easy enough to miss a small leak.

My father has asked about the tilt-wheel position and air bubbles in the PS fluid. I'm experimenting with the tilt, but it doesn't "feel" like that is the problem. Does the PS system purge air as it functions, or do I need to look into that? (The fluid level is correct)

Thanks for your comments. If I ever get it fixed I will be sure to pass it along.

Thanks again.

 

[thejeepdude]

mine too!

What timing! I just started noticing this exact same problem with my truck this weekend. It only seems to occur in parking lots or u-turns when I need to turn the wheel more than 3/4 turn in either direction. Letting go of the wheel, it will not self-center, but sticks for a moment. If I keep my hands on the wheel, it will turn back fine, but you can fill a "sticky" place. It really doesn't feel like a mechanical thing, such as a shaft, however. I checked the PS fluid and it was low, so I poured some in but still have the same problem. A casual inpection from below revealed some fluid dripping from tround the are where the PS is filled, but I didn't have clothes on that I could get any closer to see what the problem was. I am hoping this isn't going to be a major PITA repair! I now have 80K miles on my truck, so warranty is out... but I'm hoping someone out there has fixed the same problem and can shed some light here! This group was a life-saver when my RWSS went out... I'm hoping for the same this time



Thanks all,

Josh

 

[CFarlow]

KBarr- is your truck 4wheel drive? If it is you are describing a bad u-joint in the front end. It will be one of the ourboard ones at the steering knuckle. When the "cross" is in the right place it will lock up your steering and when you try to correct it will dart hard the other way. Be careful, not safe to drive. Note to much of a pita to fix.





Chuck

 

[qkoop]

fixed mine

I used to have a lot of steering slop and a bad brake pull, not to mention the steering all of sudden going hard, it was like it would lose power steering and then i would rev it up alittle and it would release and turn fine. Last month i had a small leak on the input shaft of the power steering box so i thought i would change the seal. Well to make a long story short dodge couldnt get the right seals (after i had it all apart) so i bought anew steering box and put it on and all my problems have went away. I should have done this years ago!:--)

 

[thejeepdude]

but the problem we're having here is with the PS/Vacuum *pump* not box... but I'm glad you got yours fixed! Now my problem is getting this damn pump out. I can't seem to break the damn nuts with a wrench and it's too tight in there for air tools. Anyone who's done the PS pump seal fix... HOW'D YOU GET THE DAMN THING OUT!?!?!?!



Thanks,

Josh

 

[qkoop]

jeepdude it is the easiest to take it all offtogether (remove at gear backing plate) it is just 2 nuts and behind the pump is a bracket with anut on it. After it is out then you can split the vacum from the steering pump and usually it is just that o-ring between the 2 pumps that needs replacing. sorrey about my comment on replacing my steering box, but it sounded like the same problem i was having and i found out that sometimes the collar valve sticks in the power steering box and won't allow pressure through to assist steering until you rev it a little to increase pressure and finnally it releases. (just my 2 cents)

 

[thejeepdude]

thanks!

Thanks man, just got it out! Somehow I overlooked the 2 big bolts holding the whole assebly to the gear cover. Anyways, it's out now, but I have yet to pull it all apart. Was just washing my hands between steps... will let you all know what happens...

 

[thejeepdude]

NO LEAKS!

Well, I got the 28x38x7 seal from CPFF and an O-ring as well. After getting that damn pump assembly out, I broke it apart and noticed the O-Ring wasn't the right size. Considering my leak was coming from between the vacuum and the PS pumps, I didn't worry about this too much, and pressed out the old seal with my cheapo Harbor Freight hydro press. I used a little Ultra Black RTV on the seal instead of grease to make it go in easier and then pressed the sleeve back in. I couldn't find the right size O-ring to go in the vacuum pump, so I just put a little more ultra black carefully in the O-Ring groove and assembled it like that. After everything was assembled and tightened up, it took about 45 minutes to put the darn thing back in the truck. They sure don't leave a lot of room in there for big hands to reach those bolts. Anyhow, got everything hooked up, filled it with some new semi-synthetic PS fluid, started up the truck and the wheel wouldn't turn AT ALL. Befuddled, I decided to try it without the engine running, and it turned fine. Started the truck back up, and viola! It was working perfectly. I guess turning it with the truck off just sort of primed the pump and got the air out. Well, it's been 2 days since I performed this operation, and so far the patient hasn't started 'bleeding' again. I hope to get another 85K miles out of this thing, at least. That said, I still have a problem with the steering. When making a sharp right turn, the wheel still 'sticks' in one spot (the same spot every time) and won't self-center without a little help. Other than that, it's waaaay more smooth steering that it was previous to the fix. I'm assuming that this other problem is more related to the steering BOX not the PS pump, so I'll start looking for one at the treasure (junk) yards. That appears to have fixed the same problem on at least one other TDR rig. Well, just wanted to say THANKS to all on this forum... you guys kick ass!



Thanks,

Josh

 

[thejeepdude]

I just re-found this thread because because of some fellow TDR members that are having the same problem. An update to my last post... the 'sticking' problem went away after a few hundred miles and a secondary drain/flush of the power steering fluid. I would say this fix was 100% effective for a while, however now I am sitting at 120K miles or so and it's leaking again. From the looks of it though, it's engine oil leaking this time and not PS fluid. I'm still not sure if it's the pump leaking or the gasket between the pump and where it mounts, but I REALLY don't feel like pulling that thing out again.

 

[JRS]

I just replaced the gasket between the pump and the gear housing yesterday. according to my shop manual, those two bolts should be torqued to 60 ft-lbs. Mine came off too easily to be at that torque. Anyway, you don't have to pull the whole assembly out of the truck to replace the gasket. Remove the four hoses and the one nut holding the power steering unit to the block braket. then remove the two bolts at the gear casing and the whole unit will slide back enough that you can get to the gasket. I had to tighten the two bolts with my highly calibrated arm, since none of the four torque wrenches I own would fit in there. BTW- there is a whole procedure in the book for purging the ps pump and lines of air. unfortuantely, it's more involved that just pooring in fluid. If I remember correctly, all of the nuts/bolts are 15mm, including the brass fitting for the oil hose to the turbo. the brass fitting for the high pressure power steering hose on the back of the pump is 18mm.