Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Power Steering pump pumping oil out of cap

[KrisKringle]

OK. So I just bought this truck, and when I checked it out, noticed that the Pitman arm at the joint was coated with oil and accumulated muck.



The story I got was that when it came off of the ship, it could not be started because they did not push the clutch down... as a result, they had to muscle it around... yeah, yeah. The build up of dirt did not get there overnight... .



Steering works great, but it is definitely a continuing problem. Is there a filter in the system that gets blocked, and can be causing extra pressure in the resiviour? I did a search, but did not find anything useful... wife is gettign suspicious that I am spending an un-natural amount of time here... :-laf



Also of note, when the steering wheel is rocked (motor off), the pitman arm has about 3/32 +/- movement due to play in the steering shaft... . bugger.



Any ideas on this would be great. Thanks. Jonathan

 

[Road Dog]

Not that I have any experience but there are threads describing fluid coming out of the PS reservoir. If your truck has hydroboost for the brakes then there's an accumulator (a blue cylinder filled with nitrogen) on the master cylinder so that the brakes work if the engine's not running. When the accumulator diaphragm fails it pushes nitrogen into the system and the reservoir overflows.

 

[KrisKringle]

Thanks for the info. I have searched the forums, but did not see this info before. I guess to check, I see if there are bubbles in the fluid when sitting. I am hoping someone put in the wrong fluid, and it is just foaming... JK

 

[ata]

Theres one way to check the accumulator. Start and run the engine for a minute or two. Shut the engine down then step on the brake pedal the brakes should work three times if it's hard the first time the accumulate has lost it's seal and pressure.

 

[Nyoest]

To check the play of the steering box I have been told the engine needs to be running. But the wife's 01 pukes oil on occasion but still works
Fine. Go figure.